Bloomington, Ind. — On the day Illinois was supposed to cement itself as a premier college football contender, and years of build-up in the Bret Bielema era, Illinois had the opportunity to shun the pundits who undermine the credibility of their top-ten ranking. Instead, Illinois endured the worst loss of Bielema’s tenure as head coach […]
Bloomington, Ind. — On the day Illinois was supposed to cement itself as a premier college football contender, and years of build-up in the Bret Bielema era, Illinois had the opportunity to shun the pundits who undermine the credibility of their top-ten ranking.
Instead, Illinois endured the worst loss of Bielema’s tenure as head coach against No. 19 Indiana, 63-10.
Early in the first quarter, Miles Scott delivered a vicious hit on Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr., blasting him into the ground, resulting in a targeting call against Scott and his disqualification.
It was one of the defining moments inside a mystifying performance against the Hoosiers. What was set to be a game without the two star defensive backs in Miles Scott and Xavier Scott, who was sidelined after suffering an injury against Western Michigan, instead became the domino that set off a chain reaction of the collapse of the secondary.
Suddenly, the likes of Mac Resetich and Tyler Strain were thrust into action in an attempt to weather an unstoppable Indiana offense that, between the second and third quarters, scored a touchdown on five consecutive possessions.
Illinois had entered on Friday night with 10 defensive backs; by the conclusion of Indiana’s stunning beatdown of Illinois, the team had six of its
“I’ve never been a part of anything like that, with seven defensive backs injured or ruled out,” Bielema said after the game.
Starting cornerback Kaleb Patterson left the game in the second half on crutches and wearing a boot.
Fellow starting corner Torrie Cox Jr. also took a knee to the stomach, which took him out of the game.
In the middle of the third quarter, safety Matthew Bailey made his way to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion. It isn’t an excuse for the soul-crushing performance on Saturday night, but it did not help.
Missing tackles became a recurring issue as Indiana did as it pleased offensively. Indiana receivers combined for 21 receptions and 267 yards for five touchdowns. 186 of those yards came after the catch, as Illinois failed to bring down receivers.
“Obviously, you’d love to have the 11 that you start the game, you know, finish the game,” Illinois captain Dylan Rosiek said after the game. “You know, it’s hard to keep plugging and playing, but that’s the standard.”
Resetich was suddenly tasked with a captain-esque role, sporting the green dot on the helmet. He only had five total tackles and missed tackles on multiple occasions. Those missed tackles snowballed into allowing for explosive plays.
Tyler Strain, who has predominantly been a special teamer for Illinois, saw extended action and failed to cover receivers on multiple occasions. Saboor Karriem was also forced to contribute on the field, a player who seldom sees action.
Add in a lack of pressure in the trenches and the Illinois secondary had, easily, its worst day since last season’s Purdue shoot-out.
“We gotta go back to the drawing board. We’ve got to critique what we can critique, and just be ready to put something better out next time,” Rosiek said.
The secondary will have to find answers in a hurry as they turn the page to next week’s homecoming game against USC at Gies Memorial Stadium.
“It’s pretty plain and simple,” Rosiek said. “It sucks, but it is, really, is like I said, it’s week four. It’s a long season. Just can’t let it eat at you.”
Category: General Sports
