FOUR THINGS TO WATCH
The loss to Michigan ended any talk of UW making a run at the College Football Playoff. The UW players said all the right things this week, noting the loss wouldn’t affect their drive to win the Big Ten West Division title. It is human nature, however, to sag a bit after such a loss. Watch how hard and physical UW plays early . That will be a good indicator of how well the players prepared. “We don’t want to hang our heads just because we lost two games,” wide receiver Kendric Pryor said. “We went undefeated until the Big Ten (title) game last year so it is weird that we’ve lost two games. We still want to win every game. We’re not going to mope through the rest of the season ... we’ve still got half a season left to play.”
Illinois quarterback AJ Bush Jr. generally won’t burn teams with his arm. He has completed a modest 54.8% of his passes (40 of 73) for 482 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Bush is most dangerous running the zone read or scrambling after a play breaks down. Tailbacks Reggie Corbin (7.4-yard average) and Mike Epstein (6.8) and Bush (4.4) have combined for 1,163 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. UW defenders must stick to their assignments or they’ll get burned for long runs.
During the week the UW coaches and players during saluted how hard members of the Illinois defense compete play after play. Yet, the numbers reveal the Illini are struggling to contain opponents on the ground or through the air. Illinois is last in the Big Ten in total defense, allowing an average of 504.7 yards per game. The Illini no doubt will sell out to slow tailback Jonathan Taylor and test UW’s passing game. UW still might be able to find creases in a unit that is allowing 199.5 rushing yards per game, and playaction passes should be effective.
UW entered the Michigan game with three sacks in five games. The Badgers recorded three sacks against the Wolverines and with outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (ankle) getting healthier could be on the verge of a breakout. It won’t hurt that Illinois has allowed 17 sacks in six games, most in the Big Ten.
ON FIRE OR FLAT?
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UW OFFENSE SHOULD THRIVE:
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