‘Tackling should be priority one,’: Illinois falls to Duke

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Champaign, IL – So, when a team doesn’t punt once in a game, you’d naturally assume that they blew the opposing team out – right? 

Well… that was not the case for Illinois against Duke on Saturday. 

With the Blue Devils facing a fourth and short inside the Illinois red zone in the third quarter, the Illini defense finally came up big with a stop. But it was never going to be that easy – as Will Holmes was running, the field was declared offside, completely taking away the momentum-killing stop. 

“He [Holmes] thought we had too many people on the field,” said Illinois Head Coach Bret Bielema. “They double-subbed late.”

The ensuing play resulted in Nate Sheppard’s third touchdown of the night. 

The offsides summed up much of Illinois’ day: missed opportunities, mental mistakes, and compounding errors. Ultimately, the mistakes proved too much for Illinois (1-1) to handle, as they fell 31-27 to Duke (2-0) Saturday afternoon at Gies Memorial Stadium.

“It’s definitely an adverse moment that we need to take advantage of,” Bielema said.

The offense was there for the Illini in the first half; however, it was nonexistent in the second. Meanwhile, the defense… never showed up to Gies Memorial Stadium, it seems. 

In the first half, the Collin Dixon connection with Katin Houser continued. The pair connected on two touchdowns against UAB, and would go on to add three more today. 

Another assumption you think you could blindly make about this game is that Collin Dixon was probably the best player on the field. He did have 11 catches, 163 yards and 3 touchdowns –  however, that right belonged to Duke’s Nate Sheppard. 

Sheppard did just about everything in this one. He caught touchdowns, ran them, and even converted a fake punt for the Blue Devils. The Illini just couldn’t seem to tackle him all afternoon.

“The live evaluation was just not being able to wrap him up,” Bielema said of Sheppard. “Tackling should be priority one [going forward].”

From the first moment on the field to his last, Sheppard dominated. The standout sophomore officially iced the game for Duke with under two minutes remaining, converting on a fourth-and-two run. 

Illinois scored only three points in the second half, possibly leaving free points on the table. Midway through the fourth quarter with the Illini down four, Bret Bielema elected to keep the offense on for a fourth-and-short. 

The result would be a turnover on downs and no points. Sure, it didn’t necessarily end up mattering in the box score, but the resulting Illini drives could have been a lot less rushed and more comfortable if they were only down one instead of four. 

There wasn’t necessarily anything new learned about Illinois against the Blue Devils. Going into Saturday’s contest, it was clear that Bobby Hauck’s defense was not headed in the right direction and that Katin Houser’s offense has the chance to be really special – both remain true after week two. 

However, as much as Hauck’s defense is going to get rightfully torn apart in the coming days, the same might need to be said about Barry Lunney’s play calling in the second half. 

It was uninspiring and not at all complementary to his quarterback, who threw for three touchdowns in the first half. 

I think there’s no question the talent is there for the Illini, but in the coming days, some major questions will have to be asked. 

If Illinois is letting Duke walk all over them at home, what’s going to happen to them when they get to the heart of their Big Ten schedule?

All of these questions don’t have to be answered tonight, but for Illini Nation, Saturday afternoon was more than disappointing.

Moments that mattered

This would ultimately be the game-winner for Duke — Sheppard’s third touchdown of the day.

This basically sums up the game in a nutshell.

Even though it wasn’t a positive result today, I’m truly so excited to watch this connection the rest of the year.

Stat stuffers

• Collin Dixon (ILL) — 163 yards, 11 catches, 3 touchdowns
• Nate Sheppard (Duke) — 147 rushing yards, 41 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns
• Katin Houser (ILL) — 24/35, 271 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception

What’s next?

The Illini move to 1-1 in the young season.

They will be back in action next Saturday in Champaign against Southern Illinois.

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