5 massive observations from the Illinois football win over Michigan

4. The Illini defensive line got whatever they wanted

I was extremely disappointed with the Illinois defensive line in the last game against Purdue. We couldn’t get pressure on the Boilermakers’ quarterback, and this made us struggle greatly.

Illinois needed to change something or at least get a fire lit under us on the defensive side of the ball. The defensive line answered the call against Michigan.

Honestly, this was the best the Illinois defensive line has looked all season. While we would bring a blitz on occasion, a lot of time it was just a four-man rush. Illinois was able to consistently get pressure on Michigan quarterback Jack Tuttle with just four players coming at him.

This four-man rush being effective enabled the Illini defensive backs to drop back in coverage. This gave Tuttle problems throughout the game. The only reason Tuttle finished with 208 yards was due to Illinois playing soft coverage on the final drive of the game.

Multiple Illinois players in the rush impressed me too. Gabe Jacas was a nightmare for Michigan all game long. He couldn’t be stopped and came up with some huge plays throughout the contest.

I also loved how Dennis Briggs Jr. played in the game. He went out for a minute with an injury, but Briggs was a wrecking ball the entire game. It was his best performance as a member of the Illini.

This was a special outing for the Illinois defensive line. If we can have that type of performance the rest of the season, Illinois can get to double-digit wins.