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Illinois Football: 4 observations from the Illini win over Northwestern

By Rees Woodcock

Nov 27, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema (right) is congratulated after a 47-14 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema (right) is congratulated after a 47-14 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 27, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back Devon Witherspoon (31) teammates Tony Adams (6) and linebacker Isaiah Gay (92) team up to tackle Northwestern Wildcats wide receiver Malik Washington (6) during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back Devon Witherspoon (31) teammates Tony Adams (6) and linebacker Isaiah Gay (92) team up to tackle Northwestern Wildcats wide receiver Malik Washington (6) during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Defense was stellar once again

There are quite a few good things I can mention about the 2021 campaign, but I think the best thing to come out of the season was how good the defense played.

The addition of defensive coordinator Ryan Walters to the Illinois football coaching staff was one of the best moves for the program in the past decade. He has shaped this Illini defense into one of the best units in the Big Ten, and that will only get better with the better talent that joins the team.

Illinois thoroughly dominated Northwestern on Saturday. The Wildcats only scored 14 points the entire game, and seven of those points were with 24 seconds to go in the game.

Northwestern couldn’t get anything going through the air or on the ground. Starting quarterback Ryan Hilinski was 12-of-23 for 123 yards and one interception. He ended the game with a QBR of 29.1, which a 50.0 QBR is average.

On the ground, the Wildcats had 48 carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns. I will take an opposing team rushing for 2.5 yards per carry every day of the week. That is a great defensive showing.

The great defensive performance isn’t anything new for this Illini defense, though. They have been great, especially in Big Ten play. In the nine Big Ten games this season, Illinois’ defense has only given up 18.8 points per game. That is a number I didn’t think was possible, and it is the only reason this team finished as strong as they did.

The Illini defense was amazing in 2021. Much like the running game and Isaiah Williams, the future is extremely bright for the defensive unit. Walters has us playing with a fire that I haven’t seen in over a decade.

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