Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Rutgers

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PISCATAWAY, NJ – OCTOBER 06: Illinois Fighting Illini running back Reggie Corbin (2) runs and scores a touchdown during the second quarter of the College Football Game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 6, 2018, at HighPoint.Com Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. Illini rushing attack is for real

Illinois fans knew the Illinois running game was good. The Illini continued their legendary pace on Saturday as they ran all over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Reggie Corbin was the leading rusher for Illinois. He ran for 137 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries. That is a 12.45 yards per carry average, which is insane. Quarterback AJ Bush came in as the second-leading rusher, carrying the ball 18 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Epstein also played well, getting the rock nine times for 63 yards and a touchdown.

As a team, Illinois rushed for 330 yards and four touchdowns against Rutgers. The identity of this program is now known. We are a rushing team with the ability to pass every once in a while. The rushing this season has been absolutely impressive.

During the 2017 season in which Illinois played 12 games, the team rushed for a total of 1,267 yards. This season, through five games, the Illini have already rushed for 1,304 yards. These are insane numbers to see. We already have more rushing yards than all of last season.

Offensive coordinator Rod Smith has done a great job bringing his offense to Illinois. He is forming this team into a scoring machine and that is what I like to see. Illinois is going to be dangerous this season.

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