How did it come to duck-and-cover time at Illinois?
October 1, 2009 8:38 AM
The X-factor was turnovers -- Illinois was 0-6 when it finished in the red in turnover margin (excluding a win over I-AA Eastern Illinois), and dropped 2-15 when losing the TO margin from 2006-08. On the other hand, it was 7-0 when winning the giveaway/takeaway battle the last two years, and 3-1 when coming out even. If the now-veteran lineup could correct those handful of plays per game, there was no reason this team couldn't make another dark-horse run a the Big Ten title; at the very least, the offense was there.
That assumption took a major blow against Missouri, and died an agonizing death last week in Columbus. These letdowns had nothing to do with turnovers or missed opportunities: The Illini did give the ball away (-2 against Mizzou, -1 against OSU with three fumbles that didn't go for turnovers), but would have required a truckload of turnovers in their favor to overcome the yawning gaps in overall production (they were outgained by more than 100 total yards in each game, and by more than a yard-and-a-half every time the ball was snapped) that led to the humiliations on the scoreboard.
Dr. Saturday
That assumption took a major blow against Missouri, and died an agonizing death last week in Columbus. These letdowns had nothing to do with turnovers or missed opportunities: The Illini did give the ball away (-2 against Mizzou, -1 against OSU with three fumbles that didn't go for turnovers), but would have required a truckload of turnovers in their favor to overcome the yawning gaps in overall production (they were outgained by more than 100 total yards in each game, and by more than a yard-and-a-half every time the ball was snapped) that led to the humiliations on the scoreboard.
Dr. Saturday
Filed under: Illini Football
