It was supposed to be another non-conference victory, but Illinois football let a win slip through the cracks.
This was one of the most disappointing losses for the Illini in the Bret Bielema era. Illinois was clearly the better team early on, but for some reason, things went off the rails.
Illinois had an early 17-7 lead. Duke started matching the Illini with touchdowns. With 1:48 to go in the first half, the Illini scored a touchdown to go up 24-14. We would only score three more points the rest of the game.
Duke set the tone in the second half. They scored on the opening drive to take the lead and never looked back. Illinois’ offense was the disappointing unit in the final 30 minutes of action. This led to a heartbreaking 31-27 loss to Duke.
Here are five disappointing observations from the Illinois football loss to Duke
1. Illinois defense is exactly what we thought it was
Here we are two weeks into the season, and the Illinois defense is exactly what we thought it would be.
Bielema said tackling was bad because they hadn’t practiced tackling much after the UAB win in week one. I was hoping the Illini defense would come out with more ferocity against Duke. That didn’t happen.
Once again, the vaunted 3-3-5 defense was soft as Charmin in the middle. Nate Sheppard tore us up to the tune of 24 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown. That is 6.1 yards per carry.
Illinois’ defensive backs joined the festivities this week. They were allowing big play after big play through the air.
The most disappointing thing for me is that I don’t think there is an easy fix. Illinois installed a defense that doesn’t fit the personnel in the least bit. We are stuck with this defense for the next 10 or 11 games. At this point, buckle up.
2. Offensive play calling changed at a bad time
I loved what I saw out of the Illinois offense for the first three quarters. We put up 27 points in the first 45 minutes of action, but the fourth quarter was absolutely confusing.
Illinois started the fourth quarter with two passes for 30 yards to get well into Duke territory. After those two completions, the play calling went wayward.
Barry Lunney Jr. would proceed to run 15 more plays in the game. 10 of those 15 plays were runs, which accounted for over 31% of the entire allotment of runs for the Illini in the game. Illinois only threw a total of five passes in the final 15 plays of the game.
We were down the entire fourth quarter, too. The passing game was clicking, yet Lunney went away from the pass when the game was on the line. It is some of the most confusing play calling I have ever seen.
The running got Katin Houser out of his rhythm, which led to him going 1-for-5 for 11 yards and an interception in those five throws. This play calling cost Illinois the game. We needed the offense to score one more time, and it didn’t happen.
3. Walker Eget looked like an All-Pro
13-of-26 for 131 yards and zero touchdowns. That was the stat line for Walker Eget in the Tulane game last week.
Duke struggled greatly against a below-average Green Wave squad, but don’t worry, a date with the Illini defense cures all flaws.
While the front lines of the Illinois defense were getting shredded, the Illini secondary couldn’t keep up with Duke's wide receivers. That statement alone makes me so frustrated. We can’t keep up with Duke. What the heck are we going to do against Oregon and Ohio State?
Eget looked like an All-Pro against Illinois. He was 15-of-21 for 206 yards and three touchdowns. There wasn’t a pass he couldn’t complete.
Illinois’ defense was awful, but I expected them to give up a ton of yards to Sheppard. Allowing Eget to go off is what is egregious to me. We can’t let that happen moving forward.
4. The Illini ruined a great game by Collin Dixon
One of the most frustrating things about the loss to Duke is the fact that we can’t celebrate the game Collin Dixon had on Saturday.
The loss sours what a legendary performance Dixon had for the Illini. He put up 11 receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns. He tied the Illinois single-game record for most receiving touchdowns. All three numbers were career highs for him, too.
Illinois kind of went away from Dixon in the second half. When we did actually pass the football, which was very little, we did go at him. Duke knew it was coming, though.
Houser didn’t look anywhere else in the second half. It was a major flaw in the offense. Falling short to the Blue Devils cost Dixon and Illinois fans the joy of having one of the best wide receiver performances in recent memory.
5. Patchwork offensive line is tough to battle
I was always a little worried about the Illinois offensive line entering the season. We only had one returning starter, and that was Brandon Henderson.
Henderson got hurt in week one and missed this week. Illinois continued to get hurt throughout the game with TJ McMillen going down with an injury. There is zero depth on the offensive line, and having them as a patchwork unit killed progress on offense.
Illinois was actually running the ball well to start the game. I thought the offensive line was getting a good push. That ended quickly.
The Illini running backs only had 28 carries for 93 yards, which comes to 3.3 yards per carry. You aren’t beating any team with that bad of a running game.
Bielema has to figure something out on the offensive line. If we can’t move the ball because no one is blocking, then it could be a very long season.
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