In a game they absolutely needed to win to stay alive in pursuit of the Big Ten West the Fighting Illini just didn’t have enough horses to seal the deal against the third ranked Wolverines. Despite the disappointment of the loss, one thing that is certain about this Illinois football team is they love their coach, and they will give any team in the nation a full four quarters.
The Illini’s fourth loss of the season was once again by one score. Illinois has lost games by 3, 8, 7, and 2 points this year. A sign that the team is close to being a true force in the Big Ten.
Nonetheless, when they’re that close it is even more painful knowing it is one or two plays that turned the game upside down. Today’s nailbiter proved no different.
Illinois Football – Five Takeaways
(Photo Courtesy of David Guralnick/Detroit News)
1. Is Chase Brown On Your Heisman Watchlist Yet?
The Illinois running back was a cool customer against the top defense in the country. Despite only running for 46 yards in the first half, Brown stayed true to himself and eventually took the game over. Possibly saving his best performance for the biggest stage, the senior back finished the day off with 140 yards on the ground and two touchdowns outdueling the banged up Blake Corum.
If that doesn’t impress you, here is some perspective: Chase Brown is the only running back to rush for over 75 yards against Michigan. The only other back to reach that total would be Hawaii’s Tylan Hines back in September. A banner day for Brown, on a bad wheel nonetheless, that hopefully turned some heads nationally.
Chase Brown is now up to 1,582 yards and nine rushing touchdowns on the year. With two games to play he is still on pace to break Illinois’ single season record set by Mikel Leshoure’s 1,697 yards in 2010. For a running back who has been nominated for nearly every award possible so far, this would be the cherry on top of a remarkable season.
2. Special Teams
As I mentioned in my Michigan preview; the special teams, the punt unit specifically, couldn’t lose the game for Illinois if they were to have a shot. Clearly Hugh Robertson and Co. did not heed my warning.
The punt unit had a strong first half, including an impressive rugby-style punt for 64 yards that pinned Michigan inside their own five yard line. The key was keeping the ball low and out of the whipping winds. That was probably Robertson’s best punt of the year, but had a hard time duplicating that success as the day went on.
In the second half, when the chips were down, Illinois needed to flip the field on three occasions; those punts couldn’t have gone much worse for the group: Two of the punts were downed on the Michigan 48-yard line leading to two field goals, including the eventual game winning kick by Jake Moody. The only punt that traveled more than 30 yards was returned for 40 yards to the Illinois 38-yard line.
In all four of Illinois’ losses the punt team has essentially handed the opposing team the game. It may be harsh, but the reality is the punting situation very well could be the difference between 11-0 and 7-4. The team is simply not deep enough yet to be to overcome free points.
3. Ryan Walters’ Defense Didn’t Hear No Bell
The Broyles Award nominee’s defensive unit arose the challenge on Saturday. After getting punched in the gut early, giving up a quick scoring drive to open up the game the unit turned it on and shut the Michigan offense down for the rest of the game. It would have been so easy to pack it in, but instead they packed a lunch and went to work. After giving up 221 yards in the first half on 33 plays, the Illini bowed their necks in the second half only allowing 155 yards on 41 plays.
For a unit that was down three of their top four corner backs and was up against “110,000 and a few others”, as Coach Bielema would say, they played lights out and controlled the game. After giving up 27ppg in their previous two outings the Illini cleaned things up and smothered the most potent offense they’ve played all year. Michigan is an impressive team boasting an incredible offensive line and stable of running backs and Illinois managed to keep them in check.
Devon Witherspoon was the story of the day for the Illini. There isn’t a single player that is more emblematic of what Illinois Football should look like. The young man is considered to be undersized in almost every way, but with his quick hips and light feet in coverage he is able to attach himself to the hip of receivers.
In the run game he plays like a strong safety/linebacker hybrid delivering the punishment to running backs and receivers that are far more physically imposing than he is. Witherspoon is the heartbeat of the defense and is a coordinator’s dream. Not often you find a corner that can lock up any receiver one on one, yet is willing to stick his nose in run support like he does. He will make an NFL team very happy next season.
4. Heisman Hopeful Blake Corum’s Season In Jeopardy?
After wrecking the Illini defense to the tune of 103 yards on the ground in the first half, the Heisman candidate and NFL prospect, went down after taking a helmet to his left knee. The running back tried to come back into the game and was able to run for a five yard gain on the second play of Michigan’s first drive of the second half, but that was the final snap the junior would play on Saturday.
Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh stated Corum’s knee is “… Structurally good. Which is great news.”. Harbaugh also went on to say that he will go under furth evaluation as the week goes on and that pulling him from the game was precautionary. Prayers up for a speedy recovery.
5. Bret Bielema vs Big Ten Officiating
Another week, another gripe. Big Ten officiating needs to get right. I could talk about this until I’m blue in the face, or a deeper shade of red at least. But the reality of this football team is as good as they are, they can’t withstand these crushing officiating screw-ups in the most crucial moments. It’s never a good time for a ref to mess up, but late in the fourth quarter when you’re hanging on on the road against the number three team in the country feels like a worst case scenario. Just another brutal showing by Big Ten officials, and another game that was seemingly stolen away from the Fighting Illini.
The snapshot below is with 5:55 left in the fourth quarter. Illinois is up 17-13 and it’s 3rd and 8 on the Illinois 40-yd line. A bad snap leads to quarterback JJ McCarthy kneeling down to pick the ball up, by college rules he should have been down at the spot giving Michigan a fourth and long from the 45 or so yard line. Instead, he rolls out and finds Cornelius Johnson for the first down. Michigan would go on to kick a field goal with 3:14 left in the game.
Sent to me by someone watching at home. pic.twitter.com/TA94rktCdf
— Robert Rosenthal (@ALionEye) November 19, 2022
Next up, with 1:00 left in the game Illinois is clinging to a 17-16 lead and it is 4th and 3 on the Illinois 45-yd line. A clear pick play in which the inside receiver never attempts a route and instead starts run blocking five yards down the field as the ball is in the air. An obvious offensive pass interference missed that would have forced a fourth and long situation, pushing Michigan back inside their own territory. Michigan would go on to kick the go-ahead field goal with nine seconds remaining.
To all #ILL players, coaches and especially for our fans…. We will work all week in practice to defend this play especially on 4th down #famILLy https://t.co/bJhpShjbcY
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) November 19, 2022
Coach Bielema was rightfully fired up after the game, and didn’t mince words when asked about his thoughts on the officiating. I imagine the frustration today was a culmination of the past few weeks of swallowed whistles and poor calls made by officials, but also emotions overflowing from the passing of his mother earlier this week. Please take the time to watch Bielema’s full press conference captured by Illini Inquirer’s Joey Wagner. He hits on the poor officiating, the metal of his team, and opens up about the challenges of losing his mom during a very raw moment.
Here it is:
Bret Bielema is “extremely pissed off”
You do not want to miss this post game press conference.
Watch the full video via the YouTube link below. Filmed by @mrwagner25 of @IlliniOn247
👀🔗👉https://t.co/Ib04CfiXon👈 pic.twitter.com/vU48Yxpc1K
— Illinois Football Focus (@IlliniFB) November 19, 2022
Next Up For Illinois Football:
Illinois finishes up their regular season in Evanston against Pat Fitzgerald’s Northwestern Wildcats (1-10). The Wildcats haven’t won since week one’s improbable comeback against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Not to be taken lightly, the Wildcats have lost five of their games by one score including two surprisingly close games against Ohio State and Penn State.
Illinois still has a lot to play for. The difference between seven wins and eight wins could be drastic in terms of what bowl game they’re selected for. Not to mention — ending the regular season on a four game losing streak would virtually kill all momentum created by the program and cloud the strides that have been made this season. End the season right and earn a respectable bowl game.
For More Great Football Content
Follow us on Twitter at @GridironHeroics for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Football news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
