- Behind Enemy Lines: Illinois
- Scouting Notebook: Illinois
- Facts & Figures: Illinois
- Recap: Gopher Football Weekly with PJ Fleck
- Recap: PJ Fleck on the Sports Huddle
- Video & Transcript: PJ Fleck previews Illinois
- Minnesota at Illinois rankings comparison, season and bowl projections
- Preview: Illinois vs. Minnesota from Orange & Blue News
- Minnesota looks for needed win at reeling Illinois from the Associated Press
Illinois runs an uptempo spread offense that uses zone runs, zone read option, and RPO concepts. Illinois uses two QBs, AJ Bush and MJ Rivers, and both, particularly Bush, are capable of running. Neither QB's accuracy is great. Illinois uses a lot of short route concepts found in west coast spread and air raid schemes.
The bright spot for Illinois this season has been running back Reggie Corbin, who ranks second nationally in yards per carry (8.0). Corbin is shifty and will often bounce runs to the edge or try to exploit cutback lanes. Run fits and run game integrity will be important for the Gophers, which they've really struggled with this season. Illinois' offense isn't great but matchup-wise it's almost favorable for the Illini. Illinois has faced a lot of stacked boxes this season; Minnesota should do the same.
Illinois' defensive coordinator resigned after last week, citing health reasons, so Lovie Smith is taking over the defense. Smith, of course, is famous for his Cover 2 but the Illini have played a lot of Cover 1 and Cover 3 this season, as well. The Illini are mostly a 4-3 team but will use a lot of 4-2-5 nickel packages. Illinois is absymal defensively. Really, really bad. They're 126th in the FBS in rushing yards per game, 119th in passing yards/game, and 121st in sack percentage. The only area they can hang their hat on is turnovers: the Illini have a +4 turnover margin.
Defensive end Bobby Roundtree is a quick player off the edge and leads the Illini in sacks. For the most part, the defensive line has struggled mightily to hold their ground in the run game or generate a pass rush outside of Roundtree. Cornerback Cameron Watkins is a solid coverage corner, but the Illini's two safeties have struggled this season.
Jerseys: Gold helmets, white jerseys, maroon pants
TGR personnel update: Schlueter likely starting at LT for Greene
