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Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Indiana

By Rees Woodcock

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 02: Isaiah Williams #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini catches a pass while defended by Jaylin Williams #23 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium on September 02, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 02: Isaiah Williams #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini catches a pass while defended by Jaylin Williams #23 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium on September 02, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Sep 2, 2022; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Connor Bazelak (9) passes the ball in the first quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 2, 2022; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Connor Bazelak (9) passes the ball in the first quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Defense was suffocating

Illinois played well enough to win the game on Friday night, but we couldn’t put away the Indiana Hoosiers. I think a big part of why the Illini were so competitive and had a chance to win the game was due to the defense.

I was so impressed with the Illinois defense against the Hoosiers the entire game. We were all over quarterback Connor Bazelak. He was having trouble getting the ball out at times, and that had a lot to do with our front seven.

It seemed like nearly every drive had the mention of Keith Randolph and Johnny Newton in the backfield disrupting the Indiana offense. This duo was amazing for the Illini, and I look forward to watching them cause chaos for the rest of the season.

Illinois’ defensive backs had issues at times, but they were pretty good for the most part. There were a couple of big pass plays that helped Indiana move the ball. It would be nice to get those fixed moving forward. But, overall, I loved how we tackled in the secondary and how we held Bazelak to a 53.8% completion percentage on the night. He actually had a worse QBR than Tommy DeVito.

I haven’t even mentioned the ability of Illinois to shut down the Indiana running game. The Hoosiers had 26 carries for 32 yards and a touchdown on the night. Think about that for a second. Indiana averaged 1.2 yards per carry. That is insane.

Just looking at these defensive stats frustrates me. We should have won this game. Illinois has the defense to compete with any team in the Big Ten.

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