| Illinois doesn't really play a style that lends itself to blowouts, kind of like the best early Big Ten title Jim Tressell teams, or early Big Ten title Mark Dantonio teams. But a look at some of the game control stats from last week show just how ugly it was for the Huskers. The Illini controlled roughly 2/3 of the time of possession (38:13-21:47), held Nebraska to just one drive of 50 yards, and were +3 in turnover differential. Minnesota looks like Diet Illinois right now, but based on those numbers, they'd have to be Illinois Zero to feel good about where the Huskers stand. The fact that starting quarterback Casey Thompson hasn't yet returned to practice this week since leaving in the second quarter last week, only adds to Nebraska's issues. Chubba Purdy went 3-8 for 15 yards and an interception, plus -11 rushing yards in relief of Thompson. Logan Smothers came in and threw 1 pass, for 1 yard, to Trey Palmer, his lone reception in the game. Apparently the two quarterbacks split reps in Tuesday practice, but whoever commits to getting the ball to Palmer should get the job. He's easily Nebraska's biggest weapon, coming off a 7 reception, 237 yard, 2 touchdown performance against Purdue. Minnesota was able to right the ship against Rutgers, who is frequently good for that. They ran the ball, and shut down the Rutgers offense. Mo Ibrahim ran for 159 yards, on 36 carries, with 3 touchdowns, leading a 253 yard team performance. Tanner Morgan passed the ball just 21 times, and for under 10 yards per catch, but completed 66.7% of his passes. They held Rutgers to just 134 yards of offense. Nebraska's offense, with Casey Thompson, is probably better than Rutgers', but without him, I'm not sure how much they are. This is based on assuming no Thompson, but with him, they probably keep it to within 7 or 8, but I still don't think he's the difference between a win and a loss. |
