Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini win over Maryland

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 14, 2023; College Park, Maryland, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini place kicker Caleb Griffin (5) kicks a game winning field goal against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 14, 2023; College Park, Maryland, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini place kicker Caleb Griffin (5) kicks a game winning field goal against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
Oct 14, 2023; College Park, Maryland, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Seth Coleman (49) reacts afrer Maryland Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa (3) is sacked in the third quarterat SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 14, 2023; College Park, Maryland, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Seth Coleman (49) reacts afrer Maryland Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa (3) is sacked in the third quarterat SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

3. What a game by Seth Coleman

Leading up to the game on Saturday, Seth Coleman wasn’t having his best season. His season-high was five tackles and that was against Kansas in week two. He hasn’t been a disruptor like in years past.

With some players missing on the Illinois defense, we needed Coleman to step up against Maryland. This was a must if we wanted to come away with the victory. Coleman didn’t just step up, though. He had the best game of his career.

For the entire year in 2022, Coleman had a total of 24 tackles and 4.5 sacks. On Saturday against the Terrapins, he finished with six tackles and three sacks. He had 25% of his tackles from last season and nearly all of the sacks. That is how special Coleman was against Maryland.

The pressure that Coleman brought on the edge caused a lot of problems for Maryland. It hurried Taulia Tagovailoa to the point he would make mistakes or misfire. There were multiple times that Coleman’s sack would cause the Terrapins to stall out on drives as well.

Coleman came up big for the Illinois defense on Saturday. His performance was one of the best games I have seen from an Illini player in a while. We couldn’t have pulled off the road win without him.

Home/Illinois Football