Illinois Football: Are the Illini improving under Lovie Smith?

The Illinois football team seems to be improving this season, but there is still a long way to go to get back to being a contender in the Big Ten.

Lovie Smith coached the Illini to a 3-9 record in year one of his tenure. This season, the team has started 2-3 and Illinois has turned to quarterback Jeff George Jr. as Lovie waits for his future starter to either develop or come in from the class of 2018.

A 2-3 record isn’t terrible and there are some winnable games ahead. This week will show where Illinois is as far as progress is concerned. They play the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and Illinois needs to come away with a victory. They need to beat the Big Ten bottom feeders.

While the record looks to improve this season from last, has the team improved statistically from the 2016 campaign?

Let’s look at the offense first. Wes Lunt was behind center for the majority of the season in 2016. He went down with an injury so Illinois had to pepper in Jeff George Jr. and Chayce Crouch throughout the year. During that season, the Illini averaged 174.6 passing yards per game which ranked No. 109 in the nation.

This season has a slight improvement with the same quarterback mess. Illinois currently averages 178.2 yards per game through the air, which ranks No. 103. This slight improvement has to do with the playing of George and focusing on getting the ball down the field this past game and in the second half of the South Florida game.

One area that has decreased this season compared to last is the running game. Illinois averaged 140.5 yards per game on the ground last season, and they are only averaging 124.8 yards per game this year. That is a big drop and likely because many defenses realize the Illini passing attack isn’t much of a threat so they are loading up the box.

Now let’s head to the defensive side of the ball. Illinois’ defense was supposed to drop off big this season because they lost a lot of talent to the NFL. But, that hasn’t necessarily been the case.

Last year, the Illini averaged giving up 185.9 yards per game through the air which ranked No. 16 in the nation. That number has increased this season with the Illinois defense giving up 248.4 passing yards per game. This has a lot to do with the youth at defensive back. They have two true freshmen cornerbacks and a true freshman safety starting.

The Illinois rush defense has improved, though. This comes as a bit of a surprise with five defensive linemen graduating from last season’s squad. The youngsters like Bobby Roundtree and Isaiah Gay have really stepped up to help this defense stop the run. Last year, the Illini averaged giving up 219.2 yards per game on the ground, and this season that number is down to 181.8 yards per game.

Next: Likes and dislikes from Iowa Hawkeyes loss

Illinois lost a lot of experience from last season but, so far, the team seems to have improved in areas. I have been amazed by the maturation process this young team has gone through. They are doing a good job on the field. I would say this team has improved under Lovie this season so far. He has the youngest team in football and they are competitive. I am excited about what the future holds.