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Illinois Football: 3 key numbers for the Illini to beat Toledo

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 27: Reggie Love III #23 of the Illinois Fighting Illini scores a touchdown against the Wyoming Cowboys during the second half at Memorial Stadium on August 27, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 27: Reggie Love III #23 of the Illinois Fighting Illini scores a touchdown against the Wyoming Cowboys during the second half at Memorial Stadium on August 27, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Nov 26, 2022; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini running back Reggie Love III (23) runs the ball against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /

We are just days away from the Illinois football team being in action once again.

It has been decades since the Illini have played a game, or at least it seems like it has, and finally, the wait is about to be over.

A win is needed, though. While Toledo sounds like a cakewalk of a program, they actually have a decent team that is looking to knock off a power-five program. Let’s not overlook the Rockets.

There are a few key numbers that I am eyeing this weekend as well. These numbers will be crucial in Illinois’ pursuit to go 1-0 after week one.

Here are three key numbers for the Illinois football team to beat Toledo

1. 150.8 yards per game

The Illinois football team went through some massive changes this offseason, and one of the biggest changes came at the running back position.

Chase Brown is now out of the depth chart and playing for the Cincinnati Bengals. That is a lot of talent to replace, but the Illini have some solid options waiting in the wings.

One of the key numbers Illinois is going to have to take advantage of is Toledo’s rush defense. They were middle of the pack in college football last season giving up 150.8 yards per game on the ground. This ranked No. 60 in the nation.

The reason this is such an important number is the fact that the Rockets were great in pass defense. They were only allowing 191.8 yards per game through the air. It might take new Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer a minute to get acclimated to the new offense, so our running game is going to need to be on point.

This is Reggie Love III’s time to shine. He has been the running back-in-waiting for quite some time. Last season, Love ran for 330 yards on 71 carries. He tallied two touchdowns as well. Those are quite impressive numbers considering he was behind a guy who ran for 1,643 yards. Love also averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

I will also be watching to see who is behind Love on the depth chart. Josh McCray is the obvious option, but Illinois has plenty of true and redshirt freshmen who are waiting in the wings.

If Illinois can expose a below-average Toledo defensive line that lost its best player in Desjuan Johnson from last season, then I think we can win this game easily.

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