We are less than 48 hours from the Illinois football season starting.
The first team on the schedule is the UAB Blazers. This isn’t a very good team, as UAB finished with four wins in 2025. Illinois still needs to be prepared, though.
Bret Bielema lost some key defensive pieces after last season, but the coaching staff did a good job filling the voids and building the defense back up. They will still need to be on their toes against the Blazers.
Here are three keys for the Illinois football defense to shut down UAB
1. Don’t let Ryder Burton get confidence
The key to any quarterback is confidence. On Thursday night, Illinois can’t let an inexperienced quarterback like Ryder Burton get going through the air.
Illinois has a tendency to do this at times. An example is a couple of years ago, when Purdue threw Ryan Browne in as their starter. He threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns in a near-upset win. Browne is a below-average quarterback, but Illinois made him look All-American.
Burton played sparingly last season, throwing for a total of 708 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions.
The Illini secondary can’t let Burton get into too much of a rhythm. It is going to be important for the defensive backs to remind him that this is big-boy football. The front seven also needs to keep pressure and make the pocket uncomfortable. Do those two things, and Burton won’t get the confidence to think he can pull this upset.
2. Illinois front seven can feast on an inexperienced offensive line
I am wondering how Illinois’ defensive front seven is going to perform this season. We have a new defensive line, and the middle of the defense has a few new pieces, too.
It is good that Illinois gets UAB the first game. The Illinois front seven should be able to get up to speed and feast on an inexperienced Blazers offensive line.
Not much talent came back for UAB from last season’s four-win campaign. Their starting center, Adam Lepkowski, is the lead dog with 12 starts last season. Caleb Perez then started nine games for the Blazers at tackle. After that, it is a massive drop off.
I believe UAB only has one other starter on the roster from the 2025 season. Keyon Cox played the last game of the season. So, that is a total of 22 starts coming back on the offensive line. That sounds magical for Illinois.
This should be a massive confidence builder for Illinois’ front seven. We should be able to bring some pressure up the middle and on the outside. With only three defensive linemen up front, don’t be surprised if we get pressure on Burton. This should be a feast for the Illinois front seven.
3. Take advantage of a sloppy UAB offense
The last thing I want to note about Illinois’ defense taking down UAB is the sloppiness of the Blazers’ offense.
Heading into the 2026 season, the strength of the Illini defense should be the secondary. I think we could have a big day in the turnover department.
Last year, UAB was one of the sloppiest teams in college football. They coughed up the ball to the tune of 1.9 turnovers per game. That ranked No. 125 out of 136 teams in the FBS.
I expect multiple turnovers on Thursday night. Clearly, Burton can throw interceptions. Look for Xavier Scott to have a big return to the bright lights with an interception. With an inexperienced offensive line, it wouldn’t shock me if Illinois gets to Burton in the backfield and he fumbles the ball.
This should be a great outcome for Illinois on Thursday. We have the weapons on defense to cause chaos. Let’s see if we can put the Blazers away early.
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