Illinois v Michigan State: failing on all cylinders

The Eddie McGee era lasted about 1 half, then a pick 6 put an exclamation mark on yet another half of offensive football that no one here in Champaign can justify. Early in the game, the offense was once again stalled out time and time again, while the defense gave up two quick touchdowns in the first quarter.

Faced again an uphill battle, Zook decided to pull Eddie in favor of Juice, giving us further evidence that this season is getting to out of hand. It is also providing evidence that this team, unfortunately, is lacking in more than just quarterback play.

The first half was composed of Michigan State running it down the throats of the Illini, and routinely converting on 3rd and 4th down with ease. The offense under McGee on the other hand ran into a brick wall several times, and only had one drive that had any first downs. At the close of the first half the stat line told the tale of the day, in total offense Michigan State out gained the Illini 281 to 60. Yikes.

After the opening Illini possession from the Illini resulted in the McGee interception, Juice was reinstalled as quarterback, and to his credit, he performed better than he has all year. He still missed on a couple passes that could have made a big impact on the game, but he still led to team to two scores, which made the final score at least look competitive.

Maybe it was the MSU defense giving up the yards, but Juice seems to have responded to the week of taking 2nd team snaps. His passes seemed more accurate, and his decisions looked better. It would not turn out to be enough to win the game, but taking the pressure off of Juice seems to have made him a better player.

Kudos also to the defense for playing much better in the second half, after getting pushed off of the line and giving up alot of yards on the ground and through the air, the defense locked down much better in the second half.

In the end though, the 17 points scored in the first half along with the TD interception return in the 3rd quarter, were enough to hold off anything the Illini could muster in the second half.

This game has perhaps revealed even more weaknesses about the team, and not shored many up. The defensive and offensive lines, which before had at least performed adequately, were completely outmatched by their Michigan State counterparts.

Next week is Indiana, a team that was blown out by Virginia yesterday.  I have never really worried about losing to Indiana this season, but now, it seems to be in doubt. Shuffling quarterbacks, under performing lines and a schedule that at this point completely eliminates any chances for the Illini to make a bowl game, makes me wonder how well this team will perform even against Indiana. This is a rough season and it only seems to be getting rougher.