Wednesday Walkthrough: Illinois Week

We dive into a crucial Week 2 matchup between the Jayhawks and Fighting Illini.

Vibes are high in Lawrence following the Kansas Jayhawks’ 48-17 season-opening win over the Missouri State Bears. It’s time to turn our attention to one of the most crucial games of the season for KU, though, the FBS opener against the Illinois Fighting Illini.

This game will likely tell us a lot about the Jayhawks at where they are early in 2023; their physicality, their mental strength, their physical strength, etc. Fans have been eyeing this game since the schedule was released, and you can tell that it means a lot to coach Lance Leipold and the rest of his staff, too. With a win on Friday night, KU is going to turn a lot of heads and inspire even more confidence in its potential this season. A loss, however, will likely raise more questions about where it stands among programs that should be its peers in the Power 5.

It’s time for the Illinois walkthrough.

LISTENING IN ON LANCE

“Extremely physical. Defense was highly impressive, now they lost some guys ot the NFL but they're still a well-coached, physical defense. I was very impressed with the quarterback, with his play, ran the ball a little bit better than maybe I anticipated or compared to what we had heard.”

Illinois struggled quite a bit with its Week 1 opponent, the Toledo Rockets, but eventually pulled out the win thanks in large part to some late heroics from quarterback Luke Altmyer, a transfer from Ole Miss. Unsurprisingly, though, Leipold immediately hit on the Illini defense this week, whose physical presence is the main reason why this has been considered a major litmus test game for Kansas this year. It is worth noting that Illinois’ defensive coordinator from last year, Ryan Walters, is now the head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers.

“Bret [Bielema], with his defensive background, you know they're going to be physical and well-coached, fundamentally sound, and you're going to have to execute consistently to beat them.”

This ties in directly with the previous point about the Illinois defense, though you can also extrapolate it out to cover the matchup between KU’s defense and the Illinois offense. This likely won’t be the kind of matchup in which the Jayhawks can rely entirely on explosive plays and high-flying extravagance for 60 minutes. However, what’s encouraging is that KU had the second-best offensive success rate of any team in the Big 12 in Week 1 while recording a more mediocre but still passable eighth-best defensive success rate.

Big 12 pic.twitter.com/oNwPbQXoi2

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) September 5, 2023

“I thought he had a really good day today...by far the most team reps that he's had since the first week.”

We’ve finally reached this week’s Jalon Daniels update. Leipold dove into why he didn’t see action against Missouri State and the risks of playing someone who hadn’t seen much full-team practice, but it sounds as if he’s progression positively. That would seem to back up the reporting of Brett McMurphy from The Action Network that Daniels will likely play on Friday night. Obviously, KU's chances to win this weekend improve if the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year can take the field.

“"There hardly was a pass pressure, right? I was pleased...it's a group that showed a lot of great effort.”

This week’s coordinator quote is again from offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, this time regarding KU’s offensive line. Like always when it comes to grading games against FCS teams, you have to keep the quality of the opponent in mind when grading performance. However, this group should be one of the Jayhawks’ strongest units this year and made a great first impression, giving Jason Bean tons of time throughout last Friday’s opener. It goes without saying that the offensive line is paramount to KU’s offensive success this year.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

When: Friday, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m.

Where: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kansas

Spread: Kansas -3

Bielema’s reputation precedes him, and his teams are always rightfully known as physical, old-school programs. That’s no different for Illinois, which, again, is why this game means so much for Kansas this season. The Illini’s physicality on both sides of the ball will be a major test for the Jayhawks.

Illinois struggled mightily in its opener against Toledo, trailing until the waning moments of the game and eventually pulling ahead thanks to fourth-down heroics and a last-second field goal. Statistically, it wasn't U of I's finest game. It was outgained in total yardage, had fewer first downs, and was less successful on third and fourth downs than Toledo.

The Illini lost plenty of talent from its 8-5 team a year ago, including cornerback Devon Witherspoon, safety Sydney Brown and running back Chase Brown, all of whom were drafted this past spring. Still, they return several all-conference caliber players, including defensive lineman Jer'Zhan Newton, a preseason All-Big Ten honoree, along with all-purpose offensive weapon Isaiah Williams.

For more on Illinois, check out the opponent preview from this year’s 100 Days to Kickoff Countdown

JAYHAWK TO WATCH

According to Pro Football Focus, two of the three lowest-graded aspects of Illinois' performance last week were its pass blocking and run blocking. We know that Kansas still has plenty of room to grow along its defensive line, but this could be an area where the Jayhawks can find an advantage.

We went with Devin Phillips last week, so let’s slide out to the edge and select Jereme Robinson this time around. He was the only KU player who recorded a sack versus Missouri State, and he’s the most experienced member of the defensive front in this system.

Making things as difficult as possible on Altmyer and the Illinois passing game will be pivotal on Friday night. There are plenty of Jayhawks who could (and will need to) step up this week, including the likes of Phillips, Austin Booker and Hayden Hatcher, just to name a few of many. But KU needs its most veteran edge rusher to come up big in big moments, and this could be his time to shine.

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