Football
Illinois Football Offense Faces Monster Test at No. 7 Ohio State
Previewing Illinois Football at Ohio State in week 3, checking in on comments from offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr, and more.
Illinois Football is officially entering Big Ten play, and the 2-1 Illini are walking straight into their toughest challenge of the season.
Coming off a 48-10 victory over Southern Illinois, the Illini now hit the road for the first time this season, headed to Columbus (OH) as major underdogs (-27.5), to take on 7th-ranked Ohio State at The Horseshoe. Waiting on the other side is Ryan Day’s deeply talented Buckeyes (2-1), who responded to a crushing Week 2 loss at Texas by putting up 59 points against Kent State in a 59-3 blowout.
Quarterback Julian Sayin led the way, dicing up the Golden Flashes defense through the air for 241 yards and 2 touchdowns. Yet another reminder that Sayin is one of the top quarterbacks in the country and a likely first-round pick.
Illini QB Katin Houser turned in a big day of his own Saturday, throwing for 305 yards and two touchdowns, both finding Collin Dixon. The two have quickly developed a very strong connection, with Dixon now up to 7 receiving touchdowns through just 3 games.
Still, despite the offensive production against Southern Illinois, plenty of questions remain with an offensive line that continues to deal with several injuries and moving pieces heading into Big Ten play. Now, Illinois Football has the daunting task of trying to continue cleaning things up in one of the best environments in the nation, where more than 100,000 fans will pack the stadium with the Big Noon Kickoff Show on site.
On Monday, Illini offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. met with the media and addressed the challenges awaiting his offense in Columbus.
Illinois Football. Quarterback Katin Houser. No. 4. Week 1 vs UAB. Photo Credit. Illinois Football on Instagram. (@Illinifootball).
OC Barry Lunney Jr. on the Challenge Awaiting Illinois Football in Columbus
Lunney acknowledged on Monday that Ohio State presents the most difficult test his offense has faced to this point by far. The Buckeyes’ defensive scheme, physicality, and talent create one major challenge, while the intimidating environment, of course, adds another layer that Illinois Football must uniquely prepare for.
“You know, (Ohio State) is super well coached. Scheme is a very complex, very high-end scheme. They know how to play within the scheme. Even though some of the faces are different from last year, they play with the same intensity and the same confidence, I think that they did last year. All the while, you know, having new faces that are plugged into those spots. But, a very, very good and very, very well-coached defense. Going on the road… will be a very real challenge for us, and the intensity and the physicality will be the most that we’ve seen to this point.”
Lunney On The Environment Waiting Ahead at the Horseshoe
“It’s going to be a loud environment, and that adds a layer of… Certainly, complexity… going on the road and communication, snap counts, all those types of things. So, you know, you just have a plan for it. You work it during the week, and you go, and you go deal with it. Usually, in my experience, once you get the blinders on, you get the game going. If you have a plan to handle it, however challenging it will be, and there’ll be moments that it’ll be extremely challenging. You try to get numb to that and be able to just to focus on the communication that comes within and not on the outside.
And that’s what yoy got to do to be able to go win on the road. You’ve got to be able to block that out. However challenging that will be. Which I know it will be because of the volume of people and the history and their tradition there. And they’re going to be into it. It’s going to be really loud, and we’ve got to be able to put our best foot forward and be able to handle that and try to keep that impact at a minimum.”
Lunney: Illinois Football Rushing Seeking Consistency
Illinois’ rushing attack remains the biggest concern for Barry Lunney Jr.’s offense entering Columbus, with the offensive line still adjusting after losing TJ McMillen (season), Maika Matelau and Brandon Henderson. Through 3 games, the Illini are averaging a somewhat solid 153.0 rushing yards per game on 86 carries (5.3 yards-per-carry avg), with 459 total rushing yards. That said, some longer explosive runs from Ca’lil Valentine and Aidan Laughery have helped boost those averages.
The production has been there at times. However, consistency has remained an issue as Eddie Tuerk, Dezmond Schuster and true freshman Champ Smith have all been part of a major reshuffling up front. Lunney acknowledged that at times, there have been flashes of success. However, the Illini OC believes his unit needs more consistency with their blocking, communication, and execution if they want to shock the nation in week 4.
“Yeah, we’re not where we need to be. And we’re not where we need to be offensively, just overall. I mean, we’ve got a lot of things that we’ve got to get better at. We’re going to have to ratchet up our execution and our attention to detail to go on the road and play such a quality opponent. We’re playing and be able to execute, stay on the field, and have some drives that result in scores.
So, yeah, we’re not there. We’ve had flashes in all phases. When I say phases, run, the pass, protection, whatever, screen game, up and down. There’s a lot we’ve got to get better at. But again, we’ve had some moments in our run game. We’ve got to have more consistency in our run game… covering guys up, communicating right details as far as how it’s called.
