Illinois football: Prediction for week nine vs. Rutgers

After knocking No. 7 Penn State out of College Football Playoff contention in last weekend’s bizarre nine-overtime defensive battle, the Illinois football team has the opportunity to do something it hasn’t done since November 21, 2020.

Win back-to-back games.

Coming off its biggest win since the 2019 homecoming upset vs. No. 6 Wisconsin, the Illini will come face-to-face with a Rutgers Scarlet Knights team that has lost its last four games by a combined total of 78 points.

What does the Illinois football team need to do to pick up its second straight win?

Utilize the ground game

If you have watched any Illini football this season, you likely have noticed how the passing game is nearly non-existent.

In last weekend’s not-so-pretty defeat of the Nittany Lions, Illinois’ new starting quarterback Artur Sitkowski completed just eight passes on 19 attempts, throwing for an underwhelming total of 38 yards before suffering a season-ending arm injury in the game’s fourth overtime.  The sophomore threw an interception as well.

This performance accurately sums up the Illini’s passing game in a nutshell, which ranks as the nation’s seventh-worst passing team with an average of just 139.3 passing yards per contest.

Illinois’ running game, however, has been a completely different story this year.

Led by the young duo of sophomore Chase Brown and freshman Josh McCray, the Illini running back committee has been the bright spot of this offense.

Brown, Illinois’ primary back, leads this unit with 637 total yards on the year, averaging a team-high 6.8 yards per carry.  The sophomore has rushed for over 200 yards in two of Illinois’ last three games, recording 257 yards vs. Charlotte and 223 yards vs. Penn State.

McCray, who places right behind Brown in the rushing cabinet, has rushed for over 100 yards in two games this season.

Considering the Orange and Blue are averaging nearly 50 more yards per game on the ground than they are through the air, the Illini offense needs to keep pounding the rock if it hopes to see success vs. Rutgers.

Maintain intensity from the front-seven

Along with the rushing force, the Illini’s ability to limit opposing rushers has been the other bright spot for the Orange and Blue this season.

This unit was able to limit a Penn State rushing attack to just 62 yards in the upset last weekend. Coming into that game, the Nittany Lions were rushing for an average of 253.6 yards per game on the ground, which ranked in the top 30 nationally.

Fortunately for the Illini, the defensive front-seven has another great opportunity to put its run-stopping ability on full display this Saturday, as Rutgers doesn’t have much success on the ground.

The Scarlet Knights rank among the bottom half of all DI teams in rushing, averaging just 130.6 yards per game.

Aside from Rutgers’ primary running back, Isaih Pacheco, who leads the team with 329 yards on the season, the Scarlet Knights rely on dual-threat quarterback, Noah Verdal, to contribute to the ground game.

This could make for a long day for Verdal, as the Illini defense has shown the capability of getting to the quarterback, ranking No. 12 in the nation with 19 sacks on the year.

Leading the Orange and Blue in this feat is senior linebacker Owen Carney Jr. with five sacks, netting for 29 yards lost.

The Prediction

They get it done.

Those who ripped Illini head coach Bret Bielema for his comments in last week’s presser continue to eat their words, as his players continue to play hard for him.

The duo of Brown and McCray proves too strong for a struggling Rutgers defense and the Illini defense dominates a Rutgers offense that doesn’t have much going in its favor.

Despite a low-scoring battle, Illinois wins this one by multiple scores. Illinois 20, Rutgers 10.