Illinois’ tackling issues persist and its offense dries up in 31-27 loss to Duke: ‘We’ve got to wrap up’

CHAMPAIGN — Illinois went into its game against Duke on Saturday at Gies Memorial Stadium with questions about its tackling.

Nate Sheppard exacerbated the issue.

The Duke running back slipped through the grasps of many Illini defenders on the way to 147 rushing yards, 41 receiving yards and three total touchdowns in the Blue Devils’ 31-27 victory. Illinois left the field Saturday evening 1-1 and with issues to address in new coordinator Bobby Hauck’s defense.

The Illini offense, fueled by a monster first half from wide receiver Collin Dixon, tried to keep pace. But Duke took its first lead to open the third quarter, and the Illini offensive production dried up in front of an orange-clad crowd that was announced to be a sellout.

Sheppard was a concern entering the game.

In Duke’s 17-3, season-opening win against Tulane, Sheppard rushed for 227 yards on 35 carries — 6.5 yards per carry — with two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Illini had defensive struggles in their 42-23 opening win against UAB.

Illinois coach Bret Bielema and Hauck — the former Montana and UNLV head coach in his first season with the Illini — both addressed the tackling problems after the win over UAB by saying they didn’t do a lot of live tackling in practice in the weeks leading up to the game to avoid injuries. They both indicated they thought it would be a fixable issue.

But Sheppard had 101 rushing yards and a touchdown and 18 receiving yards and a score in the first half alone for Duke (2-0) as the Illini went into halftime clinging to a 24-21 lead.

“(Sheppard) is a really good player. He can make people miss, but also no excuses for us,” Bielema said. “We’ve got to wrap up. I thought there were several times we had guys stopped, and they fell forward for 5, 6, 7 yards or even ran through some tackles.

“Most of the tackles that we’re missing, we’re not continuing to drive our feet, we’re just wrapping and reaching. We’re not finishing our tackles.”

It was more of the same after halftime. Sheppard scored on a 3-yard touchdown catch when he avoided the tackling efforts of linebacker Robert Edmonson. That put Duke ahead 28-24, and the teams traded field goals after that.

“I honestly think that we beat ourselves from that standpoint,” Illinois safety Matthew Bailey said of bringing Sheppard down. “It’s something that’s carried over from last week, obviously. Like he’s a good running back and he’s got all the accolades and that stuff, but I think we beat ourselves.”

Meanwhile, an Illinois offense that totaled 24 points and 263 yards in the first half managed just three points and 119 yards in the second.

On the three drives after Duke took its four-point lead, the Illini turned the ball over on downs twice and another time on an interception.

Early in the fourth quarter, Katin Houser’s fourth-and-2 pass to Dixon fell incomplete in the red zone. After the Illini defense forced Duke to go three-and-out, Duke cornerback Evan Smith intercepted Houser.

Houser called the play “tough.”

“Don’t really want to force it but want to be a little bit aggressive,” Houser said. “Don’t want to just chuck it out of bounds. The second down I probably should have ran. And then the third down, saw the defender running with the seam, had his back turned and then just fell off on that dagger throw. Made a really good play. Obviously can’t turn the ball over in that situation.”

The Blue Devils got the ball at the Illini 45-yard line but couldn’t advance. Duke quarterback Walker Eget was injured on the drive and had to be helped off the field, and backup Dan Mahan threw incomplete on third down. The Illini received another chance.

But after three straight rushing plays, another Houser pass to Dixon fell incomplete on fourth-and-4. Duke went for it on fourth-and-1 to extend its final drive and pull off the victory.

Houser, in his second game since transferring in from East Carolina, completed 24 of 35 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns. Much of his production in the first half was to Dixon.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior had nine catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns before halftime. He opened the Illini scoring with a leaping 13-yard touchdown catch and later had a 40-yard TD catch on fourth-and-1. He made an impressive 30-yard sideline grab with cornerback Landan Callahan blanketing him on another drive and then scored on a 2-yard touchdown catch.

Dixon finished with 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

“We just kind of hit a lull a little bit,” Houser said. “Couldn’t move the ball. Obviously can’t turn the ball over. Had some penalties. Those add up. You’re not going to score points having that stuff. You’ve got to eliminate the penalties, turnovers and miscues on offense.”

Illinois was playing with a revamped offensive line.

Right guard Brandon Henderson was knocked out of the opener against UAB with an injury, and Bielema said in advance that he would be out against Duke. Left guard Maika Matelau then wasn’t dressed for the game because of a knee sprain, according to Bielema.

Right guard TJ McMillen and left guard Brandon Hansen started in their places. McMillen left the game with an injury in the fourth quarter, and Dezmond Schuster entered in his place.

Bielema pointed to Illinois’ seven penalties for 71 yards as playing a big role in the loss. Three of them were holding penalties on offense.

“It was more the penalties and mental errors that just caused us to self-implode a couple of times on really all three phases,” Bielema said. “That’s all on me. I’ve got to clean up the details, just simple things from the way we communicate, the way we execute in critical moments, some things that could have easily been avoided.”

For Duke, Eget completed 15 of 21 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

Sheppard was frequently Duke’s answer in the first half. He had a 30-yard run on Duke’s first touchdown drive and ran 15 yards on a fake punt on their second touchdown drive. Later on that possession, he gained 19 yards on a play with three Illini missed tackles and scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to cut Illinois’ lead to 17-14. He added a 7-yard touchdown catch before halftime.

Bielema ran extra tackling drills in the practices leading up to the game. Bailey said he thinks there are ways to attack the tackling issues.

“I think tackling is really like a mindset, and understanding leverage, understanding what the back likes to do, studying from that standpoint,” Bailey said. “So I think there’s a lot of things from a non-contact aspect that you can correct in tackling. I think that’s a lot of the things that we need to do to clean up.”

The Illini need to get it corrected soon. They host their third straight game against Southern Illinois next weekend but have a trip to No. 1 Ohio State looming in Week 4.

“Come in tomorrow, flush it,” Dixon said of the loss. “After we dissect it tomorrow, we’ll get coached up on it. Next week, there’s nothing in my mind that says this is going to be a setback. I think we’ll respond well, and I have all the confidence in the world in the guys in the locker room.”