#23 Illinois Fighting Illini Host #21 USC Trojans in BNK Showdown

The Illinois Fighting Illini play host to the USC Trojans this afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. This bout will be the second consecutive ranked matchup for the Fighting Illini, and they’re hoping this one goes better than last week’s laugher against Indiana. Illinois has the luxury of playing this Big Ten contest at home, on homecoming weekend no less, in front of FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show.

With much of the spotlight on this game, both teams have an opportunity to use this game to announce themselves to the college football world. For Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini, they can leave the embarrassing loss to Indiana in the rearview and prove it was just a blip on the radar. Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans can prove that the last couple of seasons of underwhelming and lackluster play are behind them, and that they are ready to reemerge as a major player in college football for the first time as a Big Ten team.

USC Trojans Visit Illinois Fighting Illini

Homecoming weekend in Champaign, Illinois, is going to come with more fanfare than normal this year. The Illinois Fighting Illini have a 3-1 football team ranked 23rd in the nation. The 21st-ranked Trojans come in undefeated on the season at 4-0. Despite the similar rankings, these two teams are coming in after very different results last week. The spectacle at Memorial Stadium becomes even bigger with FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show traveling to Champaign to lead into the 11 AM CT kick of their game of the week.

The Illinois Fighting Illini are coming in wounded after a 63-10 beatdown suffered at the hands of the Indiana Hoosiers last week in Bloomington. Illinois came in as the ninth-ranked team in the country, hoping to launch into a new era of Fighting Illini football if they could defeat an Indiana team that went to the College Football Playoff a year ago. After getting outclassed, Bielema’s squad has to regroup and get ready to face another ranked foe who comes in as a road favorite to Memorial Stadium.

The USC Trojans look like they are gaining some traction for the first time as a Big Ten team. It’s been a struggle for Lincoln Riley’s group during their Big Ten tenure, but after an offseason that saw the Trojans pour resources into the offensive and defensive fronts, USC looks ready to make some noise in a crowded Big Ten. Coming off a 45-31 win over the Michigan State Spartans, USC is looking to take a huge stride and leave Champaign with a win and a new image in the Big Ten and college football scene.

Illinois’ Keys

The Illinois Fighting Illini were riding high after the first three weeks of the season. Then all of the momentum they had been building that resulted in them breaking through the top ten dissipated with the 63-10 loss on the road at Indiana last week. Indiana’s tenacious defense revealed the flaws in Illinois’ offense. Pass blocking and pocket integrity were severely lacking and led to seven sacks.

The disruption in pass protection threw off the Illinois offense and play sequencing. They couldn’t run the ball, totaling only two rushing yards, and had to put the offensive line in peril with obvious passing situations. The loss cast a spotlight on just how important keeping the rushing attack viable for the Fighting Illini is going to be against a USC defense that has shown itself to be capable of rushing the passer.

The Illinois defense is going to have to overcome some critical absences in the secondary. What came into the year as the strength of the Fighting Illini has quickly become a problem. Xavier Scott will likely miss the rest of the season. The second and third string Cornerbacks, Torrie Cox Jr. and Kaleb Patterson, could also miss the game with injuries suffered in the Indiana game. If Jaheim Clarke doesn’t get the go-ahead to make his season debut, the Illinois defense could have to overcome not having its top four cornerbacks on the roster. USC will likely test its replacements out early.

USC’s Keys

Riley hasn’t lived up to the hype thus far in his USC tenure. After going 11-3 in his first campaign in Los Angeles, the Trojans fell to 8-5 and 7-6 in the last two seasons. With revamped and improved personnel on the line of scrimmage, Riley and USC are showing signs of finally adjusting to Big Ten football. With a burgeoning star at quarterback in Jayden Maiava and a much-improved running game, the new look USC offense could be ready to put on a show against the Illinois Fighting Illini.

If the Indiana loss is indicative of Illinois’ struggles, then USC’s victory over Michigan State could be indicative of a great matchup for Lincoln Riley’s squad. Makai Lemon is USC’s top receiver, and with the deficiencies of the Illinois secondary, Maiava could be looking for his junior wideout early and often down the field. If USC can get ahead with big plays down the field, they could set up their new prolific rushing attack, headed up by Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders, to salt the game away and spoil a Champaign homecoming.

USC is currently almost a touchdown favorite to do just that. Last week’s dichotomy of Illinois getting beaten convincingly by Indiana and USC overwhelming Michigan State could be coloring perceptions of these teams and this game. With both of these teams ranked and FOX making this their featured game of the week, plenty of eyeballs are going to be on Memorial Stadium. Both teams have an opportunity to make a statement, and whichever team prevails is going to have a path to the CFP open up before them.