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Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Penn State

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini greets fans before the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini greets fans before the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 21: Christian Bobak #29 of the Illinois Fighting Illini makes the tackle as KJ Hamler #1 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs the punt return during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 21: Christian Bobak #29 of the Illinois Fighting Illini makes the tackle as KJ Hamler #1 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs the punt return during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. Illini are a competitive team

Heading into the game against Penn State, not many people gave the Illini a chance to come close to this Nittany Lions team let alone potentially knock them off. But, at the start of the fourth quarter on Friday night, Illinois was only down 28-24.

What happened in the fourth quarter was embarrassing. Penn State put 35 points in a 63-24 drubbing of the Illini. But, this game was a lot closer than the scoreboard showed. It was a competitive matchup through over three quarters of play. A combination of sloppy play mixed in with some good bounces for the Nittany Lions resulted in the eventual blowout.

Even with the final score being what it was, I believe Illinois showed me something on Friday night. I think they are a competitive team now. They were able to hold their own with a top 10 team in the nation for the majority of a game.

There are definitely still some major flaws with this Illini program, but they are really coming together nicely. I think they are greatly improved compared to last season. This team has taken a step forward in 2018, and I can’t wait to see how they finish.

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