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Did you realize it had been a month since our last mailbag? Man, time sure flies by. Sorry for the delay in mailbags. Between a friend visiting and me going home to spend some time with the family, the mailbag kind of slipped by the wayside. With it still being the dead period of late July, not too many things have been happening in the Illiniverse, but no matter, we're back in business. I'll try not to go as long between mailbags again.
There are two ways to ask The Champaign Room your questions. You can tweet them at us on Twitter using the hashtag #AskTCR -- it just makes it easier to keep track -- or you can email them to us at mprimia2@gmail.com. And if you've got a personal question and you're worried about your privacy, just tell us. We'll change your name to Tom Crean when we publish it on the site. And remember, you can ask us ANYTHING. It doesn't have to be about Illinois or even sports.
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Are the illini the favorites for Elijah Thomas and Jawun Evans in your personal opinion? #AskTCR
— Chase Rainwater (@ChaseRainH20) July 21, 2014
No for Thomas, yes for Evans. We're starting to make headway towards getting Thomas and if Evans commits, I wouldn't be shocked at all to see Thomas join up shortly afterwards. But for now, I can't say that I believe we're the favorite to land him.
Evans though? Every day I feel a little more confident that Jawun Evans will be John Groce's first big catch.
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@Champaign_Room currently vacationing in Wisconsin, a question had divided the group: whiskey old fashioned or brandy old fashioned? #askTCR
— Mike Zagorski (@mzagorskijr) July 21, 2014
Whiskey. Not a huge fan of brandy at all, so I tend to stay away from it. Whiskey is my liquor of choice in general. It's good alone and versatile, so why sub in a weird after-dinner hooch in its place?
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@Champaign_Room #asktcr Who has a better chance to be bigger in the NFL, Benn or Jenkins?
— Don Smith (@DCSThree) July 23, 2014
Don, why must you hurt me so? The best two Illini receivers of the past decade, neither of whom will likely end up doing much of any consequence in the bigs. Everything seems to be more in Benn's favor for having a more meaningful professional career. He's more physically gifted, he's a better receiver in general, and he's in an offense that will likely utilize him better. If he gets an opportunity as a somewhat regular receiver in Philly, Chip Kelly's offense should give him every advantage he needs to finally breakout and become useful.
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An email from Scott-
A Badger friend of mine was complaining about his lack of options for quality football games to attend this season. What are the chances that we are Wisconsin's second most difficult home game on this year's schedule?
Let's take a quick look at that schedule: Western Illinois, Bowling Green, South Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Wow. That ... that is one soft home schedule. That being said, go slap your friend for complaining about not getting to see many good home games this season. You know what's nice? Winning home games. And they should be able to sweep that field. Nebraska is definitely their hardest home opponent. I think Minnesota still gets to be considered slightly above us right now though. Depending on how much you believe in the Terrapins, we're either the Badgers' third or fourth hardest home opponent.
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@Champaign_Room Will betting against the Illini ATS make you rich again this year? #AskTCR
— Matthew Agase (@mattagase) July 23, 2014
Probably not. The defense should improve (it at least can't be worse than last year's version) and the offense likely will as well. I'm not much for gambling, but betting against the Illini to cover the spread every game seems pretty foolish.
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@Champaign_Room Pick 1 Illinois BB & FB game that you'd like to see make its' way into the rotation of B1G classics on BTN. #AskTCR
— Chris Patton (@chrispatton_33) July 21, 2014
I sadly do not get the Big Ten Network out here, so I'm not entirely certain of what all is in their rotation. I assume the 2007 upset at Ohio State is already in there, so I guess I'll have to pick a different football game. I'm going to choose a game from earlier that season, the October 6th home upset over Wisconsin. The Badgers came into the game ranked 5th in the nation. They never held a lead against the Illini. Not for one second. I was at that game with my dad. I remember the players rushing into the north endzone's stands. I'd never tire of seeing that game again.
Is the Indiana game in rotation yet? If not, then that game. All day, every day. Otherwise last season's Braggin' Rights game will do well enough.
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