Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Chattanooga

Illinois football could have easily had a letdown game on Thursday night, but the coaching staff had this team prepared.

The Illini went up against a top 10 FCS team in the Chattanooga Mocs, but this game was not competitive from the first snap. Illinois looked like the clear favorite early and often.

Illinois was bigger, faster, and stronger than Chattanooga, and we wielded that advantage all night long. The defense was incredible, the offense moved the ball, and our special teams were flawless. This was a great all-around win.

Here are five observations from the Illinois football win over Chattanooga.

1. Tommy DeVito was on-point

Coming into the game on Thursday night, there were a few questions about the Illinois offense. One of those questions was would Tommy DeVito be able to start getting into a better rhythm with the Illini wide receivers.

Through the first three games, I was happy with what we saw from DeVito. He was able to move the ball down the field with some success, but there would be the occasional overthrow that would hurt the team. I believe this had some to do with timing and there was a little rust sprinkled in there as well.

In the Chattanooga game, DeVito helped put any worries to rest, as he had his best game with the Illini. There was not a moment in the game where I was concerned about the passing ability of the Syracuse transfer.

DeVito would finish the game with 329 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Each pass he thew was zipped into his pass catcher. He would have had an even better game if some of his passes weren’t dropped throughout the game.

I love what I saw from DeVito. This was the first time this season where I felt he played a crisp game. If we can get this DeVito the rest of the season, then we are going to win a lot of games.