You would be hard-pressed to find a person who thought the Illinois football program was going to beat Oregon.
The Ducks didn’t have a few starters, including quarterback Dante Moore, but they are deep and have plenty of talent. Way more talent, on paper, than Illinois.
Even Oregon’s backup quarterback, Dylan Raiola, had two full years starting at Nebraska before transferring to Eugene and taking the bag.
That same Oregon offense put up 41 points on USC four weeks ago, and they have playmakers at nearly every position. I don’t think a sub-four-star player touched the ball for the Ducks. All of that talent was going up against an Illinois defense that was giving up 31.4 points per game, which ranked No. 110 out of 136 FBS programs.
The result? Illinois coached circles around the Oregon Ducks. Bret Bielema explained the improvements in the postgame press conference.
“Defensively, we made some improvements. Roger Cooper, Archie (McDaniel) were the two guys I put in charge of making those calls, making those decisions.”
With Raiola entering the game as the starter, there wasn’t much tape on him at Oregon just yet. This reared its ugly head on the first drive of the game.
Oregon shoved the ball down Illinois’ throat to the tune of 11 plays and 75 yards. This opening-drive touchdown was a worry, but the Illini coaching staff didn’t flinch.
“We didn’t really know what they were going to do offensively just because they have rotated so many quarterbacks through. He’s really become gameplan specific. So, that first drive, they were doing some stuff out of empty, motion the back in, and I thought our coaches did a really nice job of adjusting.”
Bielema continued to elaborate on what he saw with the Oregon offense and how to combat it.
“During preparation, I made the defensive staff watch with me the empty. So, they have done a lot of empty. They do an empty version in every game they play, but in each week, you saw them do something different, but they stayed within it in the course of the whole game. I said, hey let’s get a beat on what they are doing empty in that first quarter, and let’s make our adjustments.”
Defense has been the biggest bugaboo for the Illinois football program this season. Ranking sub-100 in points allowed is always a gut punch.
That is why Illinois parted ways with Bobby Hauck. Something had to change because the Illini were a sinking ship. Bielema tabbed inside linebackers coach Roger Cooper as the play caller on defense, starting with the Michigan State game.
While there were some bumps and bruises in that contest, Illinois managed to get the win. A bye week ensued, and then the Illini came out and gave up 10 points to Oregon. The coaching job by Cooper and the defensive side was impressive.
Illinois’ offense also faced a monumental challenge. In that Michigan State win, our starting quarterback, Katin Houser, got hurt. The only options for the Illini were freshmen.
Michael Clayton II stepped up and got the win over the Spartans. He got the start on Saturday against the Ducks and played some quality, efficient football. Offensive coordinator Barry Lunney got some love from Bielema as well.
“Barry Lunney, to get two quarterbacks who haven’t played a lot of football to buy in. I thought Barry rolling those guys (Michael Clayton II and Carson Boyd) through that first drive of the second was just poetry in motion.”
Bielema knew the battle that was at hand. Oregon had a ton of talent, and he also respects Lanning and what he does on the football field.
“Dan (Lanning) is a guy that I greatly admire and respect, and he analytically, plays the game as good as anybody I have been around. I knew that was going to be a challenge, but it was a really good game within the game.”
Oregon got too smart, and didn’t go to the well against the Illinois football program
It isn’t that hard to see what is working and what isn’t working against the Illinois defense. I give the Illini a ton of credit for holding Oregon to 10 points.
I will say, I think the Ducks had a lot to do with scoring only 10 points. Their coaching staff, for some reason, kept going to Raiola.
Throwing 41 passes is a wild number. They let Raiola drop back, but nearly all of his passes were short routes or in the flat. Lanning didn’t trust him throwing the ball down the field.
Meanwhile, the Ducks had two running backs combine for 27 carries for 175 yards and a touchdown. They also had a third running back go for two carries for 11 yards.
For those counting at home, Oregon’s three running backs averaged 6.6, 6.4, and 5.5 yards per carry. Lanning didn’t go to the well nearly enough. All Oregon had to do was pound the rock. Why did Raiola have over 20 attempts, let alone 41?
Michigan State did the same thing. Why are we trying to be the smartest coach in the room? Sometimes you just have to play to your strengths. Illinois knew this, and that is why Bielema and the Illini coaching staff coached circles around Lanning on Saturday.
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