Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Rutgers

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PISCATAWAY, NJ – OCTOBER 06: Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Bobby Roundtree (97) during 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) /

2. Defensive line showed up

I think it is fair to say that the Illinois defensive line hasn’t lived up to expectations this season. There have been some major holes in this squad and this has enabled teams to run for an average of 226.2 yards per game, which ranks No. 109 in the nation.

On Saturday, Illinois’ defensive line actually stepped up. Rutgers has some quick running backs who can hit the holes and be gone before you know it. But, Illinois did well up front on the running game. The leading rusher for Rutgers was Jonathan Hilliman who ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. As a team, the Scarlet Knights only rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.

The defensive line isn’t complete, though. There is still some work I would like to see them do on the pass rush. They aren’t getting nearly enough pressure with the four-man rush. This enables the opposing quarterback to drop back and pass without much stress. Illinois didn’t have a single sack yesterday and only ended up with two quarterback hurries. That needs to change.

But, overall, I was still happy with how the Illinois defensive line played. I thought it was an improvement over what I have seen the last few games. They are still pretty young and raw. This group is coming around, though.

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