Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Michigan

3. Play-calling seems a little too conservative

In the previous slide, I talked about how the Illinois football team was able to score more points than Michigan averaged giving up the entire year. The Illini offense did a good job scoring against the Wolverines.

A lot of that scoring came via Chase Brown being amazing, though. It didn’t have a ton to do with Michigan being confused or the great play-calling. It had a lot to do with sensational blocking and even better running ability from Brown.

For most games this season, and on Saturday, I have been a little upset with the play-calling coming in on the offensive side of the ball. We are too predictable, and it hurts the ability of the offense to move the ball down the field.

Don’t get me wrong, though, there are times when I think offensive coordinator Barry Lunney calls great plays. But then there are times when I am completely baffled.

It is usually early on in the game when the play-calling is too conservative. These are the possessions where teams have every play scripted and they should lead to some type of points. Not with Illinois, though.

In the first two drives for the Illini against Michigan, we went run, pass, and pass. They were both three-and-outs. This gave Michigan the chance to extend the lead, but thankfully, the Illinois defense held strong and kept us in the game.

I know we just extended Lunney, so I hope he makes some adjustments moving forward. Let’s shake things up early and put the opposing defense on their heels. We have the weapons to do so.