Illinois Fighting Illini given silver lining after historic blowout loss

On Saturday night, the Illinois Fighting Illini became the first team in the history of the Big 10 to be ranked 10th or better and give up 63 points. They lost by 53, and not much can be gleaned from such a bad outing.

However, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg believes he can see where this team’s success can come from. “When the Illini slogged through the first half Sept. 6 against Duke, struggling along the line of scrimmage, quarterback Luke Altmyer kept the team on track, avoiding major mistakes and buying enough time for a second-half surge,” he wrote.

Sadly, the QB had no chance to do any such heroic things on Saturday since Indiana “swarmed him all night.” Other than a 59-yard touchdown pass to Collin Dixon, everything went wrong in the face of pressure, and he added just 87 other passing yards on the day.

“But Altmyer was far from Illinois’ biggest problem in the Indiana debacle. He has given the Illini a veteran presence who, when given time, can pick apart defenses,” Rittenberg concluded.

The Fighting Illini need to give him time so he can perform, but when he is protected, he is easily a player that this team can lean on. They couldn’t on Saturday night, and, at least on offense, the lesson should be that they need to keep him upright in order to succeed. That’s how it’s gone all year long.

The defensive questions are another thing entirely, because yielding 63 points, even on the road to a top-20 football team, is really dreadful. But at least on offense, there’s something to be learned from such a bad loss.