Illinois Football: 4 reasons why the Illini are losing games

4. Turnovers need to stop

Wow, Illinois has developed a case of the turnover bug. The Illini don’t have the talent to make up for a few bad turnovers. They need to be on top of their game against each and every team they play. That didn’t happen against Rutgers or some other teams for that matter.

Let’s go over the turnovers against the Scarlet Knights. Illinois was down 21-10 and Jeff George Jr. threw an interception. Those happen and Illinois can recover from a badly thrown ball every once in a while.

One of the killer picks that George threw was the first drive to start the second half. The Illini defense held Rutgers to a 21-10 score at halftime. Illinois started the second half with the ball at their own 15-yard line. They drove it all the way down to the Rutgers 26-yard line and George throws an interception. This one took at least three points off the board and potentially seven.

The Illini defense still held up, though. They stopped Rutgers on their next two drives and Illinois was getting the ball back. But, freshman Carmoni Green was back for a punt return and he let the ball bounce a few times with Rutgers players surrounding it. He then attempted to jump on the ball but the ball squirted loose and the Scarlet Knights recovered at the Illinois 21-yard line. Two plays later Rutgers scores a touchdown.

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So, when you look at the scoreboard and see Illinois gave up 35 points to Rutgers, there needs to be some context to that final score. Illinois had three big turnovers that gave Rutgers the ball back and potentially turned the game.