Illinois Football: 4 notes before the Illini take on the Virginia Cavaliers

2. Great 3rd down efficiency

I know the loss to UTSA was disappointing. I know you don’t want to hear that UTSA has a pretty solid program this season. Both are facts, though. Despite the tough loss, there are certain elements of the Bret Bielema era that I am liking so far.

One of the elements is the fact the coaching staff is putting the Illinois offense, for the most part, in positions to succeed on the field. I feel like this hasn’t happened in about a half-decade.

The main thing I am looking at is third down efficiency. It is early in the season, but Illinois is one of the best teams in the country in third down conversion percentage. They are picking up 45.16% of third down attempts this season. That number ranks No. 27 in the country out of 96 teams that have played this season.

Why is the third down conversion percentage so high? It is simple. The Illinois coaching staff is calling plays to put the offense in better positions to convert third downs.

In the Nebraska victory, Illinois had 13 third down attempts and only two of those attempts were from 10 or more yards. In the UTSA game, the Illini had 18 third down attempts and only four of those were from 10 or more yards.

When you have shorter third down opportunities, you are going to convert more third downs. For the season, only six out of 31 third down attempts have been from 10 or more yards. That is an impressive number that will pay dividends in the form of victories.