ILLINI NOW: Chattanooga Pregame Preview

Illinois is 2-1 after a bye-week. They are coming off of a 24-3 win over ACC rival Virginia. Chattanooga is undefeated and coming to Champaign with a 3-0 record. Rusty Wright is the head coach at Chattanooga. He has a record of 15-13 in his 4 years in charge.

Chattanooga's quarterback Preston Hutchinson is a grad transfer from Eastern Michigan University. Hutchinson has already started nine games for the Eagles last season. In his most recent game against North Alabama, Hutchinson racked up over 330 yards of total passing yards with 3 touchdowns. The current leading receiver for Chattanooga is Sam Phillips. Power back Ailym Ford is the star of the Chattanooga offense. He has 229 yards rushing on this season along with 4 touchdowns so far. Illinois has a fantastic secondary and a good defensive front.

Illinois is three games into the season. They are good on defense, the Illinois secondary is complete lockdown and the offense has taken a step forward. Chattanooga has one of the most well-respected defenses in the FCS. Illinois has struggled to find rhythm in their offense in red zone. Illinois must take advantage of working their craft against a good defense. The team must outmatch Chattanooga at every position. It must control the controllable. Turnovers are a problem for teams on the rise.

Illinois is going to score a lot in the red zone and go into a big Wisconsin week 3-1. Kirkland predicts Illinois to beat Wisconsin 37-9.