Whether it evolved from Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, or the hundreds of college coaches before and after, successful Midwest football in chilly, windy October/November flows from a smash-mouth ground attack.

West Coast passing is fun for the fans. But the “big uglies” who rule the trenches are most likely to prevail.

Ohio State tackle Orlando Pace is still doing commercials, and is toasted by Buckeye loyalists in the same breath with line smashers like John Brockington, Bob Ferguson and Pete Johnson, all 20th century products.

That is the history of the Big Ten’s premier franchise.

At Wisconsin, Barry Alvarez made a career out of developing powerhouse blockers, and uplifted a destitute program on the hoofs of Ron Dayne (7,125 yards in 1996-99). They’ve attended 26 bowls in 28 seasons.

So we know the Badgers, despite the early departure of Jonathan Taylor (6,174 yards in three seasons), will emphasize the run at Camp Randall on Oct. 24 when Illinois visits for the season opener. And we’d like to think the Illini, with four returning linemen showing an incredible 124 starts, will also be effective on the ground.

There’s the catch. Doubts in that regard explain why the UI’s over/under line is set at 3.5 wins in this long-delayed nine-game (hopefully) season.

Experienced line to work withHere’s the dichotomy. Illinois should be dominant up front.

The 104-man roster shows 16 members at 300 pounds or more. Center Doug Kramer and tackles Alex Palczewski and Vederian Lowe are fourth-year starters, and star guard Kendrick Green is in his third year. With Verdis Brown or Jordyn Slaughter stepping in at right guard, these six average 311 pounds.

And the Illini have never presented a more imposing tight end trio than Luke Ford, Dan Barker and Daniel Imatorbhebhe, newly-transferred brother of wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe.

The “makings” are there for quality blocking. But so are the questions. After springing Reggie Corbin for 1,085 yards in 2018 — just the UI’s fourth 1,000-yard rusher in 22 years — the running attack sputtered and fizzled in 2019.

Here’s how bad it was: Quarterback Brandon Peters, not noted as a scrambler, led this 6-7 team in rushing with 76 yards in a 19-10 loss at Iowa, and 68 against Cal in the Redbox Bowl. Corbin closed out the season with game totals of 29, 38, minus-10 (vs. Northwestern) and 41 yards.

The Illini unleashed one 100-yard rusher in the last nine games, Dre Brown splashing through the rain for 131 yards at Purdue.

New faces emergeWe are left to conclude either: (1) Rushing success in 2018 was greatly enhanced by the QB keepers of evasive AJ Bush; or (2) in a non-option system in 2019, the pure blocking talent of these linemen didn’t match their multi-year experience.

Even in the magical rally from a 28-3 deficit to a 37-34 win at Michigan State, it was purely an aerial comeback as the Illini netted just 36 yards in 27 carries.

In this discussion, it is appropriate to wonder about the rotation that will replace 1-2-3 rushing leaders Corbin, Dre Brown and Ra’Von Bonner.

Will the leadoff man be 205-pound Mike Epstein, a long-ago freshman starter who missed the last seven games in 2017, five-plus as a sophomore, and 11 of 12 due to a torn ACL last season? Now a redshirt junior, can he hold up?

Western Michigan transfer Chase Brown and swift sophomore Jakari Norwood appear next in line, and there are high expectations for stocky freshman Reggie Love, hopefully recovered from a leg injury sustained at Trinity Catholic in St. Louis.

In conclusionIllini transfers Peters, Josh Imatorbhebhe and Ford offer a special level of second-chance talent. But offensive success will depend on up-front health (line depth is non-existent) and their ability to protect Peters (he has had chronic injury problems) while also providing lanes for a budding corps of backs.

Concern exists because the running game lost more than 1,000 yards between 2018 and 2019 … even with a 13th game last season.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com