Illinois football got back in the win column on Saturday with a big victory over Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights tried to give the Illini a scare, but we had too much firepower offensively. Rutgers couldn’t keep up, and Illinois threw an adjusted defense at them.
Bret Bielema and his coaching staff had Illinois ready. The biggest question entering the game was the Illini defense, and that looked improved from weeks past. Bielema addressed the defense in his postgame press conference.
Here are five interesting Bret Bielema quotes from the Illinois football presser vs Rutgers
- “Four different guys caught touchdown passes today, which shows the depth and ability of that group.”
Bielema is right on the money with this quote. I think the Illinois wide receiver corps is extremely deep, and we have options spread throughout the field.
Hudson Clement, Hank Beatty, Collin Dixon, and Kaden Feagin all caught touchdowns. A great part of the wide receiver group is that Illinois is only losing Beatty after this season. Illinois’ quarterback room will have plenty of options next season.
- “For the most part, we got off the field on 3rd down, which was a good part of the game.”
Coming into the game on Saturday, Illinois was one of the worst teams in the country when it came to opponent third down conversions. Illini opponents were converting 50.56% of third downs, which ranked No. 131 out of 136 teams in the FBS.
That number was greatly improved against Rutgers. Illinois only allowed the Scarlet Knights to convert 6-of-16 on third downs, which is 37.5%. This was a noticeable improvement from weeks past. It is something to keep an eye on moving forward, too.
- “He (Luke Altmyer) was very effective with his feet, and when you have a quarterback that does that, it limits some of the things you can do defensively.”
I would argue that Luke Altmyer is the most dynamic quarterback in Illinois history. He has one of the best arms we have seen in Champaign, and his running ability is massively underrated.
Bielema mentions that Altmyer’s legs really hamper what the opposing defense can do in the red zone. When the defense has to account for the quarterback running the ball, that enables wide receivers to get more space, too. Altmyer’s dynamic ability is why Illinois is so good in the red zone and converts 88.57% of the time.
- “Going into where we are at down the stretch and where everything is, I saw Duke beat Clemson today, so you start thinking about all of the things that can happen with rankings.”
Finishing as best as possible this season is still clearly a priority for this Illinois coaching staff. The Illini have a chance to win nine regular season games and get 10 wins overall with a bowl victory.
On top of that, winning 10 games in back-to-back seasons has never happened in Champaign. This coaching staff and team would be legendary if they could hit that mark.
- “I do think I empowered and told those guys (defensive staff) that I believed in them. When things aren’t going right, it is easy to have a lot of blame and for everybody to have their own opinions. I think that is truly when you want to empower people.”
There was a lot of turmoil over the past couple of weeks. Illinois’ defense was putrid, and everyone was talking about it. That had to get to the ears of the coaching staff, especially defensive coordinator Aaron Henry.
I love how Bielema responds to the noise, though. He doesn’t let it get to him, and he does things to adjust. He also doesn’t bring down his coaching staff. He empowers them to be better, and that is what I want in a head coach.