Actually, two of the highest rushing totals by opponents were against Washington and KSU, not exactly decent teams. Furthermore, the only traditional running attacks that had any success were LSU and PSU. Most of UW yards were on QB scrambles, and Locker is a great talent. KSU's Jarvis is mostly an outside runner, you can't blame the DTs for not tackling a guy 10 yds away. Illinois ran a spread option, which is geared to create individual matchups and put the ball carrier in space.
The traditional running game powerhouses: UW, MSU, and UM did next to nothing against us (yes, I know PJ Hill didn't play). PSU had good rushing numbers, but after the first drive were largely ineffective. Those are also the teams that churn out good O-linemen every year. Against LSU, the D had more than one drive stopped, only to have a penalty reset the downs. The tigers had 49 rushing attempts, but only averaged 3.1 yds/att. Coincidentally, the 2002, 2003, and 2005 defenses also gave up the most rushing yards to the best rushing teams. It's basically expected. Last year's team didn't have a standout DT like K. Pete or Pitcock, but that doesn't mean that they were terrible. It's worth noting that from 2005 to 06, Pitcock's TFLs went from 3 to 12, and his sacks from 1 to 8. That's a huge improvement for one year. Most college athletes show marked improvement from year to year, especially at OSU.
