The Illinois football loss to Purdue on Saturday is one that will be hard pill to swallow.
Losing to a Boilermaker’s squad that has been the bottom feeder of the Big Ten for years is brutal. Illinois has to at least be treading water, but losing to Purdue means we are sinking faster than the Titanic.
In the postgame press conference, Bret Bielema laid out many issues with Illinois. One issue did seem to frustrate him the most, though.
Breaks.
Illinois hasn’t been able to catch a break this season, and in the Purdue game, it got Bielema a little more perturbed than usual.
“I think we just need a break, you know? The ball goes off our hands there, two guys, right. It is up in the air, it seems like it is up in the air for six months. You need something to come out of that. Sometimes you just need something to happen that maybe bounces your way, and that just hasn’t come. But if you are waiting for that, you are going to be waiting a long time. But sometimes, you just need a little break to go your way, and that can do a lot.”
Bielema wasn’t done thinking about breaks and how they could have changed the game against the Boilermakers.
“We had two (turnovers) today, actually three. I think there was one where Woody (Carter Janki) hit the ball, it comes up, and it is just barely on Mac’s (Mac Resetich) fingertips. They get three points out of that. You just need one of those breaks to come through.”
These quotes from Bielema aren’t wrong. Illinois does need those breaks to come through to help propel the program to a victory.
What is missing in these statements is that while the breaks would be nice, there is one major thing that Illinois doesn’t have to make those breaks come to fruition.
Playmakers.
The once great district attorney for Gotham City, Harvey Dent, once said, “I make my own luck,” right before he flips a coin that has heads on each side.
Bielema wants the breaks to come Illinois’ way. We have to make our own luck, though. We can’t cross our fingers and hope that something good happens. The sad thing is, Illinois doesn’t have the playmakers to make our own luck.
Illinois’ lack of talent replenishment has dried up any good luck for the program
Over the years, Illinois has had game-wreckers who can go out there and make a play on defense. In the Bielema era alone, just look at the talent.
In 2021, you have Devon Witherspoon and Johnny Newton, among others. Sydney Brown, Witherspoon, and Newton in 2022. Newton, Gabe Jacas, and a healthy Xavier Scott in 2023. Jacas and Scott in 2024. Jacas and Miles Scott last season.
These game-changers make a difference. What is different about the Illinois defense compared to years past? All of those players are gone.
The only semblance of that talent is a Xavier Scott who is clearly not himself anymore after his season-ending injury last season.
Illinois never replenished the playmakers that have departed over the past half-decade. Bielema rested on what was on the roster, and we didn’t go out and get a game-changer or two to help bolster the defense.
The Illini are now dealing with the ramifications. We can’t stop anyone on the defensive side of the ball, and Bielema is in the postgame press conference after a Purdue loss, wishing for breaks. This all started in the offseason, and Illinois football missed its mark when it comes to playmakers on defense.
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