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Illinois Football: Game-by-game predictions for the 2019 season

By Rees Woodcock

EVANSTON, IL - NOVEMBER 24: An Illinois Fighting Illini flag is seen during a game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Northwestern Wildcats on November 24, 2018, at Ryan Field in Evanston, IL. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
EVANSTON, IL - NOVEMBER 24: An Illinois Fighting Illini flag is seen during a game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Northwestern Wildcats on November 24, 2018, at Ryan Field in Evanston, IL. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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MONTGOMERY, AL – DECEMBER 15: A Eastern Michigan Eagles helmet is seen during the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl against the Georgia Southern Eagles on December 15, 2018 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
MONTGOMERY, AL – DECEMBER 15: A Eastern Michigan Eagles helmet is seen during the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl against the Georgia Southern Eagles on December 15, 2018 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

W – Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan – September 14

Illinois is coming into the game against Eastern Michigan with two solid blowout victories. We will be feeling good and on cloud nine, but that is a recipe for a letdown game. That can’t happen in this case.

Eastern Michigan isn’t a bad team. Their name doesn’t garner respect and their conference, the MAC, isn’t exactly a powerhouse bunch of schools. But this Eagles team can sneak up on you and if you are not careful, they can come in and steal a win.

Traditionally, the Eagles have been a bad program. But the last three years have been solid under Chris Creighton. They have managed to go 19-19 over that time and made two bowl games. In 2018, Eastern Michigan went 7-6 and made a bowl game. In the regular season, they snuck up on Purdue and came out with a win in West Lafayette 20-19. Illinois can’t let that happen.

Eastern Michigan did lose a big part of their offense this offseason, though. Tyler Wiegers, a transfer in from Iowa, departed the program. He was the driving force behind a lot of the Eagles success last season. He threw for 312 yards and a touchdown against Purdue.

I expect Mike Glass III to take over the quarterbacking for Eastern Michigan. He has good passing numbers, but they were a little padded by the fact he didn’t go up against much competition. He does run the football, though. He rushed for 412 yards and six touchdowns in 2018. He also had a 5.8 yards per carry average.

The impressive part of the Eastern Michigan team was their defense last season. They only gave up 22.1 points per game, which ranked No. 31 in the nation. Again, you have to look at the competition, but they did hold Purdue to 19 points. The Eagles are losing some talent too. Their leading tackler, Kyle Rachwal, is gone. Maxx Crosby is gone, and he led the team in sacks. They do return their top two leaders in interceptions, though.

I wouldn’t be shocked if Eastern Michigan kept this game close for the first two or three quarters. Their quarterback will probably give the Illini fits at times. But Illinois should be able to pull away late in the game. We have more quality depth than the Eagles. This should be a win to finalize the non-conference.

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