So we had a brief visit with the University of Illinois during this year’s college football season. We took in a couple of their games to see the talent level of the program and get an idea of what to expect in the upcoming NFL Draft, but we also tried to get some insight about the level of maturity of the players on the field.
We started with two of the three games the Illini play in this year’s season, Northwestern vs. Wisconsin and Iowa vs. Notre Dame. The Northwestern game was obviously the weakest of the two, but it showed the level of talent the Illini have on the field. The Illini are ranked 10th in the country and are making their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA championship game.
Both games were close, but the Illini are clearly not as good as they were two years ago. The Northwestern game was a close battle, but the Illini were able to win the battle thanks to the Wisconsin defense. The Illinois offense was dominant in the game, but the defense really was the key. Both the Northwestern defense and offense looked much better in the game.
The Illinois offense was impressive at times, but the Northwestern defense had a lot to prove. One of the biggest key points of the Illinois game was that the Illini offense really didn’t have the same sort of playmakers as usual. The Northwestern defense was excellent in the game, but it was the Illini offense that really made the difference. The Illinois offense had a lot of scoring, but the Northwestern defense really was the difference.
The Illinois defense had a lot of scoring and the Northwestern offense had a lot of scoring, but the Illini offense had a lot of scoring and the Northwestern defense had a lot of scoring, but the Illini offense had a lot of scoring and the Northwestern defense had a lot of scoring… and for the team that has a lot of scoring, it’s the Northwestern offense that really made the biggest difference.
In the big game, the Illini offense was the better team, but the Northwestern defense really was the difference.
I don’t think that’s a fair comparison. The Northwestern offense scored more points, but the Northwestern defense scored more points. In fact, the Northwestern offense actually scored more than their opponents as well. I mean, look at the Northwestern offense’s final scoring numbers: 10.4 points per game, and the Illinois offense had a 9.4 point differential, but the Northwestern defense had a 22.3 point differential.
Northwestern’s offense was the best team in the country (ranked 6th). Northwestern’s defense was the best team in the country, with a defense ranked 20th. Those rankings are in direct proportion to the teams’ scoring. So, if Northwestern offense is ranked 6th, and Northwestern defense is 20th, and Northwestern offense is better than Northwestern defense, then Northwestern offense will win the national championship (and that Northwestern defense is ranked 5th).
Not surprisingly, Northwestern is ranked 5th best defense, so Northwestern offense will win the national championship.
The fact of the matter is, all of the top teams in the nation are in the top 10 of the polls. So even if the top teams don’t win every game, the fact of the matter is that they are in the top 10. So if Northwestern offense is ranked 5th, and Northwestern defense is ranked 10th, and Northwestern offense is better than Northwestern defense, then Northwestern offense will win the national championship.
