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Michigan football: Everything you need to know about Illinois

By Matthew Helmkamp

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 05: Quarterback Brandon Peters #18 of the Illinois Fighting Illini warms up before the game against the Minnesota Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 05: Quarterback Brandon Peters #18 of the Illinois Fighting Illini warms up before the game against the Minnesota Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Defensive woes

Illinois football is not good by any stretch of the imagination, and their current three-game losing streak is blamed in part on the defense.

When the offense puts 30+ points on the board, you must win the game. And out of the three losses, Brandon Peters and his comrades have done just that, to no avail.

The Eagles of Eastern Michigan started the slide, beating the Illini 34-31 on a last-second field goal from just outside the redzone.

After an idle week, the Fighting Illini defense surrendered a season-high 42 points to a rebounding Scott Frost squad. Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez held a starring role with 327 yards passing and three touchdowns. Martinez showed not only his deadly accuracy but also his speed and elusiveness, rushing for 118 yards.

Illinois’ inability to contain the quarterback should give Shea Patterson the confidence to keep the ball more often with his reads as he did against Iowa.

There are two bright spots for head coach/defensive coordinator Lovie Smith’s group. One is linebacker Dele Harding, the hard-hitting senior leader. Accounting for a team-high 57 tackles, Harding has also emerged in pass coverage with two interceptions.

The other defensive star is sack master Oluwole Betiku Jr., who converted from linebacker to defensive line after leaving USC. Seven of Oluwole’s 23 total tackles are counted as sacks. Betiku left high school as a five-star and the 15th ranked player in the country for the recruiting class of 2016. Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 250 pounds, Oluwole will be a problem for the Wolverine offensive line.

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