Category: Wisconsin

With the Big Ten season finally about to get going, what are the keys to every team’s offense? What does each team have to work on?

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Big Ten Preview: Keys To Every Offense
Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan
Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern
Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

Biggest Key To The Illinois Fighting Illini Offense

Establish the run again. The 2018 Illinois running game worked. It came up with over 2,900 yards, averaged close to six yards per carry, and it found a groove from the start with 200 yards or more in nine of the first ten games.

That was the only time in the last eight years that the program ran for 1,900 yards or more.

The 1,874 yards Illinois ran for last season were the second-most in a season since 2011, but it was still ugly. There were four 200-yard rushing days – the Illini won three of them – with the shootout loss to Nebraska the only time the ground game averaged over five yards per pop.

The offensive line is better, but the running backs have to emerge in a hurry. Statistically, the pass protection has to be there, too, with the numbers depending a bit on who takes the quarterback gig.

– Big Ten Preview Keys To Every Team: Defense

Biggest Key To The Indiana Hoosiers Offense

It was this simple for the Hoosiers, at least last year – run well, win football games. Being able to run for any relatively arbitrary number wouldn’t have mattered in losses to Ohio State and Michigan, but IU was 8-0 last season when it ran for 100 yards, and 0-5 when it didn’t.

How much does 100 rushing yards matter to the Hoosiers? November 3rd, 2012. That was the last time they won when going under the mark, beating Iowa 24-21. They’re 0-23 since then when the ground game doesn’t hit triple-digits.

For a team that finished seventh in the nation in time of possession, run well, rely on your accurate passer to move the chains, control the tempo.

Big Ten Preview: Keys To Every Offense
Iowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State
Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio State
Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

NEXT: Iowa Hawkeyes, Maryland Terrapins

With the Big Ten season finally about to get going, what are the keys to every team’s defense? What does each team have to work on?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Big Ten Preview: Keys To Every Defense
Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan
Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern
Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

Biggest Key To The Illinois Fighting Illini Defense

Stop the run. Lost a bit in the shocking win over Wisconsin was the job done all day by the Illini D, holding Jonathan Taylor and company to just 156 yards on the ground.

Illinois needed an epic comeback against Michigan State – getting gouged for 275 yards on the ground – and went 1-4 on the season when allowing 200 rushing yards ore more. Since beating Rutgers in the middle of the 2016 season, Illinois is 1-22 when giving up two bills.

Fortunately, Nebraska is the only team on the first half of the slate that has any semblance of a ground game.

Biggest Key To The Indiana Hoosiers Defense

More big plays would be nice. Helped by an offense that kept the chains moving and stayed on the field, the defense was able to do just enough to stay in most games. There’s enough experience returning, though, to start turning games around.

The pass rush was okay, but hardly anything special, especially in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers failed to generate more than one sack in five of the last nine games, and 14 of the 27 sacks overall came against Ball State, Eastern Illinois, UConn and Rutgers.

Partly because of the lack of steady pressure, the interceptions didn’t come with just seven on the season and three in the first nine games.

Big Ten Preview: Keys To Every Defense
Iowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State
Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio State
Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

NEXT: Iowa Hawkeyes, Maryland Terrapins

The Big Ten football season is finally here and it’s finally happening. We get you ready with a quick overview of every team before it all starts up on Friday.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Big Ten Preview Quick Overviews of Every Team
Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan
Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern
Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

Illinois Fighting Illini

– The Illinois offense wasn’t exactly a smoothly run organization. The running game was okay at times, and the passing attack came through late when it had to in a few huge upsets, but for the most part, it was a struggle.

The Illini finished 112th in the nation in total offense, but it made the yards count with a not-awful 26.7 points per game. However, the O almost never had the ball – long, sustained drives were a rumor – and the attack fell flat late in the season.

There’s hope for a boost, though, with four starters back on what should be a good line, a deep group of quarterbacks to play around with, and with almost all of the key targets back.

– It’s been one of the stranger disappointments in the Lovie Smith era. He’s an elite defensive football coach who crafted some killers in the NFL, and yet he hasn’t been anything special at Illinois. It’s his D – he’s the coordinator – and it’s been great at forcing takeaways and getting into the backfield – but it’s been blasted too easily against the run and it’s been way too inconsistent overall.

Fortunately, the linebackers are great and the secondary is going to be a plus. Now the thump has to come from the interior.

Indiana Hoosiers

– The offense quietly started to work really, really well. It might not have been able to keep up enough to overcome the occasional defensive issues, and the firepower wasn’t there to do anything against the Ohio States and Michigans of the world, but at least the attack was able to keep things moving.

The running game needs to be stronger, but the passing attack was the second-best in the Big Ten. With the potential of eight starters returning – along with some parts that missed time last year – the league’s No. 3 offense should be every bit as strong under rising star QB Michael Penix.

– The defense couldn’t handle the better offenses, and it struggled too often late in the year, but it was hardly awful. It allowed 352 yards and 32 points per game, was serviceable at getting into the backfield, and it didn’t have any one glaring issue other than not being able to pick off enough passes.

The D line needs to be better at getting to the quarterback, but there’s a nice blend of bulk and experience across the front four.

Big Ten Preview Quick Overviews of Every Team
IIowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State
Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio State
Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

NEXT: Iowa Hawkeyes, Maryland Terrapins