SPORTS  |  LIFESTYLE  |  ATTITUDE  |  AUTHENTIC
YDKJ
  • HOME
  • About
  • Contact
  • Photos

College Football  |  5 takeaways from Illini's 44-0 victory over W. Illinois

9/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
1. Illinois completes the (initial) cupcake portion of its schedule 2-0, and QB Wes Lunt already has attempted 65 passes in 2015? Umm, coaches Cubit, Bill and Ryan, you might want to try working on the running game a little bit. The Illini only managed 58 yards on 20 carries in the first half Saturday, which is, well, pretty sad. No complaints on Lunt’s performance, but, then, no one really expected there to be any. Through Week 2, he’s now thrown for 478 yards and 5 TDs while completing 67 percent of his passing attempts. He’s good. We know that. Thing is, if the Orange & Blue are going to succeed this season, they’re going to have to be able to two things in the Big Ten: be able to run the ball, or be able to stop the opposition from running it. The initial part, they clearly need to improve.

2. Maybe it’s time the Illini made senior Josh Ferguson a situational back. He takes too many big hits for a guy his size to be the feature ballcarrier, especially when the team has a couple of rock-solid newcomers in Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Henry Enyenihi in the fold. Ferguson is too valuable, too explosive and, frankly, too small to be put in the line of fire so much. Sure, start him if you must for that initial spark, but then get him out and spot him the rest of the way. He’s arguably the best receiver on the team, too, so he doesn’t have to be reinserted at RB. He could slide outside a lot.

3. Still not sure if Geronimo Allison is a potential star or just a tease. He’s played well thus far. In fact, he was exceptional against the Leathernecks, hauling in 8 aerials from Lunt for 124 yards. For the season, he has 10 catches for 181 yards and a score. Thing is, he’s shown this before and then kinda faded into the background, probably a bit more than you’d accept from a No. 1 WR. Granted, Mikey Dudek’s fantastic freshman season probably cut into G-Mo’s output in 2014. So, maybe he really is the real deal. Standing 6-4 with good hands and speed, he certainly has the attributes to be.

4. Though it wasn’t quite as dominate after intermission, the Illini D impressed all afternoon on Saturday before a sparse, but not ridiculously sparse, Memorial Stadium crowd. All told, it surrendered just 141 yards of total offense, with only 45 of it coming in the first half. Taylor Barton, apparently, hasn’t been affected by the switch to SS, either, as he recorded his second and third INTs of the young season. About the only area of concern is that the Illini are not getting to opposing QB, which just 1 sack total in 2 games.

5. Criticism, pro or con, legit or not, aside, there is no denying one thing: despite the upheaval a week before the season started, the Illini have come ready to play right out of the chute under interim head coach Bill Cubit. It also is apparent Tim Beckman was not the failure on the recruiting front that many claimed him to be as the fruits of his labor there are being realized, albeit enjoyed by others. Cubit is a likeable, old-school kinda guy who may be proving he’s the right man for the permanent job in short order.

- Jack Kerwin  | 
[email protected]

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    NFL
    MLB
    NBA
    NHL
    NCAAFB
    ​NCAABB
    Eagles
    Phillies
    76ers
    Flyers
    Temple
    Villanova
    La Salle
    ​Saint Joe's
    ​Penn State

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Best of 2018

    Picture

    Best of 2017

    Picture

    Best of 2016

    Picture

    Best of 2015

    Picture

    RSS Feed

Picture
Your source for insight ... or insanity

GET TO KNOW YDKJ

ABOUT    |    CONTACT   |    BLOG    |    PRIVACY POLICY

​© COPYRIGHT 2018   YDKJ   |   Terms & Conditions
Picture