Illinois Football: 3 keys for the Illini to beat Minnesota

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Oct 31, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Coran Taylor (7) passes against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Keep rolling Coran Taylor out

While it was depressing losing to Purdue last week, there was a silver lining of seeing Peoria native Coran Taylor taking snaps behind center.

Taylor came into the game against the Boilermakers without playing a meaningful snap in his college career. He ended up throwing for 273 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. While the two turnovers were backbreaking, everything else was extremely positive.

It was exciting to see Taylor give Illinois a more dynamic element to their offense. Illinois needs to continue rolling him out and letting him make decisions. This ultimately leads to the offense moving the ball down the field.

Unlike some of the other Illinois quarterbacks, Taylor can complete passes on the move with decent accuracy. The kid is extremely dangerous with his arm. This opens up so many different avenues for the Illini including the running game.

Getting Taylor on the move is going to be important against Minnesota. Yes, there were a couple of times where Taylor didn’t do well against Purdue when he rolled out. He threw a high ball over Daniel Barker which was intercepted. But, overall, rolling out Taylor is going to be important. Give him options of running or passing. The Minnesota defense won’t know what hit them.

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