Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Rutgers

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PISCATAWAY, NJ – OCTOBER 06: Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Jake Hansen (35) 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) /

5. Illinois closed out a game

The big issue for the Illinois football team leading up to the Rutgers game was the ability to close out contests. This issue has been magnified the previous two games the Illini could have won in the fourth quarter but failed to do so.

Illinois was up 19-7 going into the fourth quarter against South Florida. Things were looking good for the Orange and Blue, but the Bulls came back. They scored just seven seconds into the fourth quarter and then continued to score. Illinois lost the game 25-19.

In the next game, Illinois took Penn State into the fourth quarter only down 28-24. This was a close game up until this point. But, the Illini then let go of the contest and Penn State ended up winning 63-24.

The game on Saturday was different. This Illini team didn’t let the game slip away in the fourth quarter. They had the lead 24-14 and then stepped on the necks of the Scarlet Knights.

AJ Bush threw a touchdown pass less than a minute into the fourth quarter. This extended the Illinois lead to 31-14. With just over five minutes left in the game, Mike Epstein scampered for a 41-yard touchdown to seal up the contest 38-17.

Next. Illini land in Shammond Cooper’s top 4. dark

Illinois’ potent offense mixed in with a solid bend-but-don’t-break defense did wonders on Saturday. They were able to close out this game and move to 3-2.

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