5 stressful observations from the Illinois football win over Purdue

5. Barry Lunney had a masterful day calling the Illinois offense

Okay, now back to the positive. Illinois’ offense made up for the horrible defense. Luke Altmyer and Josh McCray, among others, were great for the program on Saturday.

It is incredible that Illinois can give up 49 points and still come away with a win. I don’t think I have ever seen that in my lifetime. The players on the field were huge in the result, but I also have to give credit to offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.

I did not like Lunney as Illinois’ offensive coordinator the past couple of seasons. I didn’t think he was calling the right plays at times, and he just didn’t seem like the right fit for this Illinois offense. He wanted to play more up-tempo and wanted to pass more, but Illinois’ offense wasn’t ready for that.

Over the 2024 season, Lunney has completely won me over. I am sorry I ever doubted this guy. He has the Illinois offense clicking, and the game he called on Saturday against the Boilermakers was masterful.

Lunney was dialed in against Purdue. He didn’t call the game conservatively. Lunney was pushing the ball when he needed to, and he used the ground game effectively.

I also liked how the passing game wasn’t too complicated. Altmyer was comfortable in what he was doing. Illinois ran a lot of motion and short passes where the wide receivers and tight ends could get a lot of yards after catch.

The Illini have an offense that can put up points. We needed that, especially on Saturday. If this was an Illinois offense of the past couple of decades, this would have been a Boilermakers win. Thankfully, the Illini can move the ball up and down the field. Lunney did a great job calling plays.