Illinois football: Prediction for week one against UTSA
By Collin Allen
Fresh off a week zero win over Big Ten foe Nebraska, the Illinois football team enters week one looking to start the Bret Bielema era off with consecutive victories.
The Illini will be facing a very experienced University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners team that will be returning 12 “super-seniors” on Saturday.
Though the Roadrunners play in a much smaller conference than the Illini, they pose as a legitimate threat to the Orange and Blue.
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Aside from the 12 returning super-seniors, UTSA also returns one of the nation’s top running backs in junior Sincere McCormick, who finished second overall in the nation last season with his 1,467 total rushing yards. In addition, McCormick finished No. 17 overall in rushing touchdowns with 11 on the year.
McCormick could be a lethal threat to an Illini defense that struggled to contain the rush last season, allowing an average total of 230.1 rushing yards per game. They ranked No. 116 in the nation.
Fortunately, the Illini defensive unit seemingly took a step forward last week, containing Nebraska’s four-man running back committee to a total of only 63 yards among the four rushers.
The problem, however, was containing Cornhuskers’ mobile quarterback, Adrian Martinez, who rushed for 111 yards, including a 75-yard rush TD.
UTSA senior quarterback, Frank Harris, is among the Roadrunners’ group of returning super-seniors. Harris proved to be a dual-threat last season, as he rushed for over 60 yards in four different games – rushing for over 100 yards in two of those contests. In addition, the senior quarterback recorded nine rushing touchdowns on the year, including a season-high three rush touchdown performance in the Roadrunners’ season finale against Texas State.
The Illini defense will face a tough test on Saturday when trying to contain Harris and McCormick.
A new face for the Illinois football offense
The Illini’s offensive unit will be led by new starting quarterback, sophomore Artur Sitkowski, who did not have a problem filling in for Illini senior quarterback, Brandon Peters, who suffered a collarbone injury in the first quarter of last week’s contest.
Following Peters’ injury, the Rutgers transfer came in and immediately provided a spark leading Illinois to a 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown in just his second series.
Sitkowski ultimately finished the game completing 12-of-15 passes and throwing for 124 passing yards. In addition, the sophomore quarterback threw two touchdowns in the Illini’s 30-22 win.
Sitkowski will look to build off of last week’s momentum as he faces a tough UTSA defense, which ranked within the nation’s top 50 in passing yards allowed per game last season (221.2).
The prediction
In a high-scoring battle, the Illini edge-out the Roadrunners, winning by a score of 38-31.
Expect to see some struggles from the Illini defense, as they try to contain a high-motored UTSA rushing force.
The Orange and Blue’s offense, however, will have another efficient week thanks to their plethora of weapons, which notably includes redshirt freshman wide receiver Isaiah Willians and junior tight end Luke Ford.
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Artur Sitkowski and Bret Bielema each begin their Illini careers with a 2-0 start.