It's the Chief, checking in from Elmhurst. The big orange and blue train will be rolling out of the station this evening.

According to the Big Ten Network's Accu-weather gametime forecast, it's supposed to be 74 degrees and clear in Champaign tonight so that bodes well for their game in the dome in St. Louis.

I predict -

Juice 14-21 for 212 yards and 2 TDs with 12 carries for 86 yards.
Benn 6 catches 123 yards and 1TD along with at least 1 big kick return.

Will Smith 3 sacks.
Martez Wilson with 1 sack and at least 2 plays that require multiple replays so ESPN-niks can gush about his athleticism.
Vontae Davis 1 pick.
And much beer being consumed at the Chief Illinimac compound.

Illinois 27 Missouri 13

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I find this offensive.

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Fire Phil Emery

No way in the world Illini hold Mizzou to 13 points.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I think they are only playing 4 quarters.

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I find this offensive.

I think the Chief has been hittin' the ol' peace pipe again.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

I like his passion.

Michigan is going to lose their home opener again.

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My Maserati does 186.

now that is something we can agree on

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

This may get ugly.

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Juice sucks right now.

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Has a bit too much Juice on his throws right now.

Looked like a different qb that drive. Awesome catch.

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wtf

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That guy is not on your team!!

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That dude is quick.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Nice to see U of I practiced special teams over the last month. Fucking pathetic.

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I guess the biggest question mark isn't a question mark anymore. Illinois can't run the ball.

The D line isn't getting pressure like I thought they would either.

Missouri is a real good team.

They came back last year. There might still be one bullet in the gun. I just hope they don't shoot themselves with it.

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My Maserati does 186.

Well, it could be worse. We could be Clemson fans. Or VT fans.

Disappointing loss, of course. Could have been a lot worse, but it should have been better. 14 of Missouri's points came about pretty much directly because of special teams, plus the interception return at the end. It didn't really matter, because when it counted, it certainly didn't seem like the defense had any sort of answer for anything Missouri was doing.

That's OK though. Missouri is good, and good in a very particular way. They have more weapons on offense than any other team the Illini are going to face this year. I honestly don't know what this game says about the run defense, because they were obviously keying on the passing game. But it's not like they played lights out against the passing game either. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm not sure how what we saw tonight is going to translate against more traditional offenses like Penn State and Wisconsin.

The bright spot was Juice Williams specifically and the passing game in general. It looks like there will be more weapons than Rejus Benn in the air, which is good, because Benn was MIA most of the night. I'm not sure what types of coverages they were rolling onto him, but it's clear that the B-squad was on everyone else as they went streaking down the field. Cumberland coming back might help there as well, but once again, passing wasn't the problem.

The running game was an issue, however. I don't think Dufrene is any great shakes, but I do think he's a servicable runner when there aren't nine defenders keying in on the option spread. That means, however, that Illinois is going to have to pass teams out of the box, rather than run them into submission and the surprise them over the top. They seemed to adjust after halftime and the results improved accordingly. I think that'll need to be the pattern they'll need to replicate; pass first, open up the defense, then use that option spread. And hopefully they can do it without having to play from behind all game.

8-4 still seems like a fair expectation this year.

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Fire Phil Emery

Conditioning seemed to be a problem. Zook doesn't have a run game yet. But other than that, things still look good for the Illini this year. They played a really good Missouri team. These games (Mizzou vs. Illini) the last two years have been great!