Ad Disclosure
In Week 0, Illinois cornerback CJ Hart suffered a season-ending injury. In Week 1, defensive lineman Keith Randolph got hurt.
For an Illinois defense that already had question marks, those losses hurt even more — as evidenced by Saturday’s showing against Virginia.
UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong cut through the Illini defense like a hot knife cuts through butter. He made it look too easy as he threw for 405 yards and 5 TDs, both career-highs. Oh, he also caught a pass on a fun trick play for 10 yards. He quite literally did it all.
Overall, Illinois allowed 556 yards. That’s, um, not good.
The injuries are the last things Illini coach Bret Bielema and defensive coordinator Ryan Walters wanted to see for this defense, which was the worst in the B1G last year under Lovie Smith. The Illini allowed 467 yards and 34.9 points per game in 2020.
That was the defense we saw Saturday afternoon: 556 total yards, 42 points allowed. It wasn’t at all how fans expected Illinois to bounce back after last week’s 37-30 upset loss to UTSA in Champaign.
We saw the frustration boil over in the fourth quarter of the 42-14 loss when the Illinois D received multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. It was that type of game — and, from the looks of the last 2 games, it’ll be that type of season.
There were bright spots for the Illini, though, as they forced a fumble and picked off Armstrong once. But the offense couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities, which is another reason why Virginia won so handily.
Quarterback Art Sitkowski, who was starting in place of Brandon Peters for the 2nd straight week, wasn’t as sharp as he was in the first couple games. He went 24-for-45 for 221 yards and a touchdown, which isn’t bad from a numbers perspective. But if the defense is struggling, it puts more pressure on the QB.
Look, this year wasn’t supposed to be win-or-bust. It’s the first year of Bielema’s program overhaul, so there will be bumps in the road. But you read about that already.
How bad will it be, though? It depends on how the defense responds after these last couple games.
B1G play restarts next week, and Illinois will face a Maryland team led by Taulia Tagovailoa at quarterback. If Brennan Armstrong can torch the Illini defense, imagine what Tagovailoa can do.
Tagovailoa put on a show in Week 1 against West Virginia, throwing for 332 yards and 3 TDs as the Terps beat the Mountaineers 30-24. Considering Armstrong reached 400 yards with 10 minutes left in the game, Tagovailoa could be a really tough matchup for this Illini defense.
But he’s not the only talented quarterback Illinois will face in B1G play this year. Sean Clifford, Graham Mertz and Spencer Petras all lie ahead for Bielema’s group. The defense absolutely has to shore up if Illinois wants to be bowl-eligible.
Illini fans had reasons for optimism after a season-opening win over B1G foe Nebraska in Week 0 at Memorial Stadium. The loss to UTSA took the wind out of the sails. After Saturday, it’s hard to find a breeze.
There’s at least some hope for the Illini going forward, though. Randolph traveled with the team to Virginia, although he didn’t dress. Still, he’s not expected to be out for the season, and his return would be huge for Illinois. The pass rush was virtually nonexistent against Virginia, which is why Armstrong had so much time to do so much work in the air.
Hart has been confirmed to be out for the season, which is a huge loss considering how he started the season. But getting Randolph back would make at least a little bit of a difference for an Illinois defense that doesn’t have much depth behind its starters.
In the meantime, the Illinois defense has to focus on locking down, pressuring the quarterback and, probably most importantly, cutting down on the penalties. The frustration was — understandably — mounting in that fourth quarter, but you can’t have flag after flag get thrown.
Bielema addressed that postgame, saying the penalties were “completely unacceptable” and they “can’t have” those reactions late in games.
Things have to change fast if Bielema wants to turn things around in Year 1.
Nick Schultz is a columnist and breaking news writer for Saturday Tradition. A 2020 graduate of Loyola Chicago, he covered the Ramblers' 2018 Final Four run from beginning to end and has worked at NBC Sports Chicago. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickSchultz_7.