Illinois Football: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Maryland

3. Illinois needs to seriously think about the quarterback position

I know some people were excited about the return of Brandon Peters. He has been the starter for the Illini the past couple of seasons. But, honestly, it is time to start thinking about making a switch.

Don’t get me wrong, Peters has his moments. When things break down, he is able to scramble and get a first down or more. He has solid legs and can occasionally hit a wide receiver on a nice pass. But the bad far outweighs the good with Peters.

Just in the Maryland game alone, Peters was wildly inefficient. He finished the game going 10-of-26 for 185 yards and one interception. Sit back and think about that. Peters competed 38.5% of his passes on Friday night. Do you know how bad that is?

Let’s look at the 2020 campaign to see where a 38.5% completion percentage would rank nationally. When you look at team completion percentage, it would finish No. 127 in the nation. That is dead last for those keeping track at home. The closest team would be Bowling Green who completed 43.2% of their passes.

I would say this could be a one-off game, but it isn’t. Peters only completed 48.8-percent of his passes last season. He was only a hair better in 2019, as Peters completed 55.3-percent, which is still below average.

Illinois has a big enough sample size on Peters. He is a well below-average passer of the football. He can’t put the ball in the end zone on a consistent basis either. I think it is time for a move to Art Sitkowski.