The Illinois football offense will have the toughest task of the season this weekend against Ohio State.
I don’t think I have ever seen this potent an Illini offense in my lifetime. Those Kurt Kittner Illinois teams were fun, but I think Luke Altmyer might be the best quarterback to come through Champaign since the turn of the century. More to come on that.
Ohio State is waiting with what most would call the best defense in the nation. They haven’t allowed an opponent to score 10 points in a game this season. If Illinois wants any chance at winning, that will have to change on Saturday.
Here are three keys for the Illinois football offense against the Ohio State Buckeyes
- Illinois needs to run more 12 personnel
Ohio State has a scary defense. This team just doesn’t give up points, and it starts with the front seven.
One of the most recent somewhat competitive games for the Buckeyes was the contest against Washington. Ohio State’s defense opened up a can that game with 15 quarterback hurries and six sacks.
Illinois needs to protect Luke Altmyer. We can’t have him getting up and looking out of his ear hole. Our offensive line can’t handle that front seven by themselves. That means Illinois will need more help blocking.
I think Bret Bielema and Aaron Henry need to deploy more 12 personnel on the Buckeyes. That means one running back and two tight ends. We need blockers to give Altmyer time. Having two tight ends on each side of the line would give us more time in the pocket. Enable Altmyer to pick apart the Ohio State secondary.
- The middle of the field might be Ohio State’s weakness
There isn’t a lot that you can pinpoint as Ohio State’s weakness. They are the No. 1 team in the country for a reason.
When looking at potential soft spots in the Buckeyes’ defense, I think Illinois can make some hay in the middle. No, I am not talking about rushing up the middle. The Ohio State pass defense in the middle of the field is weak.
Against Washington, Ohio State linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles had the two worst pass coverage grades on the team. When those two were targeted, Washington was 5-of-6 for 59 yards. And last week against Minnesota, the Golden Gophers were 5-of-5 for 50 yards when targeting these two linebackers.
This key to the game kind of goes hand-in-hand with the first key. If Illinois goes with a two-tight end set, that gives us more options in the middle of the field. Ohio State will expect us to use them as blockers, but we can have one or two of them chip and then hit the middle of the field. I think the Illini tight ends could have a big game against the Buckeyes.
- Bret Bielema needs to figure out the Illinois run game
I know that Illinois is 5-1 this season. This seems to be one of the best offenses the Illini have had in my lifetime, too.
With that being said, I think Illinois has a weakness when it comes to the run game. We have to figure out what to do with the run against Ohio State because they are going to shut it down on Saturday.
The Illini offensive line is a big reason why our run game can’t get off the ground. Illinois has played four power-four programs this season, and only once have we averaged over 2.9 yards per carry.
On the other side of the field, Ohio State is waiting with a vaunted rush defense. Only once has an opponent averaged over 2.8 yards per carry, and only once has a team rushed for over 94 yards on the Buckeyes this season.
Getting more blockers in there to help free Illinois running backs will be key. Aidan Laughery is going to be another massive key to the Illini running game. He was healthy enough to go against Purdue, but Bielema saved him. I think he will be unleashed on Ohio State this weekend. That would be huge.