Illinois Football: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Iowa

3. The defense showed up

If Illinois could just get the offense going, then we could easily, and I mean easily, be 8-3 right now. That is how disappointing this season has been so far.

The biggest reason for the Illini being competitive in games is the defense. I haven’t seen an Illinois defense play this well in years. Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has this unit looking great, and his recent extension was warranted.

If you are just looking at the box score, you would think Iowa tore up the Illini. We gave up 33 points. But the defense really didn’t give up that many points.

Iowa’s first touchdown of the game was a 100-yard kickoff return for a score. That isn’t on the defense. At the end of the game, Illinois also threw an interception for a touchdown. That is another touchdown not on the defense.

So, in reality, the Illini defense gave up 19 points. But I believe that 19 points are not truly indicative of what this defense is all about.

The Illinois defense had to continually battle their own offense the entire time. Out of the 19 points the Illini defense surrendered, there were only two drives where the Hawkeyes started deeper than their own 46-yard-line. So, automatically, the Illinois defense was put behind the eight-ball.

Walters’ crew did an amazing job on the defensive side of the ball on Saturday. They easily did enough to win the game. Sadly, the defense didn’t just have the entire Iowa team against them, they also had their own offense and special teams against them as well.