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Illinois Football: Where Is the Illini Program Now and Into the Future?
There are two big questions the Illinois football team faces after the loss to the Purdue Boilermakers. Where is this program now and where are they heading?
Don’t worry Illini fans, I am worried too. Purdue is not a good football team and to lose to them at home is really gut-wrenching.
The current state of this program seems to be in tatters, but lofty expectations early on really were farfetched.
I understand that I was a part of this optimism balloon that has popped. I was one of those people that thought this season could have been good.
But, this season has clearly fallen off the rails and we are 1-4 looking at another season without a bowl game.
Even though Illinois just lost to Purdue, I don’t think this is code red for this football team. They aren’t where we want them to be right now, but things will turn around.
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The bad that was exposed during the Purdue game has been known for quite some time now. Little discipline when it comes to penalties and a defense that couldn’t stop a high school team.
When you look at the defense, it will take a while to fix this problem. They don’t have the personnel to have a good defense right now and we might have to rely on the offense to win games for the next couple years.
But, I see a lot of promise with some of the offensive players.
This Purdue loss really showed Illini Nation what Chayce Crouch could do at quarterback. The play calling was perfect for him and he did great.
The running backs for the Illini were also great as well. The trio that consists of Reggie Corbin, Kendrick Foster and Ke’Shawn Vaughn rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown.
Malik Turner was the Illinois leading wide receiver against Purdue. He caught 9 passes for 129 yards and will be a superstar for the rest of the season.
But, the best part about the entire offense is that every player that I named has the ability to be back next season.
This talented group of offensive players will enable Lovie Smith and the rest of the coaching staff to focus on building the defense this season and next year as well.
So, as far as an assessment of where the Illini are right now is not a good place. They don’t have a defense but their offense is really making strides for the better.
My assessment for the future is pretty bright for the offense. All of the impact players from this season should be back next year.
And with the offense set for next season, that enables Lovie to continue working on and building the defense. So, the defense will be a work in progress for a few years but will continue to improve.
Step one is to show progress this season and step two is to become bowl eligible next season. These are manageable expectations and I think with this squad and coaching staff, they can achieve these goals.
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