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Illinois Football: Illini game-by-game predictions for the 2018 season

By Rees Woodcock

IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 07: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 7, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 07: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 7, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 10: General view of a Illinois Fighting Illini helmet seen during the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Illinois vs. Kent State

The opening game for the Illinois football team in 2018 is at home against the Kent State Golden Flashes. This is a rematch of the 2015 season where the Illini ended up taking down the Golden Flashes 52-3.

Positive

There were very few teams who were worse than the Illini last season in points scored per game. But, one of those teams was Kent State. They were last in the nation in scoring averaging only 10.5 points per game.

Conversely, Illinois’ defense was one of their strong points at times. The strong point for the Illini was the pass defense which only gave up 199.9 yards per game and that ranked No. 32 in the nation. Kent State struggled in the passing game only throwing for 124.3 yards per game, which ranked No. 123 in the nation.

Negative

While the Golden Flashes did struggle to score in 2017, so did the Illini. Illinois was only five spots ahead of Kent State at No. 125 in the nation averaging 15.4 points per game. The Illini are also, most likely, trying out a new quarterback in 2018. This could be dangerous considering Kent State was No. 24 in the nation in pass defense. They only gave up 192.3 yards per game through the air.

Keys to the Game

The chance Illinois is coming in with a new quarterback could be a bonus too. AJ Bush will likely start and be an upgrade from what we had last season. He should be able to get the passing game going. He will also be able to run all over Kent State too. Look for Mike Epstein and Reggie Corbin to get going on the ground as well.

The Golden Flashes come in with inexperience at the quarterback position. They have two sophomores and three freshmen on the roster at quarterback with Dustin Crum being the most experienced. He threw for 232 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in 2017.

Illinois should be able to expose a bad Kent State rush defense. This will enable the Illini to move the ball down the field efficiently. Look for the Illini defensive backs to have a great day as well. This game should be in-hand quickly.

Prediction

Illinois 48 – 10 Kent State

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