Illinois Football: Illini Escape vs Northwestern Despite Mistakes

Illinois turned the ball over.  They looked sluggish early on.  They were on the verge of getting blown out in the third quarter.

But somehow, someway, they won.

After falling behind 28-10 in the third quarter, all seemed lost for the Illini.  They seemed deflated, and they could not stop the Wildcats.

QB Nathan Scheelhaase then led the Illini on a seven play, 74 yard drive to cut the lead to 11. After that -- the momentum had swung.  

The Illini came up with a three and out, and then another TD drive.  Then, another stop, and another TD.  All of a sudden, Illinois led 31-28.

The game seemed to be in total control of the Illini when they took over possession with 3:04 left, but a fumble from Jason Ford on the first play gave the ball back to the Wildcats.  They cashed in a Touchdown a few plays later.

Now, trailing by four with 1:15 left, Scheelhaase directed a six play, 69 yard touchdown drive, ending in a QB sneak.  Scheelhaase finished with 391 passing yards, a career high, and 3 TDs.  He added a TD on the ground.

Give credit to the Illini for winning the game and improving to 5-0.  They have now won three consecutive games by three points.  Pessimists would say that they could easily be 2-3, but I will give them credit for winning the close games.  Good teams win close games, (look at A&M, who has squandered two close ones).

Despite that, the Illini made a lot of mistakes.

It started on the very first kickoff.  A.J. Jenkins fumbled the return, recovered it in the endzone, and then brought the ball out.  He was tackled at the 5.   

The Illini looked flat all throughout the first half.  They drove down to the Northwestern seven yard line, and threw an interception in the endzone.  They had a chance to tie the game up before the half, but a terrible offensive interference call negated a touchdown.  Instead, they went into half 14-10.

They came out of the half unable to contain Dan Persa.  The Senior QB, returning from an achilles injury, was fantastic for Northwestern.  He was 10/14 passing with four touchdowns.  What doesn't show up in the box score was his ability to keep plays alive and convert for first downs.

But then Dan Persa was sidelined once against with an injury.  Once Kain Colter came in, the Illini were able to pin their ears back, and contain the Wildcats offense.  The Illini outscored the Wildcats 28-7 over the final 22 minutes. 

A.J. Jenkins had another career day, catching 12 passes for 268 yards, and three touchdowns. He has emerged as a consistent threat in the passing game for the Illini, and was integral to their victory.

Illinois did a great job all day flooding Northwestern's zone defense.  Jenkins caught numerous corner passes that were open due to receivers running off defensive backs.  The offensive line did a good job in pass protection, which gave Scheelhaase time to let the play develop.

The line did not do as good of a job in run blocking, however.  The Illini were only able to run for 82 yards on 38 rushes, a 2.2 average.  They also had the aforementioned fumble, as well as a fumble on an option play.

This should come as a cause of concern for the Illini.  Other than Jenkins, there hasn't been a receiver to step up and provide a threat.  As a result, defenses in the Big10 can run man to man with a shadow on Jenkins, and key in on the running game.  Northwestern did it against the Illini, and were able to shut down the running game.  They just couldn't cover Jenkins.

It was a very un-characterisitc win for the Illini.  They ran for 82 yards and threw for 391.  They turned the ball over three times, and forced zero, and the defense gave up 28 points through two and a half quarters.  When you put it that way, the Illini should be happy they're walking away with a win.

And they most likely are.  They are 5-0 on the year, and are off to a 1-0 start in the conference.  They travel to Indiana next week, where they will have a great shot to improve on their terrific start.  That all being said, some flaws in their team were exposed on Saturday.  They will not compete for a Big10 title, or a BCS birth, until they run the ball effectively against quality opponents, and play sound defense.

But for now, they can exhale.....