The Illinois football team dropped their sixth game in a row yesterday to bring their record to 2-6 for the season.
This seems like a bad record and you would be right to think that. 2-6 isn’t good but there are two types of 2-6. There is the 2-6 where the team is a veteran bunch with not much hope for the future. But, then there is a 2-6 record with a team that is young and one of the reasons for the losing is because of the youth.
Illinois falls into the category of a 2-6 record where the team is young. They might be 2-6 this season but a lot has to do with the youth, no matter what people say. And there are some people out there not wanting to make that excuse, but it isn’t an excuse, it is the reason.
The Illini took on No. 5 Wisconsin yesterday for Homecoming. I am not sure why the Badgers were scheduled for the Illinois Homecoming but they were. The last time I had checked, Wisconsin was a 28-point favorite over the Illini. That is what Las Vegas thinks of Illinois. They thought the Illini were bad enough to lose by four touchdowns.
Well, this young Illinois team impressed me yesterday. They still have a long way to go in some areas but, overall, this team really did well. They competed against the No. 5 team in the nation and I could make an argument if Illinois had a better quarterback and offensive line play, this game could have been a victory for the Illini.
But, that doesn’t mean give up hope on the Illinois quarterbacks either. I see some people saying that Jeff George Jr. should be the quarterback of the future. I see some people saying Cam Thomas is the way to go. And then there are the people who are just waiting for the class of 2018 to step in to see what we have with that group of players.
My opinion on the quarterback situation, start Cam Thomas the rest of the year and stop going with the quarterback rotation. That gimmick has run its course and it is time to give Thomas the playbook and let him go.
Yes, I realize Thomas was 2-of-11 for 44 yards and 2 touchdowns yesterday. Those numbers are awful no matter how you cut it. George’s numbers weren’t too much better. He was 7-of-20 for 108 yards. He also had a fumble as well.
George has an edge in the passing game but what really stands out is the running ability of Thomas. He rushed for 78 yards on 10 carries yesterday against Wisconsin. George had 4 carries for -28 yards. That is a huge difference and one of the reasons why Thomas should be ahead of George on the depth chart.
The gap between George and Thomas in the passing game is not big enough to warrant ignoring the running ability. If George was setting the world on fire with his arm then I could see him starting all the time. But, he isn’t. He wasn’t great yesterday and neither was Thomas. But, Thomas brings the ability to scramble and use his legs as a weapon.
Next: Thoughts on the Talen Horton-Tucker situation
Thomas has the youth, speed and a, hopefully, developing arm. He should be the starting quarterback the rest of the season for the Illini.