Illinois Football: 5 keys to beating the South Florida Bulls

The Illinois football team is now 2-0 on the season, and they have a tough test against a ranked South Florida team this Friday night.

Here are five keys to beating the South Florida Bulls.

1. Stop Quinton Flowers

The headline to this one is easier said than done. Quinton Flowers is a really good player who will be extremely difficult to stop come Friday night. I can make an argument, if he was on a power-five conference team, he would be one of the top players for the Heisman Trophy right now.

Flowers’ last two seasons heading into the 2017 campaign were impressive. In 2015 he threw for 2,296 yards, 22 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He also rushed for 991 yards and 12 touchdowns. Last year he was even better, throwing for 2,812 yards, 24 touchdowns and 7 interceptions while rushing for 1,530 yards and 18 touchdowns.

So what Illinois if facing on Friday night is a Michael Vick or Lamar Jackson type of player. He can throw the ball well and when that breaks down, he can scoot for a first down. But, Lovie Smith has taught this defense well, and I believe they are prepared for Flowers.

One area that has stood out to me about this Illini defense is how disciplined they are. Usually, with college defenses especially young ones, they bite on the zone reads or play action but Illinois players are very good about knowing their roles and staying home. They don’t bite in those situations because they know their teammate will cover that area of the field.

Del’Shawn Phillips and Julian Jones are going to be huge players in the game on Friday. Their containment of Flowers will be the key to victory for this Illini bunch. If they stick to their role on the field, Illinois can come away with a win and move to 3-0.