With Indiana set to take on Illinois on Saturday, we reached out to The Champaign Room, SB Nation’s home for Illinois coverage, for their thoughts on the matchup. Their Drew Pastorek answers our questions below:
Q: Bret Bielema has been in Champaign for a few years now. Outside the scope of this matchup, what has he done to transform the program into a consistent winner?
The biggest things to me are communication & competency. Bielema loves to describe his teams as “smart, tough, dependable” and he has
been able to change the mindset surrounding the football program. He has a way of connecting with players that we don’t see a lot of in today’s game; his players genuinely care about him and love being in Champaign. Plus, he’s surrounded himself with a stable of talented, charismatic coaches that are able to relate to recruits. Bielema’s time in the NFL under Bill Belichick has also played a large part in Illinois’ resurgence; Belichick had The Patriot Way and pinpointed a very specific type of player he was looking for at every position. It’s obvious when you watch Illinois that Bielema picked up a lot of Belichick’s attention to detail.
Q: Luke Altmyer’s back, obviously. The former Mississippi transfer has been one of the Big Ten’s best at quarterback. What are his strengths on the field and how has he looked through three weeks so far?
Luke’s best attribute is his feel for the game. The “game manager” term gets used negatively when describing QBs, but Altmyer uses his intellect and resourcefulness to make plays and limit mistakes. He doesn’t have jaw-dropping arm strength but he sees the field incredibly well and can also escape the pocket and beat you with his legs when the protection breaks down. Through three games Altmyer has completed 72% of his passes for 709 yards and eight TDs and has yet to turn the ball over.
Q: What about other skill talent? Does Illinois have a reliable ground game? Who are Altmyer’s top targets? How’s the offensive line holding up?
One of the Illini’s strengths entering 2025 was the RB room. Even with Josh McCray transferring to Georgia the Illini have a trio of All-Big Ten-caliber backs. Kaden Feagin rushed for 100 yards last week vs. Western Michigan & is an absolute wagon at 6’3″ and 250 pounds. True sophomore Ca’Lil Valentine is very shifty and has averaged 6+ yards per carry so far, and Aidan Laughery ran for 100+ in the season opener before getting nicked up against Duke.
Altmyer’s top receiving targets thus far have been Ball State transfer Justin Bowick (3 TDs the first two weeks) and senior Hank Beatty (18 rec, 289 yds, 1 TD), who also led the B1G in punt return average last season. Other receivers to watch include Collin Dixon, West Virginia transfer Hudson Clement and 6’5″ junior Ashton Hollins, who caught his first TD last week.
The offensive line was viewed as perhaps the biggest strength of the team, with all five starters coming back, led by rockstar All-Big Ten left tackle J.C. Davis. But the protection for Luke Altmyer has been shaky (he’s already been sacked 9 times) and Duke was able to push the Illini around at times. Bottom line? When Altmyer has time to work in a clean pocket, he’s as good as any QB in the conference.
Q: What’s the strength of the Illinois defense? Which names are circled on whiteboards in Indiana’s facilities?
If I’m Curt Cignetti I’m circling Gabe Jacas’ (#17) name over and over until the marker runs out of ink. He already has 3.5 sacks, 4 TFLs and 2 forced fumbles this season and should probably be on an NFL roster right now. He has a frightening combination of speed, strength & explosiveness, and is almost impossible to guard one-on-one.
Another notable name is safety Matthey Bailey. He led Illinois with 94 tackles in 2024 and already has 13 this season, along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He’s a hard hitter, scans the field exceptionally well, and always seems to find the football.
Q: Through some unknown means you’ve slept through the game. You wake up the next day to see Illinois won by 7. What do you think had to happen for this result to come to pass?
Luke Altmyer protected the football, the offensive line had its best game of the season, and Indiana probably scored a late TD to cut the Illinois lead in half 🙂
