Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Virginia

5. A great win for the program

Yes, Illinois had some brutal turnovers early in the game. We were sloppy with the turnovers and we can’t make field goals consistently, but this was a great win for the program.

Honestly, I had this game pegged as a loss for the Illini. I didn’t think we would cover the 4.5-point spread because Brennan Armstrong tore us up last season.

Illinois showed me something I haven’t seen in a long time, though. They showed me resilience. This program had four turnovers in less than two quarters, but we still had a 21-3 halftime lead. In the past, the Illini would have been down double-digit points if there were that many turnovers. We fought back and didn’t let Virginia get any momentum.

The dropped game to Indiana last week hurt, but Illinois made up for that loss with a great win against a tough Virginia squad. This gets us back on track to make a bowl game as well.

A 2-1 start looks a lot better than a 1-2 start to the 2022 campaign. Illinois now has Chattanooga next on September 22, which should be another victory. That would put us at 3-1 heading into the meat of the Big Ten schedule. We would just need to win three out of the final eight games to make a bowl this December.

I can’t express enough how big this win was against Virginia. Illinois is a respectable team for the first time in over a decade. This program, at worst, is contending in each game. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Orange and Blue.