Stalled-out drives. Punts. 50+ yard fields goals. Allowing close to 500 yards of offense. This has been a script that was written over, and over, and over again. Illinois fans have expected this result week in and week out. But this time it was different. It felt different.
I watched the full 25-minute highlight replay, and the whole time, it was a much closer game than what it seemed like. If you looked at Twitter, or Reddit, or even our Facebook page, you would have thought otherwise. Take into account that we were playing with a backup QB, backup running backs (starting Jakari Norwood, an RB that nobody had on their boards), an offensive line that is learning a new running scheme, and a couple of backups on defense, it was a game that was prime for the taking for a very good UTSA team.