3 things we learned from Virginia’s home win over Illinois

Virginia football came out and made a statement against Illinois on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville. Here are three things we learned from Virginia’s win.

After the Big Ten, Pac-12, and ACC announced their nebulous alliance prior to the start of the college football season, interleague games between the three conferences took on added significance as they potentially look to negotiate collectively in the future.

While the showcase game in the noontime slate was the top-12 showdown between Oregon and Ohio State in Columbus, Virginia football’s home game against Illinois had its own significance. Illinois entered the game 1-1, hoping to rebound and show their Week 1 loss to UTSA was an aberration. Virginia looked to build on the momentum of their season-opening shutout of FCS foe William & Mary.

What had the potential to be a great game turned quickly into a rout, as Virginia football scored two quick touchdowns and never looked back. The final whistle mercifully put to bed a 42-14 Cavaliers victory, sending Illinois back to Champaign at 1-0 in the Big Ten standings but under .500 overall.

What did we learn about Virginia in victory? What did we learn about Illinois in defeat? Here are three key takeaways from the blowout at Scott Stadium on Saturday afternoon.