College Football

Illinois Football: 4 Takeaways From the North Carolina Game

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:50 p.m. ET

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Sep 3, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; Football fans wearing shirts with a message honoring new Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith enjoy activities in Grange Grove before the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Murray State Racers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

Most of the Illinois football team played well on Saturday night, but they couldn’t finish out the game with the result we all wanted.

The Illinois Fighting Illini fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels over the weekend in what was a depressing game for most fans.

North Carolina really exposed some major flaws in the entire team.  From special teams to defense and everywhere in between, there are some things the Illini need to fix.

I was really impressed with the rush defense for the Illini.  They held Elijah Hood to under 100-yards on the ground, which is a much better result than last year’s game.

Running backs Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Kendrick Foster did their thing.  They both combined for 170 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Illinois fans also had the privilege of witnessing center Joe Spencer pick up one of the fumbles and dust it off for a 14-yard gain.

This was honestly the highlight of the second half for the Illini.  Lunt fumbling the ball and a big man like Spencer picking it up and actually moving pretty fast was a great sight to see.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Spencer put in as a goal-line running back a la William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry.

There were some things I noticed in this game against North Carolina, though.  Here are 4 takeaways from the game on Saturday.

Oct 10, 2015; Iowa City, IA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Wes Lunt (12) hands the ball of to running back Ke

1) Stick to the Running Backs

Illinois started the game running the ball and running it well.  They were impressive early on with starting running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn going for a 65-yard touchdown just over a minute into the game.

The next touchdown for the Illini came toward the end of the first quarter with Kendrick Foster catching a 15-yard pass from Wes Lunt for a score.

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Foster gave the Illini a 14-7 lead over North Carolina.  Illinois then kept the came close and was only down 24-16 at halftime.

This was a solid first half, but the Illini abandoned the running backs in the second half.

Vaughn had 11 carries for 111 yards in the first half of the game on Saturday night.  He was doing well but then, despite the game being close, the Illini only gave him the ball 4 times in the second half.

I am not sure why Vaughn didn’t receive more carries in the second half.  It could have been because of a personal foul penalty toward the sidelines, but I don’t think that is a good excuse.

Illinois needed to control the ball more in this game and using the running game would have accomplished that goal.

Nov 28, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Wes Lunt (12) passes the ball during the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

2) Wes Lunt’s Struggles Continue

I feel like over the last three years I have protected quarterback Wes Lunt from any real blame for the Illini fall from grace.

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But, in the middle of the North Carolina game, I realized something.  Lunt needs some blame here.  He just wasn’t getting it done and it was an ugly performance in a big-time game.

Do I think that Lunt has the ability to be a good quarterback?  Yes, I honestly do believe he has the tools to perform well but it just isn’t happening.

Lunt won’t throw multiple picks per game.  Right now he is a game manager of sorts.  But, Illinois does not have a good enough defense yet for that to happen.

There were way too many balls thrown into the ground against the Tar Heels.  He couldn’t nail a wide open wide receiver and that is a problem.

Lunt also fumbled a few snaps that were key points in the game.  This is actively hurting the team and that is not what we need either.

At one point in the game on Saturday I was thinking; is this Rex Grossman out here?  I felt like I was watching a good defense get hurt by a bad offense.

There are still quite a few games left for Lunt to turn it around, but clearly, his struggles continue and were amplified by the fact that the Illini didn’t play bad as a team on Saturday.

Sep 3, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Samuel Harlib (82) and Illinois Fighting Illini offensive lineman Joe Spencer (71) celebrate with head coach Lovie Smith after the game against the Murray State Racers at Memorial Stadium. Illinois defeated Murray State 52 to 3. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

3) Fans Are Buying Into the Lovie Era

Win or lose, there was one fact on Saturday that no one could deny.  The Illini faithful believe in the Lovie Smith era.

As I stood there people watching before the game kicked off, I thought wow there are a lot of fans here today.  Then on the jumbotron, it showed that the game had sold out.

There were over 60,000 fans attending this game against the North Carolina Tar Heels, which is the first sell out since 2011.

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If there was a different coach at the helm, like Bill Cubit or Tim Beckman, there is no way that this game is sold out.

All fans want is hope and a bright future.  That is what Lovie brings to the table because he has the ability to coach and he is a big name from the NFL.

Illinois fans believe in what is going on with the program and it showed on Saturday with the stadium being sold out.

Sep 10, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot (91) and defensive lineman Carroll Phillips (6) tackle North Carolina Tar Heels running back Elijah Hood (34) in the endzone for a safety during the 2nd quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

4) The Defense Isn’t That Bad

Heading into 2016 there were many people bashing on the defense side of the ball for the Illini.  Most of that blame was toward the defensive backs.

But, on Saturday I realized that Illinois really isn’t bad on defense.  They are actually quite good.

Yes, the final score of the game was 48-23 and that is a lot of points to give up, but you have to take the touchdowns into context.

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North Carolina made the score 14-10 with a field goal.  This drive started at the Illinois 28-yard line and the Tar Heels had a total of -4 yards that drive.

The next Illinois drive, Lunt fumbled on the Illinois 19 and North Carolina recovered.  They then scored a touchdown but it was only a 19-yard drive.

Illinois’ defense then scored two points with a safety before half-time.

The defense played behind the eight ball the entire night.  The offense turned the ball over and the special teams let the Tar Heels start close to midfield almost the entire night.

The Illini have a good defense and now the rest of the team needs to catch up.

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