Yesterday we gave you the inside scoop on the numbers and performance for the Illinois defense. Today, the one part of the Illini team that seems to be working gets a look-see, the offensive side of the ball.
However, these numbers come with a big caveat, as starting quarterback Wes Lunt is out for this game and a few more weeks. That puts a big monkey wrench in the plans of offensive coordinator Bill Cubit, who loves to chuck the ball all over the yard. He’s also been pretty good at it in his year and a half at Illinois.
There’s more to the Illini offense than its quarterback though, so let’s take a look at the Illini offense in whole.
Starters: (2014 stats/honors)
LT: Simon Cvijanovic – Sr. (6-6, 310) – 20 career starts heading in to 2014
LG: Michael Heitz – Sr. (6-5, 310) – 31 career starts heading in to 2014
C: Joe Spencer – So. (6-4, 300) – 2 career starts heading in to 2014
RG: Ted Karras – Jr. (6-4, 310) – 22 career starts heading in to 2014
QB: Reilly O’Toole – Sr. (6-4, 220) – 52.6% comp. rate, 428 yards, 1 touchdown, 4 INTs
RB: Josh Ferguson – Jr. (5-10, 195) – 437 yards, 5 touchdowns, 5.8 yards per carry, 72.8 yards per game
WR-X: Geronimo Allison – Jr. (6-4, 195) – 26 receptions, 449 yards, 4 touchdowns
WR-T: Martize Barr – Sr. (6-0, 195) – 15 receptions, 223 yards, 2 touchdowns
– OR – Mike Dudek – Fr. (5-11, 185) – 33 receptions, 539 yards, 3 touchdowns
WR-Z: Malik Turner – Fr. (6-3, 205) – 11 receptions, 100 yards, 0 touchdowns
TE: Jon Davis – Sr. (6-3, 240) – 8 receptions, 77 yards, 1 touchdown
Team Rankings: (stat/B1G/national)
Total Offense: 428.8ypg/6th/60th
Scoring Offense: 28.7ppg/8th/75th
Rushing Offense: 96ypg/14th/118th
Passing Offense: 332.8ypg/1st/12th
3 Keys to Success:
1. Make O’Toole Uncomfortable Early: The senior quarterback missed out on the job for a reason, and O’Toole was just 9-of-14 for 118 yards with an interception against Purdue. While it was a relief situation, the truth is O’Toole has been prone to making rash decisions under pressure. If Wisconsin wants to win, making life difficult for O’Toole off the bat is important. UW will not only need to get pressure, but also make sure to do it from a variety of looks.
2. Stop Josh Ferguson: You can bet the Badger run defense wasn’t happy with its performance against Northwestern. Luckily they’ll get a chance at redemption against a team that runs a similar look. With O’Toole at QB it’s likely that Cubit will try to establish an early run game with Ferguson to help settle the signal caller down.
3. Create Turnovers: Illinois, and O’Toole especially, have had a propensity to turn the ball over. In limited playing time, O’Toole has managed four interceptions and the Illini have 13 total turnovers as a team. It would be nice to see the Badgers on the positive side of the ledger when it comes to turnovers. It’s also a help to keeping a sometimes high-octane offense off the field.
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