Early in the second half Saturday at Washington it looked like Illinois might get its running game going.

But in a repeat of games earlier this seaso,n something went wrong. In this case it was a Josh Ferguson fumble in the 44-19 loss.

But offensive coordinator Bill Cubit said Monday that if it isn't one thing it's another. Penalties. Turnovers. Failure by backs to read the holes.

Those problems have left Illinois (2-1) with a run game ranked 118th in the country. The Illini are producing just 71.3 yards a game.

Cubit says a better run game would take pressure off quarterback Wes Lunt, who was sacked four times Saturday.

Lunt says better running would also cut down on third-and-long plays that plague Illinois.