Today Writing Illini wraps up its preview of the Missouri Tigers, the Illinois Fighting Illini football team’s first opponent of the 2010 season.
For those of you who missed it, here is Part I of the Missouri Breakdown.
Kickoff for the Illinois-Missouri game is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. central time on Saturday morning, with the game airing on Fox Sports Net.
Some Secondary Concerns
Last week, Writing Illini broke down the Illinois defensive backs as part of its Assuming the Position series.
That article discussed the rash of injuries that had decimated the defensive backfield in the past two weeks.
Providing a recap, Illinois dismissed one starting safety (Walter Aikens) due to criminal charges and lost the other starting safety (Supo Sanni) and a starting cornerback (Terry Hawthorne) to injuries suffered during Camp Rantoul.
Consequently, the Illini coaching staff has had to move two offensive players to the defensive side of the ball to try and help with the sudden dearth of secondary players.
With that in mind, it does not take an expert to guess what Missouri is going to try to do this Saturday when they take the field against the Illini: the Tigers are going to air the football out.
The News Gazette’s Loren Tate points out that Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert made his first collegiate start against the Fighting Illini last season and threw for 319 yards with amazing accuracy (25-for-33).
That performance was against a young but healthy Illini defense.
Due to various reasons, the Illini have lost 11 secondary players from last season’s young backfield and go into the weekend with only 8 scholarship players in the secondary.
It doesn’t take an expert like Mr. Tate to know what is coming, but he gives his forecast nonetheless, warning that:
"The alarm bells are already clanging as Saturday’s forecast calls for an all-out aerial bombardment by Missouri against Illinois."
With this in mind, the Illinois linebackers and defensive linemen will have to both keep pressure on the quarterback and help with coverage if the Illini hope to stand a chance against the coming aerial assault.
Their one hope is that the new Bandit position that was introduced this summer confuses Gabbert into making some mistakes that Illinois can capitalize on.
Key Matchups
The following matchups will be key to deciding what team emerges victorious this weekend.
Blaine Gabbert vs. the Illinois Secondary
As was already mentioned, Illinois’ secondary is terribly thin heading into this weekend.
Not only are many Illinois players already on the injured roster, but the Missouri game has been known to add new wounded to the list, notably Martez Wilson and Arrelious Benn in 2009 and Juice Williams in 2007.
The secondary will already have its hands full trying to deal with Gabbert, and any further injuries could doom the Illini not only for this game but for the rest of the season.
Nathan Scheelhaase vs. the Missouri Defense
Scheelhaase has never played a single down of college football in his life.
He is about to be thrown into the fire against a defense that was second in the Big 12 North behind Nebraska last season.
Scheelhaase has keep cool early and stay calm throughout the game for the Illini to stand a chance against the Tigers.
While Scheelhaase has garnered nothing but praise coming out of camp, nothing can compare to the real thing.
He must be sure not to let the defense get to him because if he is not a threat, the Tigers will focus on shutting downs Illinois’ talented running backs, which will make it extremely difficult for the Illini to get in the end zone.
The Illinois Defensive Line vs the Missouri Offensive Line
Missouri has not been exempt to losing players on the depth chart.
The team recently suspended starting back Derrick Washington for sexual assault charges and backup De’Vion Moore has missed the past two weeks of practice with injuries to his foot.
These developments only reinforce the fact that the Tigers will try to throw the ball as much as possible.
To help out the depleted secondary, the Illini must get pressure on the quarterback, even if that means blitzing often.
With no strong run game to keep the blitzes from coming, the Missouri offensive line is the only thing stopping the Illini from getting to the quarterback.
If Illinois can force some errant passes and maybe get a sack or two, it could really help their chances.
Three Illini Players to Watch
The top three Illinois players to watch in this game are the three individuals who generated the most buzz this summer.
1. Nathan Scheelhaase
Scheelhaase starts his first game against an opponent that the Illini have not beaten in 16 years while taking over the team during the most pivotal season for the program in the past decade.
Talk about incredible weight on the young man’s shoulders.
With that said, all reports indicate that Scheelhaase is taking it in stride.
While there are sure to be a few freshman mistakes, it is not out of the question that Scheelhaase could shock the world and have a stellar debut.
2. Martez Wilson
Wilson’s critics claim he has yet to live up to the hype he received while getting recruited by Illinois and Notre Dame, listing just some of the schools that were interested in the former Simeon standout.
After moving to middle linebacker last year, Wilson was poised to have his breakout season.
Unfortunately, he injured his neck in the first game against Missouri and had to have season-ending neck surgery.
Wilson is reportedly back to 100% and ready to get back to business.
Look for Wilson to make the big plays as he tries to exact some revenge against the Tigers.
3. Mikel Leshoure
After emerging as Illinois’ premiere back this summer, Leshoure has raised the expectations for his junior season.
Last season, Leshoure scored Illinois’ only touchdown against the Tigers.
With a young quarterback under center, the Illini are sure to run the ball quite a bit with Leshoure and Jason Ford in 2010.
If Leshoure can be a big enough threat that it takes away the Missouri blitz against Scheelhaase, he will greatly benefit the Illini.
Alright.
Coming Friday, Writing Illini will have its prediction for the Illinois-Missouri game.
Until then.