On Saturday, Illinois earned its third straight Big Ten win of the season against Rutgers, which gave the Illini, and their fanbase, validation that this team is better than everyone thought five weeks ago.
It’s no secret that Illinois’ defense has pushed the team through the toughest games of the season. Defensively, Illinois knows how to put its team in a position to get great drives going. And in some cases, the Illini D takes matters into its own hands to score — on Saturday they had two touchdowns — giving the defense a total of five touchdowns this season, putting them at a tie with Mizzou for most in the country.