Saturday night, the non-conference part of Illinois’ schedule came to an end. The Illini made it a perfect 3-0 at Gies Memorial Stadium, defeating Western Michigan 38-0. They have won every game by an average of 37 points. However, the scores do not tell the tale. In the last two games at Duke and against WMU, it felt like the Illini lacked energy and urgency.
Against Duke on the road, they appeared shocked at the aggressiveness displayed by the Blue Devils. If not for a muffed punt in the first half, Illinois might have trailed at halftime. An early penalty and another muffed punt allowed Illinois to pull away in the second half. Now, I do think Duke is an underrated program, but not that much.
This past weekend, against WMU, the Illini offense seemed to have no fire and no urgency. The defense played well, but also appeared to have no enthusiasm. They had no takeaways after getting five the week before at Duke. Here again, if not for a missed field goal and an unsuccessful fourth and goal from the three, it could have been a much different game at the half. In both games, adjustments were made, and the Illini took charge. Now, while that works against Duke and WMU, how will that play against Indiana, Ohio State, USC, and Washington? Illinois plays those four teams in the first 5 Big Ten games.
Many people were skeptical of the makeup of the D-Line. The three transfers, James Thompson, Tomiwa Durojaiye, and Curt Neal, haven’t had the desired impact. They have half of the D-Line’s tackles 16 of 32, 2.25 of the 5.5 TFLs, and only one of the four Sacks. The defense as a whole only has 20 TFLs and 10 Sacks.
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The offense has also been slow to get going since the Western Illinois game, where they scored 31 points in the first half. The O-Line has seemed to be a step or two off in the early stages of the game. it is almost like they are reacting to the defense instead of making the defense respond to them. Now the defense was better against Western Michigan, which was evident on the fourth and goal stance at the end of the first half, but they failed to secure a single takeaway the entire game after getting five vs. Duke.
But now this is where the rubber meets the road. The Illini will most likely be facing three ranked teams in the next four games: Indiana, currently No. 22, USC, currently No. 25, and Ohio State, currently No. 1. Slow starts vs. teams like Western Michigan and even Duke are not detrimental, because they are teams that don’t match up from a talent perspective to this year’s Illinois team. However, that will not be the case from here on out.
Indiana has played a trio of cupcakes so far, outscoring opponents 156-23. QB Fernando Mendoza has thrown for 700 yards with nine TDs. Rushing-wise, they have three backs averaging 60+ yards per game. Defensively, they have 33 TFLs, eight sacks, and four picks. Right now, the Hoosiers are favored by 4.5 points at home.
After that, USC, which can also be a formidable opponent with QB Jayden Maiava, 898 yards and 6 TDs, RB Jordan Waymond averaging 95+ yards rushing. hey also have two other backs averaging 50 yards or more. Defensively, they have 31 TFLs, 14 sacks, and six picks.
They do get a “break” with Purdue before they play Ohio State. The Buckeyes have a very stout offense as well with freshman QB Julian Savin (779 yards, eight TDs) and RB Bo Jackson is averaging 108 yards rushing and five TDs. The defense at a glance is not as tough as Indiana’s and USC’s, but it is a defense that has 17 TFLs, seven sacks, and two picks.
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In the next few games, the Illini will have to eliminate penalties, the D-Line will need to bow its necks, and stiffen up. The offense will also need to move the ball and try to win not only the battle in the trenches but also the time of possession. If the Illini win at Indiana — and I think they can — they do stand a very good chance to be 6-0 when they face Ohio State, but let’s take it one game at a time.
