Matchup To Watch: Morgan Ellison vs. Bobby Roundtree and Isaiah Gay

Morgan Ellison dives in for a touchdown Image: Sammy Jacobs HoosierHuddle.com

Written By Alex Compton (@alexncompton)

Last Saturday saw IU’s last chance at a regular season “breakthrough” moment slip away, and now three in a row must be won against some of the Big Ten’s perennial bottom-dwellers in order to attain bowl eligibility. Morgan Ellison returned from injury last week to face the Badgers, and struggled mightily. He rushed for just 17 yards on 6 carries, and has now put together two consecutive subpar games in a decently successful freshman campaign so far. On paper, IU should dominate the Illini and get back in the win column. However….. the only sure thing with IU football is that there isn’t a sure thing, so this game really could go either way like every other game this year. The Illini are ravaged with injury on both sides of the ball, but this has allowed some young guys to get good experience and make fans excited about the future. Getting out to a good start on Saturday will be key, as putting young team in a nice deficit generally leads to comfortable wins. In order to start fast, IU actually needs to establish a running game, and Ellison will again be the guy that is counted on for most of that production. Watch for him, and watch for him against some of Illinois’ young edge guys this weekend. 

MORGAN ELLISON VS. BOBBY ROUNDTREE & ISAIAH GAY

U of I has started 16 freshmen this year, and two of their best have been North Carolina native Isaiah Gay and longtime IU target Bobby Roundtree, from Florida. They have really shown some flashes of the types of players they could be, and every team in the conference would surely love to have them on their roster instead. Gay has 15 tackles and 1 sack, while Roundtree has 37 tackles and 3 sacks, which makes him one of the most productive freshman in the country. Sure, they’re playing well, but they’ve also been incredibly versatile to start their careers, and this is the aspect that Ellison and the Hoosiers have to be ready for on Saturday. They drop into coverage, rush the A gap, and obviously look to create havoc in the backfield. All of these different looks that IU will see could cause hiccups in the run game, and that must be avoided at all costs. 

So what’s the key for Morgan Ellison to run the ball well on Saturday? A few things. First off, the line needs to be better. They have given up the 3rd most sacks in the Big Ten so far this year with 24, and this has really hurt the offense’s ability to keep anyone on their feet, quarterback or not. From there, Ellison needs to be ready to run hard. He has for the most part this season, but against a young and less physical Illini defense, Elliison running really hard could set the tone and really change the momentum during the game. Next, he HAS to hold the ball. He “lost” a fumble against Wisconsin last weekend after another BS Big Ten call, but he has had a habit this year of putting the ball on the turf, or losing it out of bounds, etc. Ball security against a team that is inferior needs to be one of the top priorities, and hopefully Ellison can clean that up this week. For IU to get off to a good start and get out of Champaign with a W this weekend, they need Ellison to run the ball well. To do that, he’ll have to beat out two freshmen on the other side of the ball in Bobby Roundtree and Isaiah Gay.