Illinois Preview – 76 Days Until Kansas Football

The Jayhawks will face an Illini team with the best defense nationally last year when Illinois comes to Lawrence in week two.

The Kansas Jayhawks’ second opponent of the season has a coach who also knows a thing or two about two-year turnarounds. Bret Bielema took over Illinois after a 2-6 2020 season from Lovie Smith and after going 5-7 in year one, he had the Illini at 8-5 and in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Mississippi State.

Now Bielema and the Illini will travel to Lawrence in week 2 to take on a fellow once-dormant team on the rise.

Pre-Game Notes

Kansas and Illinois have played five times in their history, with the first meeting taking place in KU’s second season as a team, with the Jayhawks winning 26-4 in 1892. Illinois won the next three games, which took place in 1916, 1917, and 1929 (during Illinois’ powerhouse days). The most recent contest was in 1968, and Kansas took that one 47-7 in Champaign.

This home-and-home series beginning this year was announced in 2014 when Charlie Weis was the coach. Then he didn’t even make it through the season before he was fired.

The Mike Plank Four-Down Scouting Report

First Down

The Illini won seven of their first eight games a season ago – a week-2 loss to Indiana being the only loss – and reached No. 14 in the AP Top 25 poll while spending a total of five weeks ranked. And every single loss was by single digits.

Illinois’ success was driven by its defense, which ranked No. 1 nationally last season, only allowing 12.8 points per game. The Illini held opponents to single digits in six of their 13 games.

Second Down

The architect of that defense, defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, is now the head coach at Purdue. Taking his place is secondary coach Aaron Henry, who helped Devon Witherspoon reach the No. 5 pick in this year’s NFL Draft. But Illinois still has second-team All-American Jer’Zhan Newton, who recorded 61 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks in 2022.

Third Down

The offensive side of the ball is where Illinois has seen more turnover. Quarterback Tommy Devito is gone, as is running back Chase Brown, who rushed for 1,643 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, along with 240 yards and three touchdowns through the air. The Illini are also replacing two members of their offensive line, including their center. Though, top receiver Isaiah Williams is back, and he had twice as many receptions as any other receiver on the team last year.

Fourth Down

Taking over at quarterback could be Ole Miss transfer Luke Altmyer, however he only attempted 54 passes in two seasons at Ole Miss, including three touchdowns and three interceptions. And next in line at running back looks to be Reggie Love III, who carried the ball 70 times for 316 yards in 2022.

Matchup On Paper

Even with Walters gone from leading the defense, the word coming out of Illinois’ camp is that the system will remain mostly the same. The Illini were great in both aspects of the defense, but especially through the air. Teams only completed 51% of their passes for 174 yards a season ago, while also holding opponents to 100 yards per game on the ground.

On offense, Illinois was best at pounding the rock. Led by Brown, the Illini averaged four yards per carry and 166 yards per game. It was the focus, as Illinois ran the ball 41 times per game, compared to just 30 pass attempts.

This sets up a great battle – on a Friday night, which has received mixed reviews – between Kansas’ high-powered offense and Jalon Daniels against Illinois’ stifling defense. Given the turnover on offense for Illinois, Kansas, and especially the experienced secondary, could do well against the Illini if it can contain the run.

Final Whistle

Both Duke and Houston ended up having solid seasons last year, but this might be Kansas’ toughest non-conference matchup in recent years. KU’s performance here in week two will give fans and the program a good indication of where it is from a talent and performance standpoint against major competition.