Penn State defensive tackle PJ Mustipher Illinois quarterback Isaiah Williams during the third quarter on Dec. 19, 2020.
Joe Hermitt | [email protected]
Location: Champaign, Illinois
2020 Record: 2-6
Head Coach: Bret Bielema
2021 Record so far: 1-1
Record against OSU since 2010: 0-7
What’s Happened So Far In 2021
The Illini showed some upside in Week 0 against Nebraska, beating Scott Frost’s squad 30-22 for a good start to the season. However, senior starting quarterback and former Michigan transfer Brandon Peters exited the game early after a sack injured his left shoulder. He has been cleared to practice, but cannot participate in contact yet. Sophomore Artur Sitkowski has stepped up in Peters’ absence, though. Sitkowski has thrown five touchdowns for 390 yards in two games for the Illini. The Fighting Illini seem fine relying on Sitkowski moving forward, and he could take Peters’ starting job as he has been very good under pressure and scrambles well out of the pocket. Although Sitkowski had some nice showings, the team disappointingly lost to UTSA Week 1. The game was close the whole way until senior running back Brenden Brady’s touchdown with under five minutes put the Roadrunners up 10. Illinois lost 37-30.
Key Offensive Player
While Sitkowski has played well thus far, the major key offensive player to look at is redshirt freshman wide receiver Isaiah Williams. He is a quarterback-turned-wide receiver and is excelling at his new job. Through two games, he has 14 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown. He is dangerous downfield and can leave defenders dumbfounded with the little separation he needs to make a big play. The Fighting Illini could consider using Williams in trick plays in a Julian Edelman-type fashion.
Key Defensive Player
Illinois overall has done a great job of pressuring and containing quarterbacks this season. In fact, redshirt freshman defensive lineman Keith Randolph Jr. already has two sacks in two games. Randolph has been the glue to this defense thus far; he posted 1.5 tackles-for-loss, along with a sack and forced fumble against Nebraska. Although he exited early with an injury against UTSA, he should be back soon to continue his domination.
Weaknesses
Although Illinois has shown glimpses of upside, their downfield defense has been atrocious thus far. Slot cornerbacks seem to contain matched-up receivers fairly well, but their overall defensive backs and linebackers have done very poorly. The Illini gave up several big plays to Nebraska and UTSA on decent coverage, but the run game has also been killing them. Nebraska junior quarterback Adrian Martinez had gaping holes versus the Illinois defense, rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown. If the Fighting Illini can contain big plays and up their passing defense, they can get a step closer to a top-25 finish.
