Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Rutgers

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PISCATAWAY, NJ – OCTOBER 06: Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback AJ Bush Jr. (1) passes 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) /

4. AJ Bush needs confidence behind center

The game on Saturday was fun to watch. Illinois played well as a collective unit and ended up beating down Rutgers. The Illini came out of the game with a three-touchdown victory over the Scarlet Knights.

Despite the big win, there are some worries I still have with this Illinois football team. One of the worries being the passing game. When Illinois gets into a tight spot where AJ Bush needs to throw the ball, will he be able to make the pass?

Bush was 10-of-18 for 89 yards and a touchdown on Saturday. These are okay stats because Illinois was never forced to have to throw the ball. But, there were times against Rutgers where you could tell there is something not right about Bush’s passing ability.

I think it was pretty clear, Bush lacks confidence in the pocket. Standing in the pocket is something that makes him uncomfortable. One of two things happens when he is in the pocket. He looks at his first read and if it is not there he pulls the ball down and runs. The other thing he does is goes through his progressions no matter how much time it takes.

Both of the things mentioned in the previous paragraph show me a lack of confidence in what he is seeing. This kid has a good arm but completing some short passes early on in the game would probably help later in the contest when he needs to pass. I think there is a lot of potential with Bush, he just needs to believe what he is seeing and get the ball out sooner.

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