Another week is in the books, and the Illinois football team has now dropped two straight games.
The loss on Saturday hurt way worse than the blowout loss to Oregon. The Illini had a chance to win this game on numerous occasions, and even down to the last drive, we had a chance to tie it up.
Minnesota isn’t a bad team by any means either. The Golden Gophers looked good offensively, and Illinois’ defense had a hard time stopping their playcalling. Meanwhile, the Illini offense struggled to sustain consistent success. All of this led to a disappointing 25-17 loss for Illinois.
Here are five sad observations from the Illinois football loss to Minnesota
1. Illinois football needs a new offensive line
We are fresh off a disappointing loss to Minnesota, and the first thought I have is that Illinois needs a new offensive line. They were so disappointing on Saturday, and there is no correcting them this season.
The main issue with the offensive line is the pass blocking. There was only one time against Minnesota where the offensive line did a good job protecting Luke Altmyer, and that resulted in a touchdown pass to Zakhari Franklin.
Altmyer had to scramble quite a bit, and the Golden Gophers feasted. They finished the game with 4.5 sacks, which put Illinois behind the eight ball on numerous plays. One of those plays was the final play of the game when Altmyer was strip-sacked.
But the offensive line struggled more than just protecting Altmyer. While they are better at run blocking, there were some issues in this department as well.
One instance that stood out to me was toward the end of the game. Illinois called a designed quarterback run, and Altmyer had plenty of room up the middle to take the ball 20 or more yards. Illinois had three offensive linemen out front, but none of them were able to get a hand on the only Minnesota defender. Altmyer gained less than 10 yards on the play.
Priority No. 1 this offseason needs to be revamping the offensive line. We need better pass blockers. This has to change, or we will continue losing games in this type of fashion.
2. The Illini run game should have been leaned on more
I love that Illinois can throw the ball down the field. It is fun seeing players like Pat Bryant making great catches or Zakhari Franklin streaking down the sidelines. That is entertaining football.
While the passing game development is fun to watch, when you have a running game that is working, we need to use it. Barry Lunney got a little too cute with the Illini offense on Saturday, and it cost us points.
Illinois’ running game was working quite often against Minnesota. Josh McCray was having a good game. He had five carries for 64 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He also had the 42-yard touchdown run that got Illinois’ offense going.
In the second half, it was a different story. McCray only saw two touches, going for 8 yards. It is criminal to only give McCray, who has been the best running back for the Illini in the game, only two touches in the second half.
I thought the other Illini running backs were running well too. Ca’Lil Valentine was seeing success with little running room. Aidan Laughery was a bolt of lightning out of the backfield as well. Laughery only had three carries in the second half for 16 yards.
If you looked at the lack of usage of the Illinois running backs, you would think we were down by 21 points heading into the second half. That wasn’t the case, though. Illinois got out of their game and started flinging the ball around the field. We forgot about the running game.
3. Luke Altmyer’s two errors erased a decent game
I think Luke Altmyer is a much better quarterback than he was in 2023. He can hit wide receivers well, and he has the ability to throw the ball downfield with accuracy.
With that being said, there are still some issues with Altmyer’s game. One of the issues I have is that he stares down his wide receiver too often. There was one play in the game when Minnesota’s linebacker should have had an interception, and it was due to Altmyer looking at his wide receiver for far too long before throwing the football.
That isn’t the biggest issue I have with Altmyer, though. I have dealt with this as a Chicago Bears fan with Justin Fields. While Fields is a good quarterback, he tends to make some backbreaking turnovers. That is what is happening with Altmyer.
Altmyer had a solid game against Minnesota. He was 20-of-33 for 226 yards and a touchdown. I am not mad at that stat line, although it could have been better. His passing didn’t lose us the game.
There were two huge turnovers for Altmyer that cost us this contest. That fumble early in the game that led to the Golden Gophers getting three points was big. That gave Minnesota so much momentum and started Illinois on the wrong path.
The Illini could have recovered from just one mistake. We had a chance to tie the game up and take this thing into overtime. That is when the ultimate backbreaker occurred.
I know the Illinois offensive line isn’t good. They didn’t protect Altmyer one bit. But Altmyer should know that there is someone coming around the edge because his offensive line isn’t good. That hit at the end of the game that forced the fumble was devastating. It completely ruined any chances of a comeback, and it also erased any goodwill that Altmyer built up in this game. He can’t keep having these brutal turnovers in big games.
4. Illini defense folded like a cheap lawn chair
I think it is fair to say that I am massively disappointed in the Illinois offense. Did I mention the offensive line is bad? Well, that remains a fact in my eyes, but I am done harping on the lackluster offense. It is time to focus on the defense.
Let me first start off by saying, that I think there was a noticeable difference in the Illinois defense when our star cornerback Xavier Scott left with an injury. The Illini defense struggled to stop Minnesota after that point.
Illinois then lost Miles Scott late in the game. He had a targeting call go against him, so Illinois was missing both of the Scotts in the secondary.
With that being said, this defense folded like a cheap lawn chair when we needed them the most. The Illini offense finally came through. The offensive line finally blocked, and Luke Altmyer threw a touchdown to take the lead.
All the Illinois defense had to do was have one stop. We just needed to stop Minnesota one time, and this was going to be a win for the Orange and Blue.
That didn’t even come close to happening. The Golden Gophers started the drive at their own 25-yard line and never saw a third down. It was a seven-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:49 off the clock. The chunk plays were plentiful, and Illinois didn’t have an answer.
Illinois needed to have this stop. A win would have had so many positive ramifications for the program. Sadly, the Illini defense, the one thing that is supposed to be strongest, failed in the most crucial moment.
5. While losses are painful, this is still a good year
This loss isn’t going to wear off for a while. Illinois was ranked for the seventh straight week, and we had a chance to with our seventh game of the season. All of that is ruined now.
While there is still a lot of fury built up for the way the Illini lost that game, I have to take a step back and realize this is still a good season. 2024 is not lost by any means.
Illinois is a building program, and just because we are going to miss the College Football Playoff, that doesn’t mean we can’t build off the success thus far. The fact we got a little taste of being in contention for the postseason is exciting.
The Illini are already bowl eligible too. That is the second time we have gone to a bowl game in three seasons. 2010 & 2011 is the last time that has happened.
With three games left in the season, it wouldn’t shock me to see Illinois win them all and finish with nine wins on the year. That would give the Illini two eight-win campaigns in a three-season span. The last time that happened was 1989 and 1990.
Be sad. I’m sad. Illinois losing is never fun, and we shouldn’t be okay with losing. But, at the same time, we should keep some positive vibes because the season is not over, and we have a good year going. This program is viable and competitive. Let’s win the final three and finish the season strong.