Illinois Football: Illini Team Grades Through 3 Games

1 of 9

Sep 10, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; (left to right) Illinois Fighting Illini offensive line coach Luke Butkus, head coach Lovie Smith, and back judge Jim Biddle watch the replay board during the 4th quarter at Memorial Stadium. North Carolina beat Illinois 48 to 23. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports /

The Illinois football team is coming off their bye week with a record of 1-2 this season.

Over the last two weeks, the Illinois Fighting Illini went through some rough patches that enabled them to see their flaws.

These last two losses shine a light on what is wrong with this Illinois football team. Lovie Smith and the coach staff see where the Illini are short and where they exceed.

I think there are a lot of areas Illinois is above average. They show flashes of being a top 25 team at times but then there are other times where I am not sure they are an FBS team.

But, overall this team isn’t as bad as some people say. They had an ugly loss against Western Michigan but that team is pretty good and could go undefeated.

Each position on this team has to be responsible for what they bring to the table, good or bad. This includes everyone from the offensive line to the coaching staff.

There have been some areas that have flourished and some that have shown huge deficiencies.

I have put together grades for the first three games this season. Here is where I think the Illini stand at each position.

Home/Illinois Fighting Illini