Football
Where Illinois Football MUST Improve When Facing Indiana
Illinois Football Must do this, or, they won’t get out of Bloomington with a win.
On Tuesday, Armchair Illini’s Kirkland Chappell joined the Hoosier Huddle Podcast with host Sammy Jacobs to break down Saturday’s looming showdown between 9th-ranked Illinois Football and 19th-ranked Indiana.
Both teams enter Big Ten play undefeated (3-0) after strong non-conference stretches. Following big 2024 seasons, each has carried that momentum forward, building buzz for what could be a tone-setting early clash, that both teams and fanbases have had circled on thier schedules for quite some time. Saturday will be a major test for both teams to secure an early tone-setting win — one that could have major implications for two similar programs on the rise and chasing a College Football Playoff berth.
Room For Improvement
For Illinois, how quickly the Illini’s offense catches rhythm could be the deciding factor in Bloomington. Slow starts have been a concern through the first three games, especially when facing Duke and Western Michigan. Against the Broncos, a goal-line stand at the Illini 1-yard line kept the score from becoming a 10-7 game at the break. Instead, thanks to a perfect blitz and TFL from Kenenna Odeluga, Illinois maintained control and went on to finish with a 38-0 shutout.
That said, the 52,000+ fans inside Memorial Stadium won’t be as forgiving of an environment. If Bret Bielema’s top-10 squad wants to bring a win back to Champaign and keep momentum rolling, they’ll need to start fast in Bloomington.
Sammy and I dive into all of this — and much more — as we preview #9 Illinois Football vs. #19 Indiana on the Hoosier Huddle Podcast.
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