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Illinois Football: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Maryland

By Rees Woodcock

COLLEGE PARK, MD - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks off the field after being defeated by the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field on October 27, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks off the field after being defeated by the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field on October 27, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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MADISON, WI – OCTOBER 20: Illinois cheerleaders celebrate an Illinois touchdown during a college football game between the University of Wisconsin Badgers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini on October 20, 2018 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI. (Photo by Lawrence Iles/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. Rebuild not as far along as I would like

The game against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday was a measuring stick to see where the Illinois football program was in the rebuilding phase. The result was massively disappointing, though.

Illinois went into the game as a 17.5-point underdog, and I was thinking that line was over the top. Maryland didn’t have a good passing game, so a struggling Illini secondary might have a shot at showing up on Saturday. I was wrong.

Pretty much from the start, the Illini failed to show life in this game. They got down 14-3 through the first quarter, but one of those touchdowns was a special teams return after the Illini took a 3-0 lead. This type of stuff has happened all season. When Illinois does something good, they usually shoot themselves in the foot on the following possession. They can’t continue to build on good possessions.

My goal for this game was to keep it close against Maryland. By this point in the rebuild, Illinois should be competing with teams like the Terrapins. But, the Illini aren’t competing. They are getting beat by 30 points and it wasn’t even that close.

I am disappointed that this is where Illinois is in the rebuild. They should be farther along. I would hope some things change down the stretch this season to maybe be more competitive.

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