Illinois Football: Rutgers offense a promising matchup for Illini defense

The Illinois football defense has a big opportunity to get things turned around as they face an underperforming Rutgers offense on Saturday.

Watching the Fighting Illini defense has not made this gloomy 2020 year much better for Illini fans.  Illinois’ defense has allowed an average of 475.7 yards per game, which ranks second-to-last in the conference. Additionally, they’ve allowed an absurd 39 points per contest, which is dead last in the Big Ten.

Do not panic just yet, however.  There is a chance the Illini are able to turn things around this week as they travel to Piscataway, New Jersey to battle against a not-so-hot Rutgers Scarlet Knights offense.

This is the most promising match-up for Illinois’ defense so far this season, as the Scarlet Knights’ offense ranks last in the conference in yards per game with an average of 298.7 total yards per contest.

Additionally, Rutgers ranks No. 12 in passing yards per game (176 YPG), and No. 11 in rushing yards per game (122.7 YPG).

Their offense does, however, rank among the top seven in the Big Ten in points scored per game with 28.7 PPG.

Let’s take a look at each position group for the Rutgers offense.

Quarterback

This Scarlet Knights offense is led by senior quarterback, Noah Vedral.  The senior quarterback has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this season, as he’s thrown for 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

Vedral has also thrown for 467 passing yards through three games, which ranks No. 11 in the Big Ten. He also ranks No. 12 among Big Ten quarterbacks with a quarterback rating of 106.4.  Vedral is capable of making plays with his legs, however, as he has rushed for 55 yards and 1 touchdown this season.

Running Back

Junior running back Isaih Pacheco has been getting the bulk of the carries for the Rutgers offense so far this season.

Pacheco averages an eye-catching 4.4 yards per carry off a total of 135 attempts on the year.  The junior running back has two touchdowns on the season as well.

Illinois might have to watch out for sophomore running back Kay’Ron Adams, who has averaged an absurd 7.7 yards per carry on the season.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

This receiving group is led by senior Bo Melton and junior Aron Cruickshank.

Melton has 184 yards off 15 receptions for the season, which leads the team in both categories. He has two touchdown receptions as well. Cruickshank has totaled 106 yards off 14 receptions on the year.

Pacheco has also proven to be a receiving threat out of the backfield, as he’s caught 12 receptions for 75 yards this season.

Offensive Line

The Scarlet Knights offensive line has not been anything spectacular this season.

As I previously mentioned, Rutgers ranks dead last in yards per game. They are giving up an average of 2.3 sacks per game this season, which ranks No. 75 in the nation.

Illinois’ defense ranks among the top five in the conference in sacks on the year, so expect a lot of pressure to be put on Vedral this Saturday.

Overall

Lovie Smith’s defense has a massive opportunity to turn things around on Saturday.

There is plenty of reason to be optimistic heading into the game against Rutgers, as the Illini’s defense will likely be going against their most favorable matchup of the year.

There is also a chance senior cornerback Nate Hobbs returns to the field, as he was seen fully participating in practice earlier this week. Hopefully, this weekend changes some things and we see the first win of the season.