Illinois travels to Montlake this weekend to in a matchup that may define the remainder of the Huskies’ season. Both the Huskies and Fighting Illini are looking to rebound from tough losses against Michigan and Ohio State respectively. The Huskies’ offensive unit, which has been depleted by injuries, has a tough match up against Illinois’ physical, gap‑sound defense that looks to suffocate opponents. Let’s dive into this key matchup.
The Scheme & Personnel
In their 5th season under head coach Bret Bielema, the Fighting Illini have taken to their coach’s gritty, physical, defense-first identity. Similar to his Wisconsin teams, and UW’s defense under Ryan Walters, Illinois is a 3-4 based defense with various sub-packages that allow them to play Odd and Even fronts. They put a heavy emphasis on shutting down the run with a big defensive front that leans on 2-gap techniques. On the back end, they utilize a lot of 1-high coverage shells to load up the box against the run. They play a mix of man and zone looks to keep offenses off balance while trying to limit explosive plays.
As far as personnel, Husky fans should know a few key players at the various levels of the defense. Defensive linemen Jeremiah Warren and Tomiwa Durojaiye are big bodies (both are 300+) anchoring the defensive interior while providing some level of pass rushing, pocket collapsing ability. At the second level, LBs Dylan Rosiek and Malachi Hood have consistent tackle producers from the box. However, the DBs are incredibly active. Safety Matthew Bailey leads the team in total tackles with 39 on the season. The DBs may be active tacklers, but they haven’t been as effective this season in generating turnovers. Rosiek and DB Tanner Heckel have all of Illinois’ interceptions with one a piece.
Keys to the Game
Offensively, it feels like Jedd Fisch needs a reset at home. After a few slow starts in a row, both home and away, the Huskies need to find a spark early. Demond Williams’ late game magic ran out last week against Michigan, and we want to avoid a mental hangover game in a key home game. We need to find a way to get Jonah Coleman involved early and often to take the burden off of Demond. Mixing up the run game concepts between our typical Zone and our seldom used Gap concepts might be a good way of manufacturing run plays that keep us ahead of the sticks and better set up our play action concepts. I’d also expect Dezmen Roebuck and Raiden Vines-Bright to get involved in the screen game early and often to create horizontal stress on the defense without overtaxing the offensive line or Demond Williams.
Regardless of the game plan, I think there will be an emphasis on taking the load off of Demond Williams in a “get right game”.