Illinois vs. Louisiana-Lafayette preview

Fighting Illini look to for second straight win

The Fighting Illini stay at home this week to welcome in the Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette. Illinois is coming off a big win over the Eastern Illinois Panthers. The Illini are averaging 44.5 points after their first two games but had some issues they needed to address against the Panthers. I wanted to see if Coach Zook would keep the ball on the ground and get these young tailbacks some experience and that’s exactly what he did. In fact, The Illini rushed the ball 53 times for an astounding 399 yards. Seven and a half yards per carry will get the job done and the Illini figure to have just as easy of a time with their Week 3 opponent. However, on the other side of the ball the Ragin’ Cajuns will be a big test for the Fighting Illini’s run defense. ULL returns their feature back, Tyrell Fenroy, who helped lead the Ragin’ Cajuns rush attack to the 7 th most potent running game in the nation. This senior has over 3,300 yards rushing in his career. ULL will look to exploit a run defense giving up an average of 201 yards on the ground after its first 2 games. I look for Illinois to bring that average down and continue to be electrifying on offense.

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#24 Illinois 54 - Louisiana-Lafayette 13

by Zack Estes
BigTen-fans.com Illinois Correspondent

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