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

3. Opening win over Nebraska masked true talent level of Illinois team

Speaking about Illinois, just how good is Bret Bielema’s team? If we were to take the season opener as any indication, Arthur Sitkowski was supposed to be the next great Illinois quarterback. The defense kept Nebraska in check in a year where the Cornhuskers were supposed to be back.

Then they collapsed back to earth, losing a shocker in a paycheck game against UTSA in Week 1. The defeat took some shine off the victory the previous week, but Bielema’s crew still had the chance to make waves and restore their position as a Big Ten West dark horse when they traveled to Charlottesville.

Instead, Illinois came out and bungled things on both sides of the ball. The defense snagged a Brennan Armstrong interception and forced a fumble, but they also gave up 558 total yards of offense and had no answer for Virginia’s aerial attack. Sitkowski went 23-of-40 but threw for only 221 yards with one touchdown and one interception, as he was outplayed by his Cavalier counterpart.

Illinois still has everything to play for in their division this year, as they currently sit perfect alongside Iowa in the West standings. But the win over Nebraska was ultimately a mirage that in hindsight, after Illinois’s past two defeats, makes both the Illini and the Cornhuskers look far worse than we thought they were entering the season.