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Illinois Football: 3 areas of success in the loss to Purdue

By Rees Woodcock

Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters (18) hands the ball off to Illinois running back Josh McCray (0) during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.Cfb Purdue Vs Illinois
Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters (18) hands the ball off to Illinois running back Josh McCray (0) during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.Cfb Purdue Vs Illinois /
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Sep 17, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Maryland Terrapins linebacker Durell Nchami (30) tackles Illinois Fighting Illini running back Josh McCray (0) in the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Last week’s loss to Purdue was brutal for the Illinois football program as they moved to 1-4 on the season.

Despite the tough Illini loss, I did see some areas of success that have clearly improved since the beginning of the season. I do have hope not only for the future but for the rest of the 2021 campaign.

Here are three areas of success for the Illinois football team in the loss to Purdue.

1. Running Game

While the loss to Purdue hurt last weekend, I did really enjoy what I have seen from the Illini running game.

For the most part, the Illinois rushing attack hasn’t been great this season. Coming into the game against the Boilermakers, the leading rusher in a game was Mike Epstein during the first game of the season. He ran for 75 yards in that victory.

True freshman standout, Josh McCray, shattered that number against Purdue, though. He would end up getting 24 carries and tallied 156 yards on the ground. This was the most rushing yards in roughly three years for an Illinois running back. It was also the fifth-most rushing yards by a freshman in a game.

Illinois leaned on the running game for most of the Purdue contest. This needs to happen more often, as the stable of running backs Illinois can put out there is quite impressive.

McCray is averaging 6.0 yards per carry this season, which leads the team. If he can keep that number up, he will be a Freshman All-American. The rest of the backfield, when used, carries the ball well too. Jakari Norwood averages 5.4 YPC, Chase Brown is at 4.7 YPC, Mike Epstein is at 4.3 YPC, and Reggie Love is at 3.6 YPC. While Love has struggled at times, his pass blocking is arguably the best out of the bunch.

I think it is evident that the Illinois running game is what the offensive needs to use more often moving forward. We were close to knocking off Purdue, and McCray deserves a lot of credit for the close call. If we start using the running backs more often, the Illini will win a couple of more games this season.

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