Cautious Optimism Surrounds 2014 Illinois Football

By Alex Ortiz on July 23, 2014

(Josh Ferguson – ©30649191@N00 via Flickr)

It has been a long two and a half years for Illinois football, but it seems that a bright future is coming.

It is up in the air how far away that is though. In 2013, a 3-1 non-conference start made it seem like Illinois was no longer the 2-10 disaster is was in 2012. But then the team proceeded to lose seven of its final eight games to finish 4-8.

The offense had new life breathed into it, especially during those first four games, by new offensive coordinator Bill Cubit. Against Sothern Illinois, Cincinnati and Miami of Ohio, the Illini lit up the scoreboard with outputs of 42, 45 and 50 points. They averaged 29.7 points per game. In 2012, they averaged only 16.7 points per game.

Cubit utilized vertically oriented plays that stretched the field with a good balance of a threatening ground game that did manage to keep Illinois in more games that most would have been expected.

Besides that misleading start, the only other highlight of 2013 was a 20-16 win against the only team worse than Illinois in the Big Ten Conference, Purdue. It snapped a streak of 20 straight conference losses.

Head coach Tim Beckman has been making some very positive noise in the recruiting game but for now, he has a roster with a number of questions yet to be answered.

The main question on everyone’s mind has to be who will take charge at quarterback. Oklahoma State transfer Wes Lunt is the perceived frontrunner over senior Reilly O’Toole and sophomore Aaron Bailey. Despite a lackluster performance in the Orange and Blue Spring Game, it does not look like Bailey or O’Toole will overtake the strong-armed Lunt with much ease.

Bailey proved serviceable as a short-yardage runner and a dual-threat used in only specific packages. This year, Bailey will have more of a grip on the whole offense and can give Lunt a run for his money, especially if there are early struggles.

The other knowing question for 2014 is the state of the second-worst defense in the conference in 2013. Illinois allowed 481.5 yards and 35.4 points per game. Defensive coordinator Tim Banks is entering his third season and is assuredly on the hot seat but his defense was very young last season.

Junior linebacker Mason Monheim and senior linebacker/safety Earnest Thomas III will headline this defense with much to prove. The secondary can also be a liability like last season. With a year playing together under their belts, players like safety Zane Petty and speedy cornerback V’Angelo Bentley will be tasked to improve upon the worst pass defense efficiency in the Big Ten.

Bentley will also be expected to perform on special teams after returning both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown last season.

It is reasonable to expect Illinois to take at least a couple of steps forward but truly, high expectations and realized success seem a ways away. Even if there is some noted improvement via five or six wins, Beckman’s job may be saved.

I’m sure many of the Illini faithful would at least want to see improvement in their student section stunts.

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