When Illinois traveled to Duke in Week 2 last season, the Illini spent most of their time fretting over how to contain quarterback Darian Mensah.
Mensah went off for 334 passing yards and two scores, but Illinois produced a plus-5 turnover margin that transformed a tight game into a 45-19 triumph.
Duke (1-0) heads to Illinois (1-0) for Saturday’s nonconference rematch in Champaign, Ill., and the Illini can’t help but notice how dramatically the Blue Devils’ offense has changed.
With Mensah gone to Miami, Duke has gone ground game-crazy behind 5-foot-10, 190-pound sophomore Nate Sheppard. He ranks as the nation’s rushing leader after piling up 227 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries in last week’s 17-3 win over Tulane.
The Blue Devils rushed the ball 49 times while throwing just 28 times against the Green Wave – roughly the reverse of how they operated last year against Illinois.
“They were vastly different — both personnel and schematically — from a year ago,” said Illinois defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck. “Same offense. A lot of the same concepts. But they’re drastically different in how they’re going at it, so we’re going to have to figure out where we’re going to lean.”
While the Illini decide whether to emphasize stopping the run or pass, they’ll need to emphasize better tackling. Though Illinois handled UAB 42-23 on Sept. 3, the hosts allowed 413 yards on a whopping 79 plays. That included 194 rushing yards against Hauck’s new 3-3-5 defense.
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema blamed himself for his team’s struggles to bring guys to the turf.
“I made a conscientious effort that we just did not tackle very much (in the fall),” Bielema said. “I knew that tackling was going to be a little bit of an issue.”
While Duke changed its focus offensively, its defense remains determined to apply pressure virtually every snap. In last week’s 17-3 win, the Blue Devils allowed just 54 rushing yards and defensive end Bryce Davis (3 TFLs, 2 sacks) was named the ACC’s Defensive Lineman of the Week.
He and his teammates will try to rattle fifth-year Illini quarterback Katin Houser, who hit 13 of 17 passes for 182 yards and three scores against UAB in his Illinois debut. He also scrambled for a fourth score.
“Their quarterback is really efficient with the ball out of his hand,” said Duke defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke. “Great timing throws. Has good arm strength. His feet can get him out of trouble in the pocket.”