Illinois Football: Reggie Corbin and Mike Epstein continue to carry the load for Illini

Through four games this season, the Illinois football team has shown improvements over the previous campaign.

Yes, I know it isn’t hard to show improvement from a 2-10 season. Illinois dropped their final 10 games in 2017 as well. But, the clear improvements aren’t just slight. They are big progressions as a program. From the quarterback position actually moving the ball to the linebackers being one of the strongest areas on the field.

Another strong area that I have been mentioning is the running backs. Illinois has done an amazing job on the ground this season. They are currently averaging 247 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 15 in all of college football. That is an incredible stat, and the Illini are being led by Reggie Corbin and Mike Epstein in the backfield.

Consistency has been huge for the Illinois football team this season. Both Corbin and Epstein have been able to keep this Illini offense on the field more often, giving the defense more time to rest and the offense more chances to score. Carry distribution has been consistent as well.

Corbin has carried the ball 48 times this season for 327 yards and four touchdowns. His presence on the field has been amazing, and his ability to find holes that don’t seem to be there in incredible. Epstein is right there with Corbin. He also has 48 carries this season and is only three yards short of Corbin coming in at 324 yards on the year. He also has two touchdowns.

I like the idea of not grinding both running backs into the ground. The Illini coaching staff is doing a good job getting rest for one player as the other one carries the ball. This keeps the running backs fresh and playing their best.

As a team, the Illini are on pace to do some special things in the running game. They are only 293 yards away from matching the total of the 2017 team on the ground, which is insane. The top two rushers – Corbin and Epstein – continue to set a great pace as well.

Corbin is currently on a pace to rush for 981 yards this season, while Epstein is right there as well with a pace of 972 yards. This would combine for 1953 yards this season. Looking at history, if they keep this pace, it would be the third highest team rushing total in the last 12 years. The other two were during the Rashard Mendenhall and Mikel LeShoure eras.

Both Corbin and Epstein have already surpassed the 2017 rushing total by the top two rushers for the Illini. Some thought they may have slowed down once they hit Big Ten season and played against a tough Penn State team. That didn’t happen, though. These two running backs have been great and are only getting better.