It is hard to judge how well the Illinois football team played in game one, as we went up against an FCS opponent.
Week two is where the first challenge starts. The Illini will play against a Duke team that put up a 45-spot on Elon in week one. Their quarterback looked good, and that should make Illinois somewhat worried.
Here are three keys for the Illinois football defense against Duke
1. Must get pressure on Darian Mensah
I think everyone knows that Duke has a good quarterback. Darian Mensah spent a season at Tulane before making his way over to the Blue Devils to be behind center.
Mensah completed 65.9% of his passes and threw for 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions with the Green Wave. He picked up right where he left off last season against Elon in week one with 389 yards, three touchdowns, and a completion percentage of 79.4%.
This is a bad Elon team, though. So, you have to take everything with a grain of salt. But Mensah didn’t perform nearly as well under pressure. He was only pressured 19.4% of the time, but he was just 3-of-5 for 24 yards and a touchdown during those plays.
I think Gabe Jacas is going to be crucial on Saturday. We need to make Mensah feel the pressure, so he isn’t just picking us apart in the pocket. Do that, and I think Illinois will be just fine.
2. Let’s see some turnovers for the Illinois defense
Week one was kind of weird. I expected the Illini to force multiple turnovers against Western Illinois, but we only came away with one turnover on the day.
That should change against Duke, though. Last season, the Blue Devils averaged 1.5 turnovers per game, which ranked No. 70 in the country. In week one, they coughed up the ball twice and lost one turnover.
This is a great opportunity for Illinois to pounce and put the game away early. I think the Illini front seven has a chance to dominate this game. Get the Duke offense into some passing situations, and then let the dogs loose in the backfield.
I think this would also help the secondary. Mensah didn’t have an interception in week one, but look for Illinois’ defensive backfield to be flying around all game long. With the pressure up front, the secondary should be able to get a pick or two. I don’t want to just win the turnover battle; I want to see two or three turnovers from the defense on the day.
3. Can Illinois continue to see the improvements from Tomiwa Durojaiye
To me, the Illinois defensive line was the biggest question on the team. Could they come into a new program and play well enough to help stabilize the front seven of the defense?
So far, through one game against a bad FCS program, they have done so. I have been happy with the Illinois defensive line, but we are now facing a better team from the ACC.
One star in week one was Tomiwa Durojaiye. He transferred in from Florida State, and against the Leathernecks, Durojaiye had four tackles and a sack. His presence was huge, and Illinois is going to need that against the Blue Devils.
With so much focus on Jacas, Durojaiye should be freed up to have just a guard or tackle on him. I think he can beat that one-on-one, and if that happens, Durojaiye will wreak havoc in the backfield.