Same fixture, different Duke
Illinois host Duke on Saturday in Champaign, a year after winning the same nonconference meeting 45-19 in Durham. Almost nothing about the opponent looks the same.
Darian Mensah threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns in that game and still lost, because Illinois won the turnover battle by five. Mensah now plays for Miami. Duke replaced his production by handing the ball off.
Nate Sheppard leads the nation in rushing after week one. The sophomore carried 35 times for 227 yards and two scores in a 17-3 win over Tulane, and a 63-yard touchdown run came back on a penalty. He stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 190 pounds. Duke ran 49 times and threw 28 in that game, close to the mirror image of how they attacked Illinois last season.
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Illinois have a tackling problem to solve first
Bobby Hauck runs a new 3-3-5 front for the Illini and watched it concede 194 rushing yards to UAB on September 3. Illinois won 42-23 but gave up 413 total yards across 79 plays.
Bret Bielema took the blame directly. “I made a conscientious effort that we just did not tackle very much (in the fall),” the Illinois head coach said. “I knew that tackling was going to be a little bit of an issue.”
Hauck framed the week as a choice between two uncomfortable options. “They were vastly different, both personnel and schematically, from a year ago,” he said. “Same offense. A lot of the same concepts. But they’re drastically different in how they’re going at it, so we’re going to have to figure out where we’re going to lean.”
Duke’s defence gets its own test
The Blue Devils held Tulane to 54 rushing yards. Defensive end Bryce Davis piled up three tackles for loss and two sacks and took ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week.
Katin Houser waits for them. The fifth-year Illinois quarterback completed 13 of 17 for 182 yards and three touchdowns against UAB, then ran in a fourth.
“Their quarterback is really efficient with the ball out of his hand,” Duke defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke said. “Great timing throws. Has good arm strength. His feet can get him out of trouble in the pocket.”
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