Illinois Football: Evaluating the Illini through four games

The Illinois football team was less than five minutes away from moving to 2-2 on the season and 2-0 in the Big Ten.

The final five minutes of the game on Friday night against Maryland is what you call shooting yourself in the foot. The Illini managed to let a seven-point lead slip away in the waning moments of the game. Everything that could have gone wrong in the final five minutes ended up going wrong.

Now Illinois fans are entering week four with a 1-3 record overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten. But what should we make of the program as it currently stands?

Here is an Illinois football evaluation through four games.

• Illinois Football Offense

My genuine thought on the offensive side of the ball is; can we ever get a decent quarterback under center? I know Brandon Peters has glimpses of solid play and Artur Sitkowski can sling the ball around at times, but quarterback play has been a struggle for the last 20 years.

I am going to rant a little more about the quarterback play. Illinois had a chance to be a bowl team this season. If Bret Bielema would have gotten a 50% completion percentage out of Peters on Friday night, Illinois would probably have won the game. But Peters only managed to complete 38.5% of his passes. That is such a bad number.

It doesn’t help that the Illinois offense line, albeit banged up, is not playing well. In year five, Vederian Lowe should not be missing blocks and looking as lost as he looked on Friday night. His play stood out the most, but overall, the Illini offensive line has been bad this season.

I have zero complaints about the way the Illinois running backs and wide receivers are playing this season. The stable of ball carries is impressive. I think the future of Illinois football runs through our running backs. That is Bielema’s bread and butter.

While I love what we have going at wide receiver, it is a little stunning that the top two wide receivers Illinois has on the roster right now were both quarterbacks last season. It shows you how much help this roster needs. I think Isaiah Williams and Deuce Spann are both really good wide receivers, but it is concerning they instantly became the best options we have.

• Illinois Football Defense

If an evaluation was done on the Illinois defense before the Maryland game, I would have ripped into the team. But I was extremely impressed with how they shut down the Terrapins.

Even though the Illini let the game slip away, the defense only gave up 20 points to a tough Maryland offense. If you would have told me before the game that Illinois gave up 20 points against the Terrapins, I would have said we would win the game. But the defense can’t control the ineptitude of the offense.

Illinois’ secondary played much better on Friday night, but there are some serious flaws that won’t be corrected in 2021. The depth isn’t there for the Illini, and the talent is doing the best they can with the tools they have. The fact the Illini secondary was able to hold Taulia Tagovailoa to just one touchdown is encouraging.

I think the Illinois linebacker situation is very similar to the secondary. They have one or two okay pieces, but the depth isn’t there and neither is the talent. Illinois’ defense is doing the best they can with what they have. Recruiting is going to be crucial for the secondary and linebacker corps.

The defensive line for the Illini has been by far the most impressive unit through four games. Rod Perry has been wreaking havoc on opposing offenses and was a big reason we were in the game against Maryland. He is the best interior defensive lineman we have had in years. I also think Calvin Avery is coming along. Perry is a great mentor for Avery.

• Illinois Football Special Teams

Honestly, Blake Hayes is incredible. I tweet out every game that the man should have a statue. He is the best punter this program has had in quite some time. As long as Hayes is around, Illinois will be dangerous in the kicking game. He switches the field and helps keep points off the board.

Illinois doesn’t have much going for the rest of their special teams. James McCourt has been okay this season. He has hit 4-of-6 but had one blocked on Friday. Illinois can’t get anything going in their return game either. This has been an issue for a few years. I think recruiting will help a lot with the return game.

• Overall

I think it is pretty clear what this Illinois football program is through four games. This season is about developing players and removing their bad habits. There isn’t a magic pill they can take to make them start winning games consistently. It wouldn’t shock me to see Illinois win one or two more, but this season will be a struggle.

Bad offensive line player followed by bad quarterback play is going to be the ultimate demise in most games. You can’t succeed with a quarterback completing under 40% of his passes.