3. The Illinois offensive line is dreadful
Luke Altmyer had a massive game against Purdue. His final stat line was extremely impressive. The thing is, he had a terrible offensive line in front of him.
Altmyer only had a handful of plays when he actually had time in the pocket. He took a few hits and sacks thanks to miscommunication by the offensive line. The running game is what really stood out, though.
Illinois’ offensive line couldn’t get a push on the Purdue defensive front four. The Illini running backs couldn’t find any space, and this had a lot to do with the failures up front. No running back in football can run well when there is no blocking up front.
The biggest issue on the offensive line was up the middle. Illinois was missing starting center Josh Kreutz. He is such a valuable piece to the offensive line. But there are bigger issues than that.
I wasn’t happy with how the Illini guards blocked. Brandon Henderson had a bad game and allowed the Purdue defense to penetrate up the middle. It was an ugly scene throughout the game.
As a team, against a bad Purdue squad, Illinois’ run game produced 41 carries for 117 yards. That is unacceptable, and it will get demolished against a good team.