| Cal hasn't scored more than 28 points all season, Illinois has given up 30 or more points in half of their games. So, what happens when a very resistible force meets a very movable object? I'm looking at trends here, and Cal's offense seems to be somewhat figuring it out, while Illinois had all of the momentum in the world, got bowl eligible, and then took the last two weeks off. It wasn't a total fluke with Cal either, they got starting quarterback Chase Garbers back, who was knocked out back in September, when the Golden Bears were 4-0, with road wins over Washington and Ole Miss. In the six games where Garbers played the whole game, the Bears were 6-0, scoring 25.0 ppg. Without him, they were 1-5, averaging 15.2 ppg. So this is a much better Cal team than their record would indicate, assuming they have Garbers healthy. Cal has no running game, so Garbers having a completion percentage of nearly 10% higher, 2.4 ypa more, and 37 more pass attempts per interception. Now the Illini offense, which stormed back to make their game against Michigan close, and then won 4 in a row, culminated with a 25 point comeback win against Michigan State, 37-34, finished the season with a thud. Illinois scored 27 points in the 4th quarter alone in East Lansing, and then proceeded to score 20 points over their final two games combined. The one that really stung was losing to rival Northwestern, to give the Wildcats their lone Big Ten win of the year. It is assumed that Brandon Peters, who missed that finale against Northwestern with a concussion, will be back. And he better be, because this offense without him, woah boy. He's been boom or bust all season, with Illinois finishing 13th in the Big Ten in completion percentage, but 5th in yards per completion. But without him? Matt Robinson and blue chip true freshman Isaiah "don't call me Juice" Williams, combined to go 13-26 for 165 yards, no touchdowns, 1 interception, and -7 rushing yards. Perhaps even more importantly, they allow the defense to focus singularly on Reggie Corbin and the run game. Granted Corbin has not been in 2019, what he was in 2018, but against Northwestern, without Peters, he had NEGATIVE 10 rushing yards. I think Justin Wilcox, who saw he defense underwhelm compared to expectations this year, gets them back on track for the bowl game. |
