Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Wyoming

4. Need to tighten up field goals

There was very little that Illinois did wrong on Saturday. Wyoming was outmatched, and it showed in nearly every facet of the game.

Illinois would have the ball for 14 more minutes, they would gain over double the number of yards, and each play Illinois ran, they gained 5.8 yards compared to Wyoming’s 4.2 yards. But there was one thing the Illini didn’t do well.

As an Illinois fan, we aren’t spoiled by too much. One thing we are spoiled with is a treasure trove of kickers in the last couple of decades. Players like Neil Rackers, Chase McLaughlin, and James McCourt have all come through this program and have made it to the NFL. But the rough start by Caleb Griffin on Saturday is something I am not used to seeing.

Griffin started for the Illini and would go 1-of-3 from field goal range, and his only make was a 26-yard attempt. He was 5-of-5 on extra points, but field goals are going to end up being crucial when we play good teams. We can’t convert at 33.3% the rest of the way out.

Missing field goals is also how you let bad teams stay close. If the Illinois defense didn’t stop Wyoming, they could have made this game much closer. We had a chance to go up 10-0 but a missed field goal kept the game at 7-0. The Cowboys then scored a field goal and built on momentum. That momentum could have been stopped with a converted field goal by Illinois.

We only did one thing wrong on Saturday. As long as we clean up the field goal kicking, then we should be in a good position for the rest of the year.