It is still hard to cope with the fact the Illinois football team couldn’t finish off Nebraska on Saturday.
Yes, Illinois was a 13-point underdog to the Cornhuskers, but we still should have won that game. That was a win we let get away for multiple reasons. Instead of sitting at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play, we are now 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten. It is only one game but it seems like a massive difference.
Where are we at as a program after the first third of the season? Is this team better or worse than I expected?
I think there is a middle ground between the “fire Lovie” crowd and the “everything is fine” crowd. Let’s first take a look at the offense.
Reggie Corbin is as advertised. He has rushed for 134 and 144 yards in the Nebraska and Eastern Michigan games, respectively. When he is healthy, he is one of the best I have ever seen do it. Let’s keep him on the field.
I am going to go out and say Brandon Peters has been a slight disappointment so far. He had some bad numbers against Nebraska, which is the only high-caliber opponent we have played thus far. When you are touted as this five-star recruit who didn’t get a good chance at Michigan, I expect more out of you than 9-of-22 for 78 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. These numbers need to improve.
Now let’s look at the defense. Only giving up three points to Akron was good. But, since then, the numbers on paper look bad. The last two games alone, this Illini defense has given up 38 points per game. It is difficult to win when the other team averages 38 PPG.
Wole Betiku has been the star of the defense so far. Jake Hansen has done his thing at linebacker. The Illinois secondary is so banged up and thin that any team in the nation could probably throw on them right now. But this team, while having deficiencies, still produces turnovers. That is a silver lining to the points they give up.
I can’t blame the defense for all of the points that are put up by the other team, though. When the Illini defense is always on the field, they are going to inevitably get tired. Illinois’ offense only had two drives over two minutes long in the Nebraska game and those two were less than three minutes long. How is the defense supposed to get any rest with an offense that inefficient?
With that being said, everything also has to be put into perspective. Illinois had eight losses last season by an average of a little over 29 PPG. That is an incredibly bad number. We have lost two games this season, so far, and the average loss is by 3.5 PPG. I believe there is improvement visually and on paper with this team.
Next. Projected Illini starting lineup with Coleman Hawkins. dark
Overall, the Illinois offense needs better quarterback play. The offense needs to start sustaining drives longer than three minutes. We need to have less hurry-up offense and become more ground and pound. This Illini offense has a nice stable of running backs, let’s slow the game down and use them. The defense can then get some rest. I actually didn’t mind how the defense played against Nebraska, but you could tell they hit a wall from being out on the field all game. These subtle adjustments could help us win in the future.