The Wisconsin Badgers are back home for their homecoming game against Illinois on Saturday, and will welcome the Illinois Fighting Illini to town - including first-year head coach Lovie Smith.
To get the scoop on the Illini we asked Doug Bucshon of OrangeandBlue.com a few questions about Smith's Illini- his answers are included below. You can follow him on Twitter at @IllinoisRivals, and you can find my answers to his questions here.
I think Illinois caught a lot of people by surprise when they fired Bill Cubit in the spring and brought in Lovie Smith to be their new head coach. How has that transition gone? What should we know about Illinois that you wouldn’t get just from looking at their record?
DB: Initially, there was a wave of excitement with the hiring of Lovie Smith, a coach with an NFL pedigree and a larger than life persona. It was a major coup for new AD Josh Whitman.Illinois sold out for a night game against North Carolina. Early losses to Western Michigan and Purdue took the wind out of the sails. Reality set in that Lovie will need time to build and add legitimate Big Ten talent to the roster. The previous regime won a few recruiting battles, but the depth of talent isn’t great and the roster lacks difference-makers. That said, Lovie and his staff have shown an innate ability to learn and grow. No starter has a secure spot. The coaches do a good job evaluating performances on a weekly basis and making changes that give the team more of a chance to succeed. They play hard. They put hungry freshmen on the field and they fixed some lingering issues such as penalties and missed assignments. This is an improving team. They just need more talent to take a bigger leap forward.
Has Illinois changed their offensive or defensive schemes much since Smith took over in Champaign? What do they do differently out on the field now that they didn’t do under Cubit or Tim Beckman?
DB: New offensive coordinator Garrick McGee, who Illinois hired away from Louisville, completely changed the approach.Gone is Cubit’s pass-happy spread offense, replaced by a pro-style scheme that relies more on the running game. Eventually, McGee wants to plug in a dynamic quarterback that can make more plays with his feet, and the Illini will try to address that on the recruiting trail.You get the same look up front on defense, with a four-man, single gap scheme. The biggest change under DC Hardy Nickerson is in the back seven.Illinois plays a lot of press man coverage, and then the famed Lovie Smith Cover-2 on passing downs. Beckman was less aggressive. They are vulnerable in the middle of the field at times, but try to compensate for that with big hitters at safety and a focus on take-aways. It’s a work in progress, though the D has shown slow and steady improvement.
Who are some key playmakers to watch on the offensive side of the ball, and what makes their scheme successful or not?
DB: Before putting up 31 points in a break-out game last week against Michigan St., the Illinois offense has struggled mightily. Nationally, Illinois ranks No. 124 in the nation in total offense (304.3 yards per game). That doesn’t bode well for the Illini this week when they line up against that tough Wisconsin defense.With quarterback Wes Lunt on the shelf, Jeff George Jr. is improving but lacks experience and has been inconsistent. George has shown improvement, however, and he likely gets the start against this week. To have a chance, Illinois needs a big output from running back Kendrick Foster, a junior who beat out Ke’Shawn Vaughn and is having a break-out season.Foster stepped up big in the win last week and he has a knack for making big plays at the right time. The status of junior wide receiver Malik Turner isn’t yet known – he’s recovering from a concussion. When healthy, Turner is one of the few Illinois receivers who can stretch the field. His replacement, sophomore Sam Mays, had the game-winning touchdown against the Spartans.
Same question, but for the defense this time. It seems like Illinois has always had good individual talent on the defensive side of the ball- what do they need to do to put together a more consistent unit?
DB: Stop the run. They took some steps last week, holding MSU to under 5.0 yards per carry. Cal transfer Hardy Nickerson, son of the defensive coordinator of the same name, has been solid at middle linebacker. Nickerson needs help, though. The back seven is young but may be coming into their own. Sophomore linebacker Tre Watson is the reigning Big Ten defensive player of the week. Hard-hitting safeties Stanley Green and Patrick Nelson, both freshmen, are racking up big numbers. Edge pass rushers Dawuane Smoot and Carroll Phillips got a lot of preseason hype. Philips has been a force against the pas all year, and Smoot is now beginning to live up his projections and is a legit NFL Draft prospect. Smoot can be a force. Even when he’s not getting sacks, he’s disruptive and athlete enough to run down ball carries in space. On this inside, redshirt freshman Jamal Milan has settled in a starter and he gives that unit a talented if raw physical presence.
What’s your prediction for Saturday’s game?
DB: Will Illinois score? That might be the biggest question heading into this tough road contest in Madison. Wisconsin has a special defense and Illinois has struggled to consistently move the football and put points on the board. Maybe Illinois turned the corner last week. But more likely, Wisconsin will shut down the Illinois offense and score enough points to get a comfortable win, 27-7.
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball, and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
