Penalties loom large as Illinois drops to 2-1

Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesThe Illini had been generally effective at holding off non-conference opponents at home in the past few years, even though many of those games were still nail-biters. But Illinois’ luck ran out yesterday against the Eastern Michigan Eagles, and the Illini have plenty to clean up before the Nebraska Cornhuskers come to town on the 21st. Here’s some of the most important takeaways from yesterday’s matchup.

Disciplined Play Remains a Problem

Most of the stats were fairly even between the Illini and Eagles, as Eastern Michigan barely edged out Illinois in total yards (480-464) and takeaways (2-1). In games this closely matched, the little…