EIU Pregame live hangout

[Music] y [Music] [Music] good evening Ali fans it's Austin Berkland of the Ali cast and part of the armchair Ali Network and this is a halfway solo it's GNA be some guests sprinkled in throughout this experience you probably are outside at the tailgate Lots thank you for joining us from lot 31 the research Park or wherever you may be joining us but I'm Austin Berkland of the armchair Ali and Al cast network it's game day folks this is pretty incredible this has been a long off season for the Ali football fans but it's been been a very short off season for fans of all things alii because Ali basketball has been really busy with schedule announcements transfer portal International recruiting um prep recruiting even this late into the summer but we are at football season it's a Thursday night a little bit different Brett likes to have the national Sage as opposed to just a Saturday 11:00 a.m. start that's kind of get lost in the shuffle territory but Thursday night Big 10 Network 800m really the only major contest that might pull away from Ali viewers um would be the Colorado North Dakota State game and I think a lot of big 10 fans are excited about what this Ali football team may be bringing because you have Luke almeer back who has a firm offensive line around him um because last year that Kansas game I think that spooked him for the rest of the year and when you have a situation where a guy is is spooked the end of the season can be rough and he's seeing ghosts in terms of pressure he's seeing guys that are open that really aren't he's seeing guys that aren't open that really are it was a really a brain Messer for Luke almeer and now it's a fresh start you have Barry Lenny Jr you have zakari Franklin JC Davis is coming in um you have Malik El has another year of experience under his belt this is a different align offense that we are going to be seeing tonight and the rest of the year against eiu this is a game that Illinois should win they should win by a lot of points it's a 28 point spread according to the last data that I've seen and I really think this Ali team can make some noises this year are there going to be hiccups yes we're not the elite team of a Michigan of Ohio State of an Oregon but this is a bll team and here's some reasons why you have eiu versus Illinois that should be a win Kansas next weekend is coming into champagne and I was at the game last year in Kansas and there were some moments where it was very daunting for Luke almeer for the rest of this offense and the defense on third down especially we'll get to the defense here in a little bit but I think bringing in this offense that was Zari Franklin and you have Terence Brooks on the defensive side you have a stalwart tackle and JC Davis as well I think this is a game that can be won for the Ali Kansas is ranked number 22 in the country and if you look at ESPN fpi Kansas has a 69.6% chance of winning that's not a huge spread from 5050 so I think a lot of atanta fans and a lot of the nation at large are seeing this as a kind of gimme game for Kansas but not seeing the progression that the Ali football team has taken this off season and another year of experience for Aaron Henry on this defense so you look at what this Ali team can be that Kansas te game can be a win then you have Central Michigan that's on peacock Saturday the September 14th and I think that's a win I think that's going to be a similar to eiu game where you win by 28 plus and you can move on to the rest of the Big 10 slate and then you go to the Big 10 slate Nebraska in Lincoln that's going to be a different kind of match up with Dylan rayola at quarterback Matt rule has built Nebraska into a kind of a sexy pick for the Big 10 um playoff representative um one of them at least in the new 12 team format then you have Pinn State I think that could be the first opportunity for back-to-back losses uh for the Sal team then you look at the rest of this of the way you have Purdue coming to Champagne which I think Illinois will win that game Purdue lost a lot of talent Ryan Walters has a big rebuild job at his hands yes he has Hudson card at quarterback but I firmly think that uh he is going to be um needing a kind of a miracle for Purdue to be have a successful season this year Illinois has a returning head coach a returning offensive coordinator a returning defensive coordinator and a returning quarterback that's a recipe for success in the Big 10 and and Illinois has that so I think Illinois will beat Purdue so going through my total I think that would be a 4 and two start for the Salan football team then you have the Michigan Wolverines coming into town two champagne Michigan isn't what Michigan was last year yes that defense is still very very good but what is Chiron Moore is he the coach that's going to lead Michigan to the promised land again big shoes to fill with Jim Harbaugh um we don't know what the notice of allegations are going to be bringing for the Michigan Wolverines this could be an opportunity for Illinois to really get a big upset on the national stage in Champagne they've come close against Michigan a couple times but I think this is an opportunity where Illinois can pull the upset against Michigan am I picking it no is there an opportunity yes so that is a 4 and3 record for Illinois at this point then Oregon I think that's a guaranteed loss going all the way to the West Coast to atson stadium and I think that will be a loss for the Illinois fighting AI That's four and four I think there is a legit shot that Illinois can win the rest of these games there will be a hiccup of course but Illinois versus Minnesota Illinois has defeated Minnesota every single year of Brett beam's tenure here at Illinois I don't think PJ Fleck is going to be walking out of champagne with a victory against the Gophers then you have Michigan State against Illinois Michigan state has a new coach it's going to be late in the year there could be some not so much hope for the Spartans at that point of the year and I think Illinois can win that game Illinois ruers ruter is very very very very very overrated I think I think there are some holes in this ruter team that aren't being talked about they have been talked about as a dark horse um of having a really great year but until ruter proves it in a big time way it's very tough for me to think that they are going to be just Waltzing through this quote unquote easy schedule that ruter has yes they avoid Penn State yes they avoid Michigan yes they avoid Ohio State yes they avoid Oregon but I I still think ruter has some Pro it in them so I think that will be a victory and then you have Illinois Northwestern to end the year and I think Illinois can win this game Illinois is a team that should should have some offensive Firepower with zakari Franklin and this running game I haven't even mentioned Kaden Fagan's name yet he's going to be a big Time Force for this offense and then you have Aiden laughrey as well so I think this is going to be a situation where Illinois could win win 728 games this year optimistically and if they do that yes they willon not they will not make the college football playoff I realize that I I definitely think that this is a program though that gets to a solid is bowl game then you awake an nil giant where Illinois basketball has shown that Illinois fans have money and they willing to spend on success at the college basketball level but if Brett belma and his staff give nil donators a realistic shot at getting somewhere elevated that's going to be so big for this Illinois football program if you rattle off seven or eight wins in this new fangled Big 10 that's showcasing a lot of pro it to these Illinois boosters and the sky is the limit at that point then recruiting wise you have a shot at some of the top four star and top five-star talents in the state of Illinois we have a awesome staff member who has a great connection to the state of Michigan and that can be very powerful with some solid nil dollars some success on the football field I just think that this could be an opportunity for Illinois if they're successful this year to really open up something I don't know what I know Josh whitmann has said that he thinks that Illinois could be in the college football playoff uh discussion at some point he said they were a couple seasons ago which they absolutely were whenever they won eight games and they lost the Mississippi State in the bowl game in Florida but I think that Josh whitmann truly believes in Brett BMA he believes in this football program and I just truly think that this could be a situation where Illinois football kind of Rises up here there are some major question marks of course with what this team is I mean you look uh position positionally uh coming up tight end is a huge question mark uh the defensive line is a huge question mark um you need a good defensive line to win in the Big 10 I realize that um but I I think those are some of the positions that are going to be lacking here for the Ali I do think the defensive back position has elevated with the addition of Texas transfer Terrence Brooks and I I really think um that Xavier Scott um could be a good a good player for this Ali team and um I think Tyler strain will grow and develop uh this year so I think this Illinois defensive back crew was so young last year you have a lot of experience um built in because they all started and they all played so young in their careers that this is a moment where those defensive backs can truly can truly uh come back and become a better option plus you have Aaron Henry as another year of of responsibility here as the defensive coordinator and I think he's gonna scheme some things up differently than he did uh last year and I look at the linebacker crew with um Dylan rosak coming in and then you have the outside linebackers who I think are going going to be really good with Mason Morgan and um he's going to be out with this with an injury of course but I I think Seth Coleman and Gabe jais can be really really solid performers Seth Coleman um a lot of expectations for him he has an NFL style Body but is he going to truly make it to that next level Sunny Verma checking in from baggage claim he will be joining us as soon as possible see what Chicago traffic is like at 4:42 uh p.m. but Sunny Verma thank you for listening in to this eiu pregame hangout comment below if you have anything that you want to add uh to this discussion this is uh kind of an open Hangout it's a tailgate for all of us uh as we begin the Alana football season uh we may have some guests with Alex from arm chair and Kirkland from arm chair and I I think this is a fun time to be an Ali fan and to be a football fan as well this is a new Big 10 do I like Oregon USC UCLA and Washington coming into the fold of the Big 10 kind of it leads to some awesome matchups where you're seeing Ohio State face Oregon you're seeing Michigan face USC but I mean this is going to be a really weird season in terms of what the travel looks like are these West Coast teams going to be able to handle such travel demands that's going to be a huge issue and to see what uh they are able to do with that let's run through the Big 10 slate tonight we have eiu versus Illinois that's 8 o'clock on Big 10 Network Howard versus ruter at five on Big 10 Network and then we have Minnesota versus North Carolina should get a good gauge of what the Buckey are not the Buckey pardon me the Gophers are uh tonight on Fox then Friday night action which come on can we not have college football on high school the game night let's let's make it through that fa versus Michigan State is on Friday at 6:00 pm on Big 10 Network and then Western Michigan the Broncos come in and take the W take on the Wisconsin Badgers at 8:00 pm on Friday August 30th then Saturday slate we have Illinois State against Iowa Big 10 Network at 11:00 a.m. Penn State versus West Virginia Yukon versus Maryland Indiana State against Purdue akan at Ohio State FIU at Indiana utap and Nebraska Miami of Ohio against Northwestern Fresno State against Michigan UCLA against Hawaii and wber State against Washington and then Sunday September 1st we have a huge huge matchup the UC USC Trojans kicking on the LSU Tigers two great offenses two great offensive Minds defense will be optional in that game that over under is at 64 and a half that just trust shows to what kind of defenses you're going to see in this matchup Illinois versus eiu the line as of right now is 28 and a half points with a fbii Illinois has a 97.8 chance of winning eiu at 2.2 you look at eiu's last five games this was last season they won uh four in a row after a loss to Simo 3528 they beat Bryant they beat lynen wood they beat Tennessee State then they beat Robert Morris University uh to end their year they did not make the FCS playoffs Illinois last five matchups so they lost to Wisconsin 25-21 and then they beat Indiana and Minnesota back-to-back games as you remember that was The Paddock games and then Paddock started the last two games which I think Brett BMA did a disservice to his own Ali football program by starting Paddock and not going back to Luke altm and they lost back-to-back games to Iowa and Northwestern Iowa it was a 15 to13 loss uh they really stuck in and had play great they the Iowa hawkey played some great great defense um toward the end of that game and I think they needed Luke alm's legs and that just wasn't an option Paddock is not mobile and now he is he got released from the Atlanta Falcons and then you have North the Northwestern game 4543 a lot of boneheaded plays in that game but that's kind of what you uh get from a team that was five and seven you get a lot of boneheaded moments and my goodness last year that is one thing the the pick to click tonight isn't a particular player the pick to click tonight is to see if the mental maturity has increased from last year to this year and I mean that in some facets like this the offensive line miscommunicated a lot early on in the season last year and that's where you had some of the issues with Luke almeer and the running game where they weren't able to get that going you had some long third Downs in there if Illinois is able to mentally clean up some things on the offensive line which I think they will with some more game time experience you have JC Davis coming in who was a first Team all transfer member according to ESPN and that was nationally so you saw the Ali logo with the likes of some of those big-time transfers um around the country so are they going to be able to have better communication on that offensive line I think so then you think about penalties how many penalties did you see that were just back Breakers last year I think if you are able to stop some of that back breaker um those back breakers on on the penalty side that's going to naturally help you so we'll see if Aaron Henry and Brett belma and Barry Loney Jr are able to coach that out of some of these players of who are course uh young at the time last year then defensively third down and Longs I hope the scheme is a little bit better I hope the mental miscues stop because those that those things that happened last year when it came to those moments it was it pissed you off as a fan I remember being at that Kansas football game in Lawrence and I thought it was going to be a fun game if Illinois lost by a couple points it would have been okay we're there though uh Lance Lio just got the best of Brett belma here there were moments in that game where it looked like Kansas had been playing in much bigger time environments more impactful games than Illinois and that just really grinded my gears defensively because you did have Johnny Newton you did have uh you did have some great players on that defense and they should not have been as bad as they were um whenever was third and 13 you were like okay we're going to get off the field we're going to give Luke alme the ball back we're going to get within Striking Distance of this game might get be might get to one possession for the second half and no first down then there were the final is Drive of the Kansas jhawk offense on that first half and you just allowed them to run around and then throw a deep ball and that deep ball was completed and then Kansas was in a big time position to blow the game open and they did at certain points there were times where Illinois looked to be in the game it reminded me of a fake rally that the Chicago Cubs have in the eighth and ninth inning sometimes um unlike last Cubs game against the Pirates of course but I I digress this Illinois football team needs to and I mean needs to play smarter football and at times tougher football there were like Seth Coleman perfect example he needs to play like the size of the man that he is and the ath atticism that he has there were some moments where Seth Coleman was soft and we need Seth Coleman to beat Seth Coleman this year and if that's the case then I think that can be very very helpful Sunny said I want to see the dline get some push if they can't do well against an fcso line then we're in trouble yeah I mean honestly these games do kind of tell a story in a way um like preseason NFL football you can't really say what a true team's record will be but you can see how they do in terms of their size so I think that's going to be a huge Factor as well is to just get a good little look at some of these players uh um in the first teams against the eiu Panthers Jason Ron thank you for joining us I hope you and Colton are coming to the game tonight um I know you guys are super align fans and I appreciate you joining the podcast Jason he says our entire secondary was horrible last year we watch rewatched the Minnesota game today they in our secondary never turn their heads that is basic football glad we have a new coach back there absolutely I'm glad we have a new defensive back coach I think the experience at the new defensive backs coach can help out Aaron Henry and really help this uh defense grow as a whole instead of really honing in on those defensive backs Jason also said eiu's o line isn't small either yeah this is a eiu team that has some FCS playoff hopes and this game could go a long way in in finding that journey to a FCS playoff spot because that big South OBC isn't that phenomenal of a conference so I think eiu can kind of weasle their way through that uh Big South ovc um mega conference that they have at the S FCS level and I know they have some offensive weapons so it's going to be fascinating to see if elois can just uh be the bigger person be the bigger team and win this game so I think that's going to be a huge factor in this yeah comment below if you have any comments on this line ey football matchup against eiu or anything major of this line ey football uh season at large um I'm thinking that Illinois is going to have seven to eight wins this year um I I really am bullish on this team uh Sunny it'll be surprised ing for you to hear that because I know I'm the pessimist of this podcast but I truly think that the schedule lines up for this team you look at the new Big 10 members it's not like we're playing every single great team in this Big 10 conference our protected games for the next few years are Purdue number one and Northwestern we get those two teams every single year for the time being and that should be two wins you pair that with two wins uh in the non-conference play I know we have some tough ones coming up with the likes of Duke and Missouri coming up but if elois is able to buy some games out go to get a FCS opponent in there similar to an eiu maybe you play the Salukis maybe you play the Red Birds you win those two games longside a MC team that's four wins then all you do all you're doing in terms of the math exercise you need to find two victories and that could be against a Minnesota that can be against an Iowa that can be against uh an Indiana a Michigan State if you're able to get those two wins right there that's six wins and then you can deal you can weather some storms um on years where you have a tougher schedule maybe there is a year where you have USC Oregon Ohio State and Michigan all on the schedule but again you have Purdue and you have Northwestern on the schedule every single year so that's the hope for the at fans here uh is that the schedule does really help out Jason back saying floor is three and N ceiling six- six I have a ticket at 4-8 I feel our defensive line depth and left tackle position if Davis gets hurt I hope I'm wrong guessed five and seven last year though so that was pretty good no stradamus their pick uh Jason last year at five- seven and you nailed that right in the head I'm sure you didn't think that the way they would get there would have happened with the way Paddock played um against Minnesota and Indiana but hey 4 and eight definitely is a possibility if some of those players don't develop like I think they can there absolutely is a way that Illinois can really disappoint the entire fan base with a 4 and eighty year and or a three and N year ceiling six and six I take it I know I'm very high on this team but if Illinois is just simply able to get a bowl game where there might be some other big 10 teams that are along your same tier in terms of your organization then that's a win if you knock out like in Minnesota from being in PLL bull position if they lose to North Carolina if they have some struggles uh throughout this big 10 season in Michigan State same way if you can Propel yourself tick by tick by tick to the upper echelon of the Big 10 I don't know if we'll ever be at Ohio State level um the odds say we won't be but if you can Inch by Inch by Inch your way to being where Iowa is as a program to be where Wisconsin is as a program uh to maybe get some of the Elite Talent um occasionally like Nebraska has started to do that is how a team like Illinois can Propel itself in this new world of college football because then again the businesses that support these nil Ventures and these wealthy individuals that have given to Alana basketball because we're top 10 in nil perception by other college basketball coaches if we can get some of that into the college football program my goodness that's a different ball game yes there's a lot more money floating around in college football than there is in college basketball but if you're able to just tick by tick by tick then suddenly you wake up one day and it could be 2027 and you're like oh my gosh we've been to four straight bowl games we are we've sniffed a college football playoff that's where you can start to get it starts to become fun to be a fan of a program consistently and I I think that kind of thing as possible um just get as many bites of the apple with some solid teams and you're going to pull off some wins that you maybe shouldn't maybe you beat a Penn State maybe you beat an Oregon maybe you beat a Washington or a USC one year and that completely changes the trajectory of a season but you got to have that Baseline of uh of four to five wins at least and then you can start to have fun um moving on up in in the uh in the world of college football because if you're consistently at three wins then nil dollars are going to tank even more than what they were and recruiting is going to become way more difficult the only Solace I would have if Brett can't turn this around in in a big big way and if they do have a couple three- win Seasons or a three- win season and a four- win season is that you are in the Big 10 and you are able you're going to be able to steal a coach who is in the ACC or more in the Big 12 because you do have some big 10 money you do have The Prestige of being in the power two at least in the time being and if you're in the power two that's where that's where the money is made that's where you can really build a better program because you don't want to be left out you don't want to be a part of a situation where if Ohio State and some others want to move off and do their own thing you don't want to be let out I don't care how great the basketball program is there is a shot that Illinois could be in a second tier conference if football doesn't get their act together so that's kind of what I'm looking for in terms of this upcoming stretch of big 10 football and Alana football is can Illinois keep up with the Joneses or maybe not even the Joneses maybe just keep up with your next door neighbor and uh like the like the uh Iowas of the world like Wisconsin and and the situation Jason said to make a bow this year with next year's schedule it will be a major Hill to climb yes uh let me check that schedule here for next season give me a second comment below if you have any other questions by the way all right 2025 schedule is as follows you lead off with Western Illinois then you take on Duke in Durham Western Michigan comes into town then you play Maryland Northwestern Ohio State ruter USC Indiana Purdue Washington and Wisconsin again you have uh Purdue as your as one of your steady opponents as well as Northwestern so that should give you an opportunity for two wins you have Western Michigan there's three Western Illinois that's four then we'll see what Duke is with their with Coach Elco leaving to Texas A&M we'll see what kind of program he can build Indiana is a better program with a better head coach and more National head coach Washington with Jed fish he's a good program Builder so next year might be a better season for him um I I think you can make a bowl game with next year's schedule um but it's just going be that much more difficult because you have some teams that have years to grow each uh year uh unlike this year where some of these opponents are going to be a little Shell Shocked because they're in a new conference or they have some new head coaches so Purdue uh that will be a Ryan Walters another year of experience more years to get some things in the transfer portal and he does had he he's had some fourstar players uh commit to him a couple years ago that I know Illinois was fighting for him with so they're going to have some more Talent loaded up in the barrel um for next year's team um USC that's going to be a tough one but they are coming to Champagne which that is just going to be electric uh to see Stephen piol which receiver do you expect to stand out today outside of Zari Franklin thank you for joining us Stephen by the way I feel like Malik El is going to have a really good game simply because he is going to have a speed Advantage more than some of these um eiu players and I think that you can have some fun over the toop football here with uh um Malik catching some balls from Luke almeer and I think that'll be a great uh that'll be a great connection uh throughout the season but today I think it's going to be uh him having some fun out there and playing with the food that eiu uh brings Alex capka Jones is my shock to click this year yes uh if you read anything from Al Inquirer um Jeremy Warner has been really high on Alex capka Jones and so has the entire coaching staff of the Atlant football team so I think he could be a solid production receiver and be one of those trusty Luke almeer connection pieces um because if that happens then hey that's great if you have any further questions I think we might wrap this up here in the next 10 minutes or so um be sure to get your comments concerns thoughts and predictions on this Aline football season and I will ref and I will uh respond to those but looking at the 2024 schedule once again I'm going to uh go over that eiu Kansas central Michigan Nebraska Penn State a biwe Purdue Michigan Oregon Minnesota then another bye Michigan State ruter and Northwestern and then the Big 10 Championship which I don't think Illinois will be a part of since there is no big 10 West R Big 10 west by the way what a what a sad situation not having that to fall back on but that's what the world of college uh football Jason what's your score prediction for tonight I'm thinking 28-7 I think Illinois demolishes the eiu Panthers I think it'll be a 35 to 10 game um I I think that Illinois has the speed in certain positions the athleticism in other positions and I think the overall experience of Luke Alm he's not going to be Shell Shocked by this game so I think he is going to come out firing I think the offensive line is going to give him an assist and I also think Kaden Fagan is going to have an unbelievable game that small town boy who's a big boy is going to be able to run right through this eiu uh defensive line and I think he's going to have some fun as well I think him and Malik are going to uh be the guys that are going to be like hey let's play with our food a little bit let's have some fun and let's gear up and get some confidence going for the Kansas j-hawks so because Kansas they're goingon to have some uh um time to play with their food with lynen wood uh that's a huge mismatch on all sorts of levels so I think Illinois will want to have some confidence going into uh the Kansas Jayhawks so I think Illinois will win 35-10 Stephen he says 3 8 to4 and I I think that could be a that's a good prediction as well this has been the Ali cast this has been the eiu pregame tune in tonight as me and sunny will and possibly the armchair guys will be talking about this Illinois eiu game and we'll talk about the other big 10 results as well as uh maybe some major story lines if North Dakota State upset it's uh the prime time Buffalo so Sunny almost a exact prediction as me 34 to1 um so we're all on the same page here I think a lot of fans uh I think Illinois will win and it's just about how they look and what's kind of skill points and what kind of skill and excitement points they can get out of this matchup but again me and sunny and the armchair guys uh will be here post game um just give me a chance to Uber from uh Memorial Stadium to my hotel here in champagne and then we'll get firing off and we will react to what we see the good and the bad but thank you all for joining me uh this will be lived on to prosperity to uh make fun of my predictions of this season if Illinois inevitably wins three games and I will uh have tip to Jason Ron whenever that happens at the end of the year but if I'm right then hey uh it'll be celebration time for all of us as elino would be winning eight games and uh be set up very well in this new Big 10 so I'm Austin Berkland this is the Alina cast from the armchair Ali Network and thank you