By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst
September 12, 2022
(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)
I was more bullish on the Illini's chances against the Virginia Cavaliers than my Illini Guys cohorts because of one reason: the Cavalier offensive line. Though Virginia was set to return all five starters from last year's group that dominated the Illini, all five of them transferred despite Virginia keeping its offensive line coach during an overall coaching change. That left the Cavaliers with a grad transfer from Dartmouth, three redshirt freshman, and a true freshman at left tackle as their starting five. So, with the Illini returning a talented and experienced defensive line that had been playing well so far this year, the stage was set for some defensive line domination and that's just what we saw on Saturday as Illinois racked up 5 sacks among its 9 tackles for loss.
The first clip I chose to highlight this week came early in the game...