The Illinois Fighting Illini find themselves back in the driver seat of the 2022 football season after a much-needed bye-week this past weekend. Though that does stink for those Orange and Blue-blooded Illinois fans who are ready to watch their team take the field, it provides a fantastic opportunity for this Illinois staff and team to evaluate their first 3 matchups.
Illinois enters week 4 for the Fighting Illini a 2-1 team, that has faced some potholes a long the way, but have shown big signs of improvement from where they were at this point last season, to where they find themselves today. Illinois is coming off off of a 24-3 win over ACC rival Virginia, who clobbered Illinois last season. This, a nice measuring stick, that you have taken a good step forward.
Bret Bielema and his Illini enter week 4 in excitement, over a great opportunity to clean up the mistakes evaluated from weeks 1-3 against FCS opponent Chattanooga. Head Coach Rusty Wright bring his Mocs to Champaign an undefeated 3-0, with wins over Wofford University, Eastern Illinois University, and North Alabama University. Wright is entering his 4th year leading Chattanooga football, where he holds an overall record of 15-13.
Chattanooga Breakdown
The Chattanooga offense is lead by quarterback Preston Hutchinson, a Grad transfer from Eastern Michigan University, who has proven himself thus far as the Mocs starter, after starting nine games last season for the Eagles before departing from the program. In his most recent matchup against North Alabama University, Hutchinson racked up over 330 yards of total passing yards for the Mocs, with 3 touchdowns. Not only can He do it through the air, but he also ran for 2 touchdowns as well. What it will come down to for Illinois, is just being much better physically, and mentally after facing a higher level of competition. It will be imperative that Illinois defensive line put pressure on Hutchinson and keep him uncomfortable, because if left alone, the kid can dangerous.
Hutchinson was not only able to find three touchdowns through the air, but ball distribution was also no problem for Preston, as 7 different receivers found themselves with more than 20 yards receiving after last week’s match up versus North Alabama. The current leading receiver for this unit is Sam Phillips, who found himself with 96 yards receiving on 5 catches last week.
In my opinion, the true player to watch for Chattanooga to have any chance of beating Illinois, rests in the hands of 5-foot 9 Power Back Ailym Ford, who is the star thus far of the Mocs offense. He currently sits at 229 yards rushing on this season along with 4 touchdowns. If Chattanooga can establish a strong run game, they will have a fighting chance to put up some points against Illinois. As we know, Illinois has a fantastic secondary, and is most likely not going to let much by over the top. The question will be, will that power show the same gusto against an Illinois defensive front who has been malicious in their first three outings. You would expect that if Johnny Newton, and Keith Randolph can create absolute havoc in the middle, it’s going to be a long night for Chattanooga.
Keys to Winning
Control the controllable. We currently sit three games into the season. Of course, there are still a few questions about Illinois football that we have to answer, but there are a few things we can definitely take away about this Illinois team. They are really good on defense, the Illinois secondary is complete lockdown, the Illinois offense while flawed, has taken a big step forward. You have taken a step forward as a team, and as a program, you should have no problem maintaining those promising attributes, and taking care of business against an FCS opponent. Even though once again, this is not a team to take lightly, Illinois has a more talented roster, and should win this game.
Ball Security. My one fear of this game is that Illinois will continue the one trend that has allowed teams like Virginia and Indiana hang around and even beat you, and that’s turnovers. You put the ball in the ground a lot this season, and even though against a team like Virginia it did not cause repercussions, but the Indiana game should have been a big indicator of how detrimental turnovers can be for a team on the rise, scratching for a bowl bid. Though I know it is something that has been worked on profusely by the Illinois offense, it’s something that must stop if Illinois wants to go bowling.
Score. Chattanooga has one of the most well-respected defenses in the FCS, which will give Illinois a nice test for the Illinois office, who has struggled to find rhythm in the red zone. Illinois offense ahas no problem moving the ball, but scoring is how you win. Illinois must take advantage of working their craft against a good defense, who you should outmatch them Mocs at every position. I would love to see Illinois punch the ball in the end-zone in a variety of different ways this week, hopefully giving them some good reps inside the red zone.
Kirkland’s Prediction
I think Illinois is going to look to take advantage of the opportunity to score a lot in the red zone and get that mojo flowing where it counts. I’ll predict Illinois to handle this one 37-9 and go into a big Wisconsin week 3-1. Exciting times ahead for Bret Bielema and his crew.
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