With two wins necessary to gain bowl-eligibility, Wes Lunt made a timely return. Though Reilly O’Toole did not play bad in two of his three starts he clearly lacked the ability to drive the offense and make the big plays that won Lunt the job in the summer. The senior threw for just 272 yards and three touchdowns, two interceptions; that’s only a hair over 90 yards per game.
By no means can you blame the offensive woes of the Illini solely on his shoulders, but he was certainly not bringing what you would expect from the former Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year with a chip-on-his-shoulder after losing his job to a sophomore transfer.
It was naive to assume the return of Wes Lunt would lead to a win over the larger, more talented, and far more experienced Iowa squad, but I thought we would have seen much more than the 14-25/102 yard/1TD performance he put together Saturday. I will give Lunt credit though; he was under constant pressure by the hefty linemen of Iowa and managed to avoid being sacked even once.
Beyond Mike Dudek, his receivers offered him even less help than his O-Line, dropping a multitude of passes which were placed on target, and failing to gain even the slightest bit of yards-after-catch.
Dudek continued to shine with 6 catches for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one of which came on the receiving end of an NFL-level bomb from Lunt. From the 31, Wes Lunt dropped back three steps and heaved the ball to the near pylon at the southwest corner of the field. Dudek was in a hand fight with the Iowa defender since the line of scrimmage, but still managed to get under the ball. At the last moment, a slight jerk gave him the space he needed to snag the ball while falling, on his back, into the end zone to give the Illini a 9-2 lead.
It was one of those throws that confirm why Lunt was the seventh-ranked quarterback in the nation when he came out of Rochester in 2012. His transfer from Oklahoma State was a true blessing for this program. There is talent sprinkled throughout this roster, it just needs to be utilized properly.
The Illini hope of going bowling this winter essentially comes down to a two-game playoff these next couple of weeks. They must beat Penn State in Champaign this week, then travel up I-57 and take down rival Northwestern, who knocked off Notre Dame this past weekend, on the 28th, or their season will end bowless for the third straight time. it may be the dagger for Coach Beckman.
Call me crazy, but maybe a new coach with a lick of play-calling knowledge would be better than a December 30th trip to the New Detroit Bowl, which is indeed a real bowl. He cannot do it on his own, but Wes Lunt needs to show us more than he did Saturday if there is any hope of seeing this team in the postseason.
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