Illinois Defense Is Enough To Fuel a Win vs. UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl

Illinois 20 - UCLA 14

The only hunger Kraft neglected was the hunger for good offensive football.

The bowl game matched up perhaps the two most wounded, haphazard bowl teams in the nation this year. Both teams had struggled to 6-6 records, lost badly to rivals and fired their head coach over the course of the year and were looking for anything positive on which to close the door on 2011 with.

The Illini were once again led by a powerful defense.  UCLA was only able to manage 220 yards of total offense for the game (at just 3.8 yards per play) as the Illinois defense swarmed into the backfield five times for sacks.  The Bruins punted eight times---six of them three-and-outs---while fumbling, missing a kick and throwing an interception.

In fact, it was the defense's touchdown and extra point that would push Illinois back into the game in the third quarter and allow the offense enough breathing room to score the 10 points needed to put the final score out of reach.

Outside of that fourth-quarter touchdown---a 60-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase to AJ Jenkins---the Illinois offense performed much the same as it had for the last six games of the season:  Poorly.  The Illini finished with 327 yards of offense but just 4.5 yards per pass attempt despite:  A) the aforementioned 60-yard touchdown pass and B) 33 attempts against the 80th ranked pass efficiency defense in the nation.

Had the running game not managed 179 yards on 4.2 yards per carry, that was mostly attributable to Scheelhaase and his 110 yards; it's quite possible the Illini would have been blanked entirely on the scoreboard.

When it all comes down to two pitiful teams, sometimes all that matters is just doing one thing a little better than the other guy.  Illinois' defense was the one thing working in a game full of mistakes and sloppy play, and it ultimately meant the victory for Illinois.

Now, the offseason is here, as is the first true months of life after Zook.  One has to imagine that after the season, Illini fans had, that even a win in the Kraft Fight Hunger bowl would be enough to hold them over.  I suppose someone got fed after all.