Illinois Football: 4 observations from the Illini win over Nebraska

2. This was a perspective-changing victory.

Listen, I realize that some people will be mad that this is a slide. One win doesn’t change the fact this team struggled early on this season. But let’s give credit where credit is due.

Illinois didn’t just look like the worst team in the nation in the first three games this season, they were the worst team in the nation. The Illini weren’t doing anything right in all three phases of the game.

The Illini offense couldn’t put up any points. We have had a different starting quarterback in the three losses to start the year. The running game wasn’t working whatsoever. It seemed that the offensive line wasn’t blocking very well either.

With the offense playing terribly, the defense was even worse. The Illini secondary was getting shredded for big passing touchdowns. We couldn’t guard anyone on the outside. Illinois’ rush defense wasn’t working either.

Illinois started to show some signs of life against Rutgers, though. We started playing a little better and came away with a win. But one win wasn’t going to do it for the program or the fanbase. There needed a win stacked on top of a win.

I would say the Illini needed to win this Nebraska game. This was a must-win game because the coaching staff was sitting directly on the hot seat. The program was looking terrible and only had one win against a bad team.

The coaching staff rose to the challenge. They prepared this Illinois football team and came away with another win. Illinois now sits at 2-3 on the season and could, potentially, work their way into a bowl game discussion. Wins need to continue to happen, but the perspective of this program after the Nebraska game has changed. They are playing hard for this coaching staff.