Coming off of a big 42-23 win at home against UAB (0-1), Illinois’ (1-0) is now preparing for its next challenge. The reigning ACC champion Duke Blue Devils (1-0).
Duke comes into this game off of a low-scoring 17-3 victory against Tulane (0-1) in which the defense really showed out.
Last week’s win ended in a somewhat lopsided victory, but there were still some gaping flaws that the Illini will need to address if they want to extend their win streak to two. These flaws coincide with what Duke was
able to showcase last week.
“Lot of positives, but always in that first game, there’s a lot of things you go back to,” Head coach Bret Bielema said. “As a head coach, I know there’s a lot of things that I could have done better during the course of the week to get us ready.”
These are three keys that could lead to a successful game at Gies Memorial on Saturday.
Make the tackle and shut down Sheppard
The biggest issue for the Illini last game was their inability to secure tackles which led to a dominant game on the ground for UAB. Bielema admits his team wasn’t as prepared as they should’ve been on that front, but thinks they handled it well for it being the first game.
“I knew that tackling was going to be a little bit of an issue, just who we were playing, what we’re doing and how we were going to play that game,” Bielema said. “First games are always a hard prep but I thought our guys handled it very well.”
If you were to just look at time of possession, you probably wouldn’t believe the final score.
UAB had control of the ball for over 41 minutes while Illinois was just under 19. While some of it had to do with some great special teams plays from the Illini, a lot of it was the UAB backs.
“I have never been in a game where we had such a discrepancy between offensive and defensive rep count,” Bielema said. “We had less than 45 plays on offense and we had 85 plays on defense.”
Three UAB RBs had over 12 carries and two carried for 55 yards or more. The story of Duke’s previous victory was RB Nate Sheppard who had a career game, running for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Illinois’ defensive line can not allow him to get going, or else they could be in for another long game.
Leaning on the RB tandem, Valentine stepping up
Against UAB, Calil Valentine showed off his explosiveness and turned it into a very productive outing. He led all rushers with 88 yards, and showed off his wheels with a 51 yard explosion leading to a TD.
“It actually feels good being able to open my stride again cause I haven’t done that (since) high school … I was running track and doing it on the field,” Valentine said.
Aiden Laugherty, on the other hand, had a more quiet game. That being said, he showed effectiveness as a power back in rushes up the middle. His inside-out dynamic with Valentine could prove effective against a strong Duke defense, and Bielema seems to trust their versatility.
“I think just being able to be versatile in both areas. Being able to catch the ball in the back field, block for our quarterback,” Valentine said. “(Bielema) builds a lot more confidence in us to go out there and display our best abilities on the field.”
Sold out crowd building the Illini culture
Saturday’s game is officially sold out. As fan’s excitement over this program grows by the week, so does the culture in the locker room. Throw in a brand new video board, and you get an intense atmosphere at Gies Memorial.
“A lot of people did comment about the atmosphere, about the scoreboard, the game … our student section was absolutely awesome,” Bielema said. “I just think the overall vibe and the power of having success has continued to grow.”
Illinois will play to the sold out crowd this Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
