Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Northwestern

It seems like it just started yesterday, but the Illinois football team ended their 2022 regular season with a win over Northwestern.

After dropping the last three contests, the Illini came out with a fire about them against the Wildcats. Reggie Love III got into the end zone first, and then the Illinois defense finished Northwestern off with back-to-back touchdowns. Illinois would cruise to an easy win, 41-3.

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

1. Illinois’ secondary is insane

Coming into the Northwestern game, the Illini had been on a bit of a rough patch. We dropped three-straight games, and this made some people question the program.

There was always one thing that never wavered throughout the season, though. The Illinois secondary has been rock-solid this year, and it continued Saturday against the Wildcats.

Northwestern’s quarterbacks struggled against Illinois’ secondary, to say the least. They were a combined 17-of-31 for 167 yards, zero touchdowns, and five interceptions. That is not a typo. Five interceptions.

The Illini secondary was all over the field making plays. Devon Witherspoon helped stop a few drives by the Wildcats that could have resulted in points. He ended the game with two interceptions and returned them for a combined 57 yards.

Sydney Brown had two interceptions as well. One of his picks was an impressive shoelace grab that I don’t think any of our wide receivers could have made. Brown took one of his interceptions back for a touchdown, and he had a fumble return for a touchdown. He beat Northwestern by himself, 14-3.

I love what Illinois has in their secondary. It is sad that we only get to see them one more game. Brown is going to graduate, and Witherspoon is undoubtedly going to the NFL. Let’s enjoy watching them one last time with the Orange and Blue.