Iowa Football: 3 takeaways from sleepy win over Illinois in Week 13
By Dante Pryor
Iowa football hosted the Illinois Fighting Illini at Kinnick Stadium and held on for a nine-point win. What’d we learn from the Hawkeyes’ victory?
This was a far cry from the 63-0 drubbing at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes last season. The Illini were game, but came up short on Saturday afternoon at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, 19-10.
This is an Illinois team that’s grown up a lot this season. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak, and eliminated them from Big Ten West title contention.
The Iowa defense stymied the Illini offense. Although Illinois didn’t run poorly, they couldn’t sustain drives during the game. Illinois had trouble blocking the Iowa defensive line, and created three turnovers on their way to their eighth win of the season.
Here are three additional takeaways from an Iowa home victory this afternoon in Iowa City.
3. Illinois is vastly improved
This game was the truest indicator of what the Illinois Fighting Illini are this season despite the loss. Both the Wisconsin and the Michigan State game were anomalies more than indicators. Those games did show you flashes of what they are, but not true indicators.
This game showed us that Illinois finally has the players that can effectively run Lovie Smith’s famous Cover 2 defense, and it showed today. Illinois held the Hawkeyes under 400 yards of offense. Iowa quarterback Nathan Stanley did have 300 yards passing, but barely completed 50 percent of his passes. The Hawkeyes couldn’t get much going on the ground, either, running for just 79 yards and 2.5 yards per rush.
Offensively, Illinois has some pieces, but has some work to do on the recruiting trail getting players. Brandon Peters has steadied the quarterback position since transferring from Michigan. He’s brought leadership to the quarterback room, and gives them time to develop touted recruit Isaiah Williams. Reggie Corbin and Dre Brown are solid running backs. Where they need the most improvement is along the offensive line and the wide receiver position.