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Illinois Football: 5 things the Illini need to do to beat South Florida

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - SEPTEMBER 01: An Illinois Fighting Illini helmet is seen on the sidelines during the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - SEPTEMBER 01: An Illinois Fighting Illini helmet is seen on the sidelines during the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 01: Reggie Corbin #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini runs the ball during the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 01: Reggie Corbin #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini runs the ball during the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. Expose the rush defense

Illinois is going up against a tough South Florida team this Saturday. This Bulls team does have a few weaknesses, though. One of those weaknesses is the rush defense.

In the first game of the season against Elon, South Florida gave up 192 total yards on the ground. The top two running backs for Elon rushed for 6.2 yards per carry against the Bulls. That is pretty good for a team who shouldn’t be able to compete with someone like South Florida.

Last week, against Georgia Tech, the Bulls continued to give up a lot of yards on the ground. The Yellow Jackets, as a team, rushed for an average of 7.4 yards per carry. That is an insane stat. Granted, Georgia Tech is a gimmick team who runs the ball a lot, but this was just a complete disaster for the South Florida rush defense.

South Florida is giving up an average of 419 yards per game on the ground, which is dead last out of 130 college football teams. This is a chance for Illinois to really expose this bad rush defense even more.

The Illini have three players who are averaging at least 5.5 yards per game on the ground. AJ Bush, Reggie Corbin and Mike Epstein need to be the focus of the offense. Getting them going in the rushing game is going to be key in getting the victory over the Bulls.

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