Defense breathes life into Illinois

More than anything, I'm attracted to the confidence we've seen from this new-look defense. There's no understating Koenning's role in this shift in mentality. His players believe, it seems, that they can line up with any offense on their schedule; the defense has come a long way. Altogether, Illinois left Saturday ranked 21st nationally in scoring defense, allowing 17.0 points per game; 20th nationally in total defense, allowing 304. 8 yards per game; and within the top 37 nationally against both the run and the pass.

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