Illini talk the talk, but loss proves they are still “little brother.” Ryan,
Illinois talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk in rivalry loss to Northwestern
After losing for a fifth straight time to Northwestern and Pat Fitzgerald, Illinois coach Lovie Smith was asked about his counterpart’s overall success.
Coaches are used to praising each other even when they don’t mean it and even when it’s not warranted. And yes, even after a loss.
Presumably smarting froma 28-10 loss to No. 14Northwestern on Saturday at Ryan Field in Evanston, Smith refused to say a kind word about his Big Ten colleague.
“I can talk about what we do,” Smith said instead. “What we didn’t do today is what I can talk on a little bit. Couldn’t stop the run, didn’t tackle well, need to score more points on the offensive side.” Those facts are indisputable.
But what Smith didn’t want to talk about was anything contributing to the inevitable comparison between the programs and coaches. The non-answer was Smith bristling at a lack of progress in Champaign, while Northwestern (6-1) has managed to appear in two conference championship games in three years— even bouncing back from a disastrous 3-9 season in 2019 to return for a Big Ten title game showdown against Ohio State nextweekend.
Smith didn’t need to say anything about Fitzgerald for Big Ten followers to see the programs have been trending in opposite directions, preceding Smith’s time at Illinois.
But after last season’s bowl-game appearance, Illinois’ first since 2014, the Illini justifiably felt they were moving in a positive direction. Illinois has recruited better and has more depth and experience than it had in Smith’s first four seasons. Year 5was supposed to be The Year.
Illini players and coaches felt so confident about their potential that when the Big Ten initially voted to postpone its season until the spring, they bemoaned how they wouldn’t get the chance to shock the conference with their progress.
But Illinois (2-5) is in a familiar place. No matter the result of nextweek’s to-be-determined cross-division game, Illinois will not finish with a winning Big Ten record, a streak dating to 2007. Smith is 17-39 overall and 10-33 in the Big Ten, making this the program’s ninth straight season without a winning overall record.
Smith’s rebuild looked as if itwas turning a corner in 2019 with a 6-7 record and an appearance in the Red Box Bowl, even though the season ended with three straight losses. Wins against Wisconsin and Michigan State made skeptics reconsider.
Earlier thisweek, Smith said he recognized “gains” in the program. After Saturday’s loss, in which Northwestern steamrolled Illinois with 411 rushing yards, he said: “We’ve had signs we can be a good football team. We saw signs today.” Those are difficult to spot. Instead of taking a step forward this season, Illinois fell into a sinkhole.
“From injuries to us just not playing well, we haven’t gotten into a good flow,” Smith said.
It’s true Illinois has struggled with a limited roster.
“We’re pretty banged up, as you can see,” Smith said. “The guys we put out there did their best. Wasn’t good enough today.”
The Illini were short seven defensive starters against Northwestern, and Derrick Smith was ejected during the game for targeting. Senior defensive back Tony Adams sat out after testing positive for COVID-19, and contact tracing sidelined senior defensive back Nate Hobbs.
Junior defensive back/ linebacker Delano Ware chose to leave the team thisweek.
Earlier in the season, quarterback Brandon Peters missed three games with COVID-19, and several otherswere out because of contact tracing.
But that’s 2020 football— the resulting of playing during a pandemic.
Minnesota was without 33 players Saturday, and while it’s valid to question whether the Gophers should have played, they managed to beat Nebraska.
“All teams have next-man-up (mentality), but you can run out, as we’re seeing,” Smith said. “You can only go so deep until you see it. It affected us an awful lot today. Nobody wants to hear that, but that’s reality.”
Whether athletic director Josh Whitman decides to provide Smith with another season, noting an increase in talent and the unusual circumstances of the season.
Smith said he hopes a win nextweek would indicate progress.
“We have a chance to finish a lot better,” he said. “Itwould be a big step for us to finish it off the rightway.”
It still might not look like enough for a growing legion of frustrated fans.
Northwestern won its sixth straight against the Illini to keep the Land of Lincoln Trophy in Evanston, controlling the game with their running attack and stout defense.
Illinois still hasn’t figured out what’s the best course of action at quarterback. It eventually turned to Isaiah Williams, who went 4-for-8 for 86 yards and a touchdown and added 38 rushing yards after replacing Peters, supposedly the team’s better passer.
In rainy conditions, Peters completed 3 of 14 throws for a mere 21 yards.
Lastweek Illinois gave up 35 unanswered points in a loss to Iowa. The Wildcats outscored Illinois 28-0 in the second and third quarters.
Illinois’ hobbled defense allowed Northwestern to rush for 7.1 yards per carry, significantly better than its 3.9 average through six games. Last season, despite being banged up, the Wildcats rushed for 378 yards in a 29-10 victory against the Illini.
That game should have been a recent memory for Illinois. But Illini linebacker Milo Eifler referred to Northwestern as the “little brother,” which didn’t sitwell in Evanston.
“Thatwas not taken very kindly in our locker room,” Fitzgerald said.
The Wildcats had the edge no matter any trash-talking. And they enjoyed having the lastword.
“It is what it is,” Fitzgerald added before referring the rivalry trophy. “The hat stays in Evanston.”
The most resounding statements were made on the field.