Illinois Football: 5 ways the Illini will improve under Rod Smith

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 11: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

3. Red zone scoring will improve

There were many reasons why the Illini failed to win football games this past season. Every area on offense needed to improve and there just wasn’t enough talent on the field.

The offense couldn’t move the ball down the field either. Their quarterback and running back situations were a mess, and this is why they couldn’t get into scoring positions more often. In fact, Illinois was one of the worst teams in the nation in red zone scoring.

In 2017, Illinois averaged a total of 1.6 red zone scores per game. This ranked No. 122 in the nation out of the 130 teams. What this means is, Illinois would only score 1.6 times per game when they got down inside the opponent 20-yard line. This is really bad.

Smith’s Arizona team was a lot better. They actually scored double the amount as the Illini. The Wildcats averaged scoring 3.2 times per game in the red zone. This ranked No. 41 in the nation. You also have to take into account the number of times Arizona scored on plays outside the 20-yard line.

Arizona’s offense was really good last year, and now Smith will hopefully bring that to Illinois. More points will be on the board next season for the Illini.

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