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By the Numbers: How Illinois’ offense eviscerated Minnesota
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There wasn’t a team in the B1G that enjoyed a more explosive offensive performance than Illinois on Saturday. It was a bit surprising and unexpected, but the Illini cruised to a 55-31 win over Minnesota thanks to some huge plays.
A.J. Bush, Reggie Corbin and Ricky Smalling all had big days for the Illini, which improved to 4-5 with the victory over the Gophers. It was also one of the best offensive outings for the program in over a decade.
How did Illinois put up such impressive stats? Here’s a breakdown of Illinois incredible offensive showing on Saturday by the numbers:
646: Total yardage the Illini racked up against Minnesota. That’s the fifth-most in program history and most in a single game since 2007.
430: Yards on the ground. The last time Illinois totaled that many yards on the ground was 2010. Most of the damage was done by Reggie Corbin (213) and A.J. Bush Jr. (127).
343: Offense that Bush was responsible for. He threw for 216 yards and added an 127 more on the ground. He also accounted for four total touchdowns in the win.
72: Completion percentage for Bush. It was the highest he’s posted in 2018.
55: Points scored against Minnesota. It was the highest total in a regulation B1G game for the Illini since 2008. It was the most against any opponent since 2011.
16.4: Yards per carry average for Corbin. Somewhat surprising his average wasn’t a little higher.
12.3: And yards per carry average for the team. Illinois was averaging more than a first down per carry against the Gophers.
9: Total number of third downs Illinois faced all day. That’s insane considering how much the Illini have struggled offensively throughout the year.
4: Number of drives that ended without a score. That’s it. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, the Illini scored on every possession in the second half.
4: Plays that resulted in gains of 60 yards or more. Just a crazy statistic.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB