IlliniGuys 2022 Game 1 Film Review
Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.’s offensive philosophy was on full display Saturday in a 38-6 win over Wyoming.
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 28, 2022
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The first touchdown of the 2022 season for Illinois highlighted exactly what Barry Lunney Jr. wants this offense to be defined by - setting up easy one-on-one matchups that his star athletes can win.
“This was a lot of fun”: DeVito Loving New World of Illini’s Complimentary Football
Illinois sold Tommy DeVito on a run game and offensive protection and kept its promise Saturday in a 38-6 season-opening win.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst
August 28, 2022
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Tommy DeVito is living in a brand new world.
The new Illinois starting quarterback was sold on the program by head coach Bret Bielema this past winter mostly on the ability to have two things to help him succeed: a running game and a huge offensive line capable of protecting him.
Bielema and the Illini coaching staff certainly lived up to their word after a 38-6 victory over an overmatched Wyoming squad in the 2022 season opener.
In 2020, Syracuse’s offense boasted the worst rushing attack in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the sixth-worst rushing average among 127 Football Bowl Subdivision programs across the nation. The Orange only supplemented their four-star savior quarterback prospect with 92 yards per game on the ground and five rushing touchdowns in 11 games.
Chase Me: Brown’s Patience Leads To 151 Rushing Yards in Illini Win
y Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst
August 27. 2022
(Cover photo courtesy Ron Johnson/USA Today Sports)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- With any other player, it would’ve seemed like Bret Bielema took an enormous gamble with a preseason strategy.
Bielema elected to not have his returning leading rusher, Chase Brown, receive any physical contact through the month-long process that is training camp. No tackling, no thudding and the Illini’s second-year head coach didn’t want any defensive players breathing too heavily on his 205-pound, All-Big Ten selection tailback.
“I’ve had a lot of good running backs in my career, right? I’ve been very blessed but I told (Brown) last spring that the last hit you took in that Northwestern game would be the last time you were going to get tackled until the opener so you’ll need to prepare that way,” Bielema said after the Illini head coach won his second consecutive season opener at Memorial Stadium. “He had a great spring. He had a great fall (camp) and we didn’t let anybody tackle him. I was a little nervous in seeing how explosive he’d be but he’s got a really great understanding of how to play behind his pads.”
Following a season opener performance where the senior tailback recorded 151 yards and found the end zone three times in a dominating 38-6 victory, Bielema’s August plan for his star was proven to be a no-brainer.
Illini Open 2022 Season With 38-6 Thrashing of Wyoming
IlliniGuys.com Staff August 27, 2022 (Cover photo courtesy Ron […]
Game Preview: Wyoming at Illinois
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer August 27, 2022 Date/Time/Place: Saturday, […]
IlliniGuys Football Position Preview: Quarterbacks
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer August 27, 2022 CHAMPAIGN, […]
IlliniGuys Football Position Preview: Running Backs
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 27, 2022
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Chase Brown has the potential to do what only two other Illinois running backs before him accomplished.
IlliniGuys Football Position Preview: Wide Receivers
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 27, 2022
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Every player in the wide receiver room at Illinois saw the hiring of offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. as a new beginning of options.
IlliniGuys Football Position Preview: Inside Linebackers
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 27, 2022
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- At random times during the day or night,
IlliniGuys Football Position Preview: Offensive Line
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 26, 2022
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- If there’s one promise Bret Bielema and offensive line coach Bart Miller can continue to make to Illinois fans it’s
Zain Bando Keeps his I on the Lines - Wyoming @ Illinois — Week 0
Zain Bando, IlliniGuys Correspondent
August 26, 2022
CHAMPAIGN — Let me start off by saying that this isn’t a post for everyone.
IlliniGuys Football Position Preview: Tight Ends
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 26, 2022
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- At 52 years old, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema sometimes wishes his younger self was a lot more like Tip Reiman.
The Farrell Report - B1G Defensive Linemen
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IlliniGuys Football Position Preview: Outside Linebackers
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst
August 25, 2022
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The most production loss from last season to one position group at Illinois is where this coaching staff sees the most potential for talent depth.
After the loss at Purdue in late September, Owen Carney Jr. and Isaiah Gay participated in a majority of the snaps at the outside linebacker position and were key cogs in allowing Illinois to maintain a pass rush in defensive coordinator Ryan Walters’ 3-4 scheme.
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