Well, it wasn’t an easy win by any means, but the Illinois football team looked much better in the second half against Florida Atlantic.
I would normally say that the first quarter couldn’t have gone any worse for the Illini, but that wasn’t the case. It actually could have gone worse, but the Illinois defense came to play. They were able to shut the Owls down on multiple short-field possessions.
After the first quarter, the Illini managed to turn things on. We would outscore Florida Atlantic 23-7 in the final three quarters of action. This was led by a couple of good touchdown drives and a defense that wouldn’t quit. Illinois ended up nabbing the victory over Florida Atlantic, 23-17.
There are some issues with the Illini, but I came out of this game more positive than anything.
Here are five observations from the Illinois football win over Florida Atlantic
1. Luke Altmyer found something
This season has been rough to watch at times. Even in the game against Florida Atlantic, I was frustrated with how Luke Altmyer was playing.
Early on in the game, Altmyer held onto the ball too long which led to a sack fumble. This fumble led to three points. It was his eighth turnover of the season as well. That means Altmyer is averaging two turnovers per game, which is not sustainable.
After that fumble, something changed with Altmyer, though. He looked like a competent quarterback who could lead the Illinois football team to a win. Illinois was able to have two drives for touchdowns before halftime to take a 14-10 lead. The Illini were also driving on the final series of the first half.
Whatever changed with Altmyer, it was nice to see him completing passes. Isaiah Williams was the main target for the transfer quarterback, but he was also spreading it around. 10 different Illinois players ended up catching a pass from Altmyer.
Altmyer finished the game 25-of-36 for 303 yards and one touchdown through the air. He also had a score on the ground.
I realize this is just Florida Atlantic and there is a long season ahead, but signs of improvement from Altmyer are nice to see. My hope is that he takes this solid game and builds on it moving forward. From what I see, Altmyer does have high-level ability, he just needs to find his groove.