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Illinois Football: 5 keys to beating the Nebraska Cornhuskers

By Rees Woodcock

TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Lovie Smith winces as he watches the South Florida Bulls score a touchdown during the second quarter of their game at Raymond James Stadium September 15, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Joseph Garnett Jr. /Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Lovie Smith winces as he watches the South Florida Bulls score a touchdown during the second quarter of their game at Raymond James Stadium September 15, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Joseph Garnett Jr. /Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 20: Storm clouds roll in during the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Texas State Bobcats at Memorial Stadium on September 20, 2014 in Champaign, Illinois. Play was suspended until the weather passed. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

3. Offensive Line

The elephant in the room for the Illinois football team is the offensive line. This unit has their moments of success but they are quickly drowned out by the broken pocket or the tackle for loss by the other team.

There are two phases the offensive line needs to take care of, the running game and passing game. The pass protection hasn’t been great this season but that has been their bugaboo for a while. They just can’t protect the quarterback for longer than three seconds and the coaching staff needs to realize this.

One quick way to solve the offensive line pass protection is to throw more passes on three-step drops. Crouch can make some throws and they need to figure out which throws he is best at and mix up the play calling. I like the quick out to Mike Dudek. He did get one picked off last game but his timing was the issue there.

The run blocking by the offensive line hasn’t been bad this season. The main problem here is the Illinois coaching staff just isn’t running the ball enough. They need to be more dedicated to the run which will help take pressure off Crouch. The Illini guards do a great job pulling and this opens up holes for Epstein, Foster and Bonner.

Illinois’ offensive line will be huge this game. It will dictate if the team can put up points and ultimately beat this Nebraska team.

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