How Illinois football became fun again

Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Chase Brown and Jer’Zhan Newton lead the resurgent Illini

Illinois football is fun again.

The Illini sit at 7-1 overall on the season, and at 4-1 in the Big Ten. This is the best start to a season in school history since 1951, when the Illini began the year with a 7-0-1 record. The Illini are also coming off an unbeaten October, the first time that Illinois has finished the month without a loss since 2001, and the school won four games in October for the first time since 1990.

That 7-1 record has Illinois atop the Big Ten standings for the first time since the 2001 season, when they finished the year 10-2 and with a berth in the Sugar Bowl.

That was also before the conference moved to the current divisional format.

When the initial College Football Playoff Rankings debuted this week, the Illini checked in at 16, marking the first time in school history Illinois found themselves among the ranked teams.

While we would love to sit here and make the case that Illinois’ success this year is truly due to the memory of beloved campus mascot Pinto Bean, there is much more to what the Illini have done this season.

And it starts on the defensive side of the football.

Illinois has put together one of the best defenses in the nation, and the numbers speak for themselves. Heading into November, the Illini are first in the nation in scoring defense (8.9 points per game), total defense (224.5 yards per game), touchdowns allowed (6), interceptions (15), passing touchdowns allowed (3), yards per passing attempt (5.0), red zone touchdown percentage (25.0%) and in defensive passing efficiency (77.94).

In terms of defensive passing efficiency, the Illini are ahead of Michigan (101.32) and Georgia (103.01) in the rankings, a big gap from the top team to the next two in the rankings.

A huge part of Illinois’ success on defense is what they can do in terms of pressuring the quarterback. According to charting data from Sports Info Solutions, the Illini have generated 119 pressures on opposing passers, third-most in the nation. Only Penn State (129) and Clemson (119) have pressured the quarterback more this season.

Those numbers are even more impressive when looked at on a percentage basis. Illinois has pressured opposing passers on 43.3% of dropbacks this season, the highest percentage of any team in college football.

If you do not yet know the name Jer’Zhan Newton, it is time to learn it. The defensive tackle has been a force for the Illini this year, with 39 total tackles and 5 sacks. But those numbers only tell part of the story, as Newton’s 32 pressures this season ties him for third in the nation.

Just one behind Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson Jr.

Newton also has 15 quarterback knockdowns this season, according to SIS charting data, which leads the nation. He is the only defender in college football with double-digit knockdowns.

His combination of technique and athleticism makes him perhaps the best interior pass rusher in college football today. You can see that athleticism on this play against Minnesota, and he pressures Tanner Morgan and forces a throwaway under duress:

Later in the game against Minnesota, Newton got home for a sack and you again see that burst as he rushes off the edge:

Here is another example of his athleticism, as he gets a sack against Indiana from earlier in the season:

In terms of his technique, Newton brings to the table powerful hands, and an array of moves as a pass rusher, even when operating on the edge. On this play, watch him get past the left guard and left tackle with a powerful swat-and-rip combination, and then force the QB to make a throw under pressure:

You see something similar on this play against Indiana, only when working on the interior:

However Illinois’ season ends, you are going to want to know Newton’s name going forward. He has the combination of technique, power and burst that NFL teams love to see on the interior.

While Newton might be a name flying under the radar, on the offensive side of the ball the Illini can call upon a running back playing himself into Heisman contention. Chase Brown is currently one of the most productive backs in all of college football. Brown leads the nation with 1,208 rushing yards on the season, and when he surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in just seven games, he became both the first running back in the nation to hit that number, and tied an Illinois record set by J.C. Caroline back in 1953.

Perhaps we should have seen a season like this coming, as this is what Brown did on his first rushing attempt of the year, back in August against Wyoming:

What might be most impressive about Brown this season is what he can do both after contact, and in the open field. According to SIS charting data, Brown has 712 yards after contact this season, second-most in college football. Only Carson Steele from Ball State has more.

Brown has also broken 24 tackles this season according to SIS — tenth-most in college football — and created 19 missed tackles, third-most in college football.

Those numbers show up on plays like this one against Chattanooga:

As well as this one against Minnesota, where he displays both patience, and vision, as a runner:

Against Nebraska this past Saturday, Brown displayed that contact balance in the open field on this run, breaking through the arm-tackle attempt from the defender in the open field to pick up additional yardage:

Can this magical run from Illinois continue? The odds seem to be in their favor for at least the next few weeks. This weekend the Illini host Michigan State, and the Spartans enter with a 3-5 record overall, and are dealing with the continued fallout over the post-game incident in the tunnel after last week’s loss to Michigan. Then on November 12 Illinois hosts Purdue, and given that the Boilermakers currently sit just behind the Illini in the Big Ten West with a 3-2 conference record, that game could go a long way towards determining who travels to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.

But the biggest test remaining for Illinois comes before Thanksgiving, as the Illini travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines on November 19. Could that game actually be a preview of the Big Ten Championship Game?

Perhaps only Pinto Bean knows for sure.