By Greg Mroz
Illinois 13, Northwestern 0
Offensive Penalties: Both Northwestern and Illinois had penalties that forced their offenses into 3rd and long situations. In particular, Illinois had an offensive pass interference call on Mike Dudek, who didnt even catch the pass, negate a pass that would have put Illinois at Northwestern’s 35 yard line. A holding penalty negated a Josh Ferguson run that would have put Illinois inside the Northwestern 10 yard line on their third drive.
Run Games: Illinois’ has been effective, Northwestern’s has not. The Illini are averaging 5.6 yards per carry, the Wildcats just 4.8 . The last drive of the 1st quarter helped boost that average from 3.3 yards per carry.
Zack Oliver: Oliver has not been effective thus far. His starts through one quarter stand at 9 yards on two completions with an interception that lead to the 2nd Illini touchdown of the day. Oliver needs to play better or this could get ugly quickly.