The hope and happiness of the Illinois football team playing a top 25 opponent quickly left the body on Saturday night.
Before the game, I thought this was a big moment for the Illini. I even dubbed it the biggest game for the Illinois football program this century.
What did the Illini do in response to me naming this the biggest game this century? We got boat-raced by 53 points. It was a defeat and a feeling that I haven’t felt before. Indiana thoroughly dismantled Illinois, and it was evident early on. By game’s end, the Illini would fall to the Hoosiers, 63-10.
Here are five heartbreaking observations from the Illinois football loss to Indiana
1. Illinois’ lack of secondary depth revealed
No matter how much NIL affects the college game, there will always be one thing for certain. Illinois can’t afford to lose players from the first string.
When Illinois has to go down to the second string at a position, it really shows on the field. But when we have to go down to the third string, like against Indiana, then everything goes haywire.
The secondary, in particular, was decimated against the Hoosiers. To start the game, Illinois was missing All-Big Ten first-team cornerback Xavier Scott. That alone puts us behind the eight ball.
Early on in the game, Illinois got hit with another big blow. Starting safety Miles Scott was ejected from the game after a “targeting” call. Illinois was now missing our two best defensive backs against an Indiana team that is good at throwing the football.
Not too much longer after Scott’s ejection, Illinois starting cornerback Kaleb Patterson left the game with an injury and could be out for an extended period of time.
So, against a talented Indiana offense, Illinois was missing three starting defensive backs. To see 63 points put up against us is embarrassing, but it isn’t shocking with how much talent was missing.