This could have been the type of victory that gets an “interim” tag removed.
Even if Interim Head Illini football Coach Bill Cubit had pulled off the upset, it still would have been no guarantee that he keeps his job after this season. That’s up to an Interim Athletic Director, who reports under an Interim Chancellor.
In the Interim though, a win over an undefeated, #1 ranked team that is 47-3 in their last 50, would have been quite the resume builder.
Ohio State, holders of the national best 22 wins in a row, were there for the taking. They made plenty of mistakes, and showed enough vulnerabilities that were indeed ripe for the plucking. We’ll cover that in a separate article shortly.
This Illini football team just played too poorly on offense though to carpe diem. Quarterback Wes Lunt was sacked twice, hurried a lot, and pressured all day. He’s had a couple off games this season, but this may have been the most off that he has looked in 2015. Lunt had an off day, but he was far from the only one who can shoulder blame for today’s issues with scoring.
“The issue is the depth, we just have so many guys out,” said Cubit.
“We should have helped him out. He had some hellacious throws but we could have helped him out.”
Cubit articulated that the Illini problems definitely do not stem from a lack of effort.
“Passion is not the problem, playing hard is not the problem, if that was the problem, then you have no shot,” Cubit said.
“If you don’t see the passion in these kids, then somebody’s blind. These kids are playing their butts off. The way they are battling against all odds out there. Give me these kids any day of the week.”
Back-up running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn left the game early with a concussion. He’ll undergo the usual protocol.
Bright spot for Illini football was the defense though. They disrupted the Ohio State offense enough to keep Illinois in it for three quarters. OSU quarterback J.T. Barrett looked out of sync at times, and the Buckeyes committed a couple turnovers.
Still, too many plays today looked like this one below, and there’s on excuse for that:
Illinois Football! #B1G https://t.co/Np4nadbOoE
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 14, 2015
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. The website is also featured on News Now.
Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye. He also appears regularly on numerous television and radio talk shows all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.
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