Illinois football was expected to get trounced by Ohio State, and that came to fruition.
It was a pretty ugly game throughout. The Illini had a couple of opportunities to get the score to a single-digit deficit, but the offense couldn’t convert on some key plays.
While the offense played a B- game, the defense is where most of the blame lies. They allowed Ohio State to score a touchdown on six of eight possessions, which you aren’t winning many games allowing that many scores.
Defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck is getting most of the blame for an Illinois defense that doesn’t live up to the standard.
Hauck’s 3-3-5 scheme has been the subject of complaints. It doesn’t seem to be working, and while Hauck should shoulder some of the blame, I think we are missing the biggest problem of it all.
Talent.
Illinois’ defense last season wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was at least solid. They gave up 225.4 yards passing and 135.6 yards rushing per game, which ranked No. 69 and No. 40 in the country, respectively.
Those numbers have plummeted in 2026. Illinois is now allowing 264.0 yards passing and 171.1 yards rushing per game, which rank No. 110 and No. 95 in the country, respectively.
Why would anyone realistically think Illinois’ defense was going to get better year over year? Let’s remember the talent we lost from the 2025 campaign.
The New England Patriots picked our outside linebacker Gabe Jacas in the second round. He was a first-team All-Big Ten player and a fourth-team All-American.
Illinois also had starting safety Miles Scott go in the seventh round. Scott was an All-Big Ten honorable mention and was one of the stalwarts of the Illini secondary.
The replacements for those two were just the backups who couldn’t start for Illinois last season. Scott was replaced by Mac Resetich. Entering 2026, he had one start in his career. Resetich was a sub-1000 recruit.
With Jacas, you kind of eliminated his position. Illinois only goes with three linebackers now. Isamel Kante is, roughly, the replacement for Jacas. He is a former junior college player who had mostly low-level FBS teams and FCS programs as his offers.
You can continue going down the list of Illinois departures from the defense last season. The replacements just aren’t quality enough to compete at the FBS level.
Illinois lost six out of the top seven players in tackles, six out of the top eight in sacks, and five out of the six interceptions from last season all departed the program.
Against Ohio State, nine out of the 11 starting defensive players for Illinois were on the roster last season. Most of them weren’t starters in 2025, though. That means they weren’t good enough to start for an average defense in college football. Now, they are starting for the Illini, and you see the result.
Illinois’ defense just doesn’t have the talent. A good story is when one sub-1000 recruit breaks through and is really good, but you can’t fill your entire defense with those players. Illinois just doesn’t have the defensive talent.
Here is the recruiting ranking for each defensive starter against Ohio State.
- Matthew Bailey - #1774
- Mac Resetich - #1079
- Juice Clarke - #1347
- Jakwon Morris - #2232
- Xavier Scott - #1376
- Ismael Kante - Not Ranked
- Daniel Brown - Not Ranked
- James Kreutz - #1774
- Darrell Prater - Not Ranked
- Joe Barna - #1362
- Pat Farrell - #1245
Not a single defensive starter in the Ohio State game ranked inside the top 1000 in their respective recruiting class. How do you expect to compete with a team full of four- and five-star players when Illinois can’t even get a top 1000 player, let alone a four-star talent on defense?
You can’t blame injuries for the Illinois football defensive issues
Illinois has a laundry list of injuries right now. What is crazy is that most of them are on the offensive side of the ball.
A total of 15 players were out against Ohio State, and only four of those players were on defense. None of the four players would likely see snaps either.
There is no scapegoat. Illinois’ defense is failing at all angles. You have a defensive coordinator who is likely in way over his head. Hauck isn’t the biggest problem, though.
You could have prime Buddy Ryan as our defensive coordinator, and he couldn’t make things work. Illinois just doesn’t have the talent on defense to compete in the Big Ten. We have a defense that would be solid in the MAC, and that is unacceptable.
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