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

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 05: Tahveon Nicholson #10 of the Illinois Fighting Illin puts the hit on Maliq Carr #6 of the Michigan State Spartans during the first half at Memorial Stadium on November 5, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

2. 1.1 INTs per game

Much like the Illinois offense, the defensive side of the ball also lost some big pieces. It wasn’t just losing Devon Witherspoon, who went No. 5 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Illinois lost a lot of pieces.

From the 2022 squad that had eight wins and boasted one of the best defenses in the nation, we lost four out of our top five players in interceptions. That accounts for 17 out of the 24 interceptions from last season.

Heading into the game against Toledo, 1.1 interceptions per game is going to be a key number. This is how many interceptions the Rockets’ offense averaged per game in 2022. They were No. 99 in the nation in interceptions per game.

Dequan Finn should be the starting quarterback for Toledo once again. He threw 12 interceptions in 2022. Finn is susceptible to having big interception games. He threw four interceptions against Buffalo and three interceptions against San Diego State last season.

Finn was a completely different quarterback on the road. At home, he threw for 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions. On the road, he threw for seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Illinois needs some of the young talent in the secondary to step up this season. I love what we have in Taz Nicholson, but players like Tyler Strain and Matthew Bailey have a chance to see a significant number of starts. They need to be on top of their game starting with Toledo.

If Illinois can get a couple of interceptions on Saturday against the Rockets, then the game could break open quickly. But the question for the Illini is who will step up?

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