The Illinois football team takes on a tough Eastern Michigan squad this Saturday in what would be the first three-game winning streak in Lovie Smith’s tenure.
Illinois is dealing with some injuries. I am slightly worried about the running back situation, but the secondary is what is catching my eye. There are a couple of players who need to be healthy this weekend to make things easier on the Illini.
Here is the projected Illini depth chart against Eastern Michigan.
Quarterback
Starter: Brandon Peters
Illinois has stability at the quarterback position and it is nice to see. Brandon Peters will continue taking the first-team snaps because of the talent he brings to this program. He finished the UConn game last weekend throwing 24-of-35 for 227 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Peters has provided a much-needed spark this Illinois team needed. He has been sensational this year besides for one mistake at the beginning of that last game. On the season, Peters is now has a 65.5-percent completion rate with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception. His great play will hopefully continue the rest of the season.
Backup: Matt Robinson
The Illini didn’t need to play their backup quarterback this past game because it was a close one for the majority of the contest. Matt Robinson would have likely been the backup for the Illini, though.
Robinson is currently 1-of-2 for 31 yards on the season. He probably won’t play much, if any, the rest of the 2019 campaign.