Illinois Football: 3 keys for the Illini to beat Minnesota

1. Win the turnover battle

It is really not a hard concept and one that I will put on this slide show the rest of time. Illinois has to win the turnover battle or they likely won’t beat Wisconsin.

The Illini are clearly a better team when they don’t turn the ball over. They aren’t good enough to be able to be sloppy with the ball. In 2019 alone, Illinois was 5-2 when they won the turnover battle, 0-4 when they lost it and 1-1 when it was a tie.

Illinois’ 2020 campaign hasn’t started off well and it has a lot to do with turnovers. In the week one pounding against Wisconsin, the Illini lost the turnover battle 2-1. The biggest of the turnovers was the second play of the game when Mike Epstein coughed up the ball. This turnover set the tone for the rest of the contest.

The Illini were in the game against Purdue last weekend. They only lost the game by seven points. But the turnover battle is what really killed the Orange and Blue. Illinois lost the turnover battle 4-2. If you cut those four turnovers down to just two turnovers, this is an Illini victory.

Against Minnesota, I want to see an Illinois win in the turnover battle. Start by winning that and then a win on the scoreboard will soon follow.