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Illinois Football: Game plan to beat the Ball State Cardinals

By Rees Woodcock

LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 01: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks over the field against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska defeated Illinois 31-16. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 01: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks over the field against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska defeated Illinois 31-16. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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The Illinois football team now knows what they will be facing this weekend when they take on the Ball State Cardinals.

Ball State released their depth chart that included a few surprising changes. There are some areas Illinois needs to avoid, and there are also some areas they need to exploit.

Defensive Game Plan

The strength of the Ball State offense is clearly at running back. James Gilbert rushed for 1,332 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2016. He has an experienced offensive line coming back as well. Illinois can’t let Gilbert get going on the ground. They need to force quarterback Riley Neal to beat them through the air.

Lovie Smith and Hardy Nickerson need to keep an extra man in the box the entire game. This will help collapse the offensive line and stop Gilbert before he can get yards. Illinois defensive backs need to be ready, though. This pressure on the running back will force Neal to throw more and that means more turnovers through the air.

Illinois needs to put an extra man in the box and this will stop the Ball State offense on Saturday.

Offensive Game Plan

I feel like there are many ways you can attack this Ball State defense. The first thing that sticks out to me is the lack of experience the Cardinals have in almost every area. There are only four starters this season who have started a game with Ball State in the past.

Illinois quarterback Chayce Crouch needs to be efficient on Saturday. Garrick McGee needs to keep his passes short and over the middle. All of the linebackers for the Cardinals are new to the starting rotation and the Illini could pick them apart with a bunch of short-to-intermediate passes over the middle.

Crouch could also tear this Ball State team up deep and down the middle as well. With the constant short passes, the freshmen safeties for the Cardinals will likely bite on any pump fake over the middle and then Crouch can hit Turner or Smalling down the middle for a big gain or touchdown.

As far as the running game is concerned, Kendrick Foster should be able to have his way. The passing game will open up the running game and Foster should hit the 100-yard mark against Ball State.

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If the Illini can pull off something similar to what I have above, then this game shouldn’t be a problem. Illinois is a much better team than Ball State and they should win this game easily.

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