Illinois' defense yesterday used a scheme I haven't seen used against Iowa in many years. On each and every defensive snap, the Illini positioned a single Safety nearly 20 yds from the LOS in the middle of the field. 1st and 10? Said formation. 3rd and 1? Same formation. Clearly this was in response to Padilla's success last week vs MN hitting on long, game-changing passes down the field. Bielema from the first snap of the game was basically saying "OK, if you're going to beat us you're going to have to drive the length of the field vs our elite punter with a subpar offense." And the strategy to stop Iowa's long passes worked to perfection -- the only time I remember Padilla throwing long was late in the game and it was intercepted (yes, the WR was held right in front of me -- a terrible no-call -- but I digress).
The unfortunate trade-off for Illinois was that they purposely removed 1 defender from every run play Iowa ran...which were many. I'm not kidding, the Safety lined up in the middle of nowhere, literally 20 yds down the field! Iowa coaches clearly took note, and the Hawks actually rushed for over 200 yds vs Illinois even tho the stats state 174 -- the botched punt was recorded as a -30 yd rush.
Was this unusual Illinois strategy worth it, and will we see other teams try this strategy for every snap vs Iowa's offense? I doubt it...Iowa's WRs are not that explosive, and it's not that hard to stop Iowa's offense with safeties playing 8-10 yds from the LOS. But it sure was unusual and interesting to watch.
The unfortunate trade-off for Illinois was that they purposely removed 1 defender from every run play Iowa ran...which were many. I'm not kidding, the Safety lined up in the middle of nowhere, literally 20 yds down the field! Iowa coaches clearly took note, and the Hawks actually rushed for over 200 yds vs Illinois even tho the stats state 174 -- the botched punt was recorded as a -30 yd rush.
Was this unusual Illinois strategy worth it, and will we see other teams try this strategy for every snap vs Iowa's offense? I doubt it...Iowa's WRs are not that explosive, and it's not that hard to stop Iowa's offense with safeties playing 8-10 yds from the LOS. But it sure was unusual and interesting to watch.
