This Friday the (1-0) Illinois Fighting Illini and the (0-0) Indian Hoosiers will match up in the first week of the 2022 College Football Season. The kick-off will be at 8:00 PM EST inside Memorial Stadium (Bloomington, IN). This will be the first game of the season for the Hoosiers, but the second for the Fighting Illini. These two teams did not match up in the 2021 season, either.
The Illinois Fighting Illini picked up their first win of the season in week 0. They took down Wyoming, as this game wasn't close. Illinois won 38-6, as their defense did a great job of keeping the Cowboys off the scoreboard for the majority of the game.
The Indiana Hoosiers are entering this one after a disappointing season last year. They went 2-10, but they have hopes that it will be better this season. They will need their offense to be better this season if they want to be more competitive in the Big Ten.
The Illinois Fighting Illini looked great on the offensive side of the field last week, as they completely dominated Wyoming. They finished with 26 first downs and 477 total yards of offense, as they were moving the ball up and down the field against the Cowboys. The Illinois run game was the story of that one, though. They finished with 260 rushing yards, as they continued to gash their opponents on the ground. They also did a great job of protecting the ball, as they finished the game with zero turnovers. This will be huge against Big Ten opponents, as they can't be gifting their opponents' free possessions. This offense did struggle last season, but they looked cleaner in week 0. Last season they only scored more than 20 points in three of their last ten games. They did hire a new OC this offseason, though. They brought in Barry Lunney Jr., as he will do everything he can to help this team's passing game. They only averaged 1 56.2 yards through the air per game, as they have to trust their QBs to get the job done in this one. Last week, Tommy Devito threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns. This team will lean on the run, as well. They have two sneaky good RBs, as Chase Brown and Josh McCray both held their own last season. Illinois is patching up some of their offensive line, but they showed they could run the ball well against Wyoming. Brown finished with 151 yards and two touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Illinois Fighting Illini did a great job against the Cowboys last week. They held them to just 212 total yards of offense, as they looked incredible against the Pass. Wyoming only threw for 30 yards, as the Illinois Secondary did an incredible job. Last season they allowed 215.2 passing yards per game, as their opponents continued to attack them through the air. The Secondary should be one of Illinois's strengths this season. Between Devon Witherspoon and Syd ney brown, they should be better against the pass this season. Witherspoon is young, but he has continued to trend in the correct direction. Brown was also the leading tackler last season, as their secondary can defend against the pass or the run. Last season, the Fighting Illini gave up 366.6 yards per game, and they will be attempting to lower that average this season. They also allowed 22 points per game, which was too much, as their offense consistently struggled to score points.