3 areas of attack for the Illinois football team against Oregon

2. Interior offensive line

Oregon has a high-powered offense that should scare anyone they play. They can move the ball efficiently and with quickness. But there is one area in which Illinois’ defense can attack on Saturday.

The Ducks have great offensive tackles. Ajani Cornelius and Josh Conerly Jr. are both elite-level players who can protect Dylan Gabriel with the best of the best. Both tackles rank in the top 100 among all tackles in the college game.

Oregon’s interior offensive line can’t say the same, though. This is where Illinois needs to attack. Nishad Strother is the Ducks' best guard, as he checks in with a Pro Football Focus grade of 66.4 this season. That ranks No. 169 out of all guards in the country.

The drop-off from there is steep. Oregon’s other guard, Marcus Harper II has struggled this season. He ranks No. 535 in the country among all guards with a grade of 54.1.

As a defense, Illinois has talented defense backs who can cover well. We are going to need to pressure Gabriel so he is uncomfortable, though. We can’t just let him drop back and have all day to throw the ball.

I need to see Illinois putting pressure on the Oregon offensive line. We also play a type of nickel defense, but there are times we can send a couple of extra players at the quarterback. Gabe Jacas could be a huge factor. He is coming off winning the national player of the week after racking up 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Focus on pressuring the interior offensive line, and the rest of the line will collapse. Getting pressure on Gabriel is going to be key for Illinois to have a shot on Saturday.