ReliaQuest Bowl: Revamped Illinois secondary under the gun vs. Mississippi State ‘Air Raid’

TAMPA, Fla. — Do the stats lie?

Because they tell a story of an Illinois defense that can match up with Mississippi State’s “Air Raid” offense and lead the Illini to victory Monday in a ReliaQuest Bowl matchup of 8-4 teams.

With quarterback Will Rogers in the starring role, the Bulldogs throw it 49.1 times per game, completing 33.2 on average for 314.3 yards. It’s kind of like an aerial running game, with short passes designed for yards after the catch. Rogers is the SEC’s career leader in completions and MSU’s record-holder in passing yards and touchdowns, and the Bulldogs are No. 2 in the nation in the YAC department.

But pass defense has been the Illini’s biggest strength. They rank first nationally in efficiency (89.8), yards allowed per attempt (5.4), touchdowns allowed (eight) and interceptions (22). The Illini also are first in takeaways (30) and second in average points allowed (12.3).

“As a fan of defense, aggressive defense, the way it’s supposed to be played, the job that they did this year, man, it’s fun to watch it,” said Bulldogs coach Zach Arnett, who was promoted from defensive coordinator two weeks ago after Mike Leach’s death. “Our guys have enjoyed watching it just on film because that’s how defense is supposed to be played.”

But so much of the heavy lifting was done by All-America cornerback Devon Witherspoon, a projected first-round NFL draft pick, and All-Big Ten safety Sydney Brown, a projected mid-round pick — and both opted out of the bowl game.

Not having the nation’s second-leading rusher, Chase Brown — who also opted out — is a blow. But not having his twin brother flying around menacingly and Witherspoon locking receivers down ruthlessly has to be an even more serious problem for the Illini.

It’s a challenging way to start for brand-new defensive coordinator Aaron Henry, who played for Bret Bielema at Wisconsin and was promoted from defensive backs coach after Ryan Walters left to take the coaching job at Purdue. Rogers will be spreading the ball around to Rufus Harvey, Caleb Ducking, Lideatrick Griffin and several others, and a revamped secondary crew that includes freshmen cornerbacks Tyler Strain and Xavier Scott and freshman safety Matthew Bailey will have to come through.

“Obviously,” Bielema said, “with the way these guys call offense, our secondary is going to have to be at its best.”

It’s probably an “or else” situation for Illinois, seeking its first nine-win season since 2007. The Bulldogs don’t even have 1,000 yards on the ground as a team, and there’s no reason to expect them to start running the ball now.

“I got to learn under one of the best to ever do it in coach Leach,” Arnett said. “I’m just doing my best to replicate what he would do.”

And that’s throw the ball until it might seem Rogers’ right arm is about to fall off.

Since arriving here, the Illini have fed -giraffes, checked out an aquarium, splashed around at the beach and beaten MSU players in a pie-eating contest.

But beating them on the field is a different deal. There’s an air raid coming.

NOTES: Illinois can’t do worse than it did the only other time it played in this game, in 1991, when it lost 30-0 to Clemson in what was called the Hall of Fame Bowl. The Illini fumbled on their first offensive snap and trailed 10-0 by the time they took their second one.

• Bret Bielema’s first bowl loss as a coach was also here, in 2008, when this was called the Outback Bowl and Wisconsin lost to Tennessee 21-17.

• Illinois last played Mississippi State in 1980, with the Bulldogs winning 28-21 in Champaign.