Observations on the first half with Illinois, 31-31!

What an absolute crazy game!!! We turn the ball over 3 times in the first quarter and Illinois gets 11 points off turnovers. We score 31 points on the #3 defense in the country. Illinois gets 11 points off three red zones, and we come up with 10 points off two red zones.

Offense comes up with 394 yards of total offense in the first half! Denard Robinson goes 7 of 15 for 262 yards, 3 TDs and 2 interceptions. Robinson runs 12 times for 44 yards. Vincent Smith has 6 carries for 44 yards. Stephen Hopkins has 3 carries for 37 yards and a TD. Roy Roundtree has 4 catches for 192 yards and 2 TDs. Junior Hemingway catches 2 for 55 yards and a TD. Offense was 4 of 9 on 3rd and 4th down conversions. Lewan is doing a great job on Liuget who only has 4 tackles.

Defense is horrible, but show some promise at times. Nathan Scheelhaase is 7 of 13 for 92 yards and a TD. Jason Ford has 6 carries for 85 and a TD and Mikel LeShoure has 9 carries for 57 yards. Illinois rolls up 312 yards in total offense, go 3 of 7 on 3rd down conversions and maintain a 6 minute time of possession advantage. A.J. Jenkins has 3 catches for 49 yards and Ryan Lankford hauls in a 33 yarder for a TD. Kenny Demens looks good at MIKE linebacker with 8 tackles and a pass break up.

Jeremy Gallon has another Jekyl & Hyde performance with a fumble on a kickoff, but one good kickoff and one good punt return. Overall, I'd rather see him on the bench. Daryl Stonum reverses a kickoff for a 61 yard return on our last drive. Seth Broekhuisen kicks a 35 yard field goal to match Dimke. Our offense scores or turns it over so we had no punts. Cam Gordon looks much better at SAM Outside Linebacker and has 6 tackles and a pass break up. Martin leaves the game again so hopfully we'll see more of Quinton Washington.

2nd Half is too unpredictable to predict. I guess the first one to 60 wins.