Illinois’ offense has been the catalyst for the Fighting Illini’s success this season on the football field. Led by quarterback Luke Altmyer, who is playing his best football of his career, surrounded
by a number of playmakers like Mr. Do-it-all Hank Beatty, the offense has been clicking.
And with two games left in the regular season, offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. has been pleased with his offense, but knows there is room to grow. He has a three-headed monster in his runningback room, and with that comes second guessing of who should be in the game at key junctions.
“We have confidence in all of our backs,” Lunney said. “Sometimes if the execution is clean the back is going to get in, and sometimes when the exectuion is not clean it does not matter who is in the backfield, the back is not going to get in.”
And although he knows there is room to grow, he is happy with the way his offensive line has been playing. With only two games left plus a bowl game for four of his five starters, he acknowledged how far they have come.
“The line is playing really well, and controlling the line of scrimmage,” Lunney said. “I take a lot of pride in that room, it is not easy to run the ball in this league.”
Now Lunney turns his sights towards the three-win Wisconsin Badgers. While the team’s record and stats do not blow anyone away, this seems as if it could be the perfect trap game for the Illinois.
Lunney pointed out the strengths of Badgers defense, which shutdown the likes of Washington quarterback Demond Williams, who put up 42 points on Illinois just a few weeks ago.
“They are big, strong upfront, and quick on the ends,” Lunney said. “They have young linebackers that have brought a lot energy and passion and tackling to that defense, and they are playing with a lot of energy. The tackling is what really sticks out to me and just how disciplined they are. They play the game the right way.”
The Illini are even going to have to deal with a twelfth man aspect. Camp Randall, the legendary home to the Badgers, always give the Red and White a home field advantage, even during the slumping season. Lunney is making sure that his offense will be ready for the extreme crowd noise.
“I am expecting a real vibrant crowd. I just know the people that are there are going to impact the game,” Lunney said. “When you go on the road, in that stadium, and the way it’s built, the history and tradition there, we have to be prepared to handle the environment when we go on the road. I would expect it to be an atmosphere that we have to be prepared for, and we will do that in our preparation this week.”
The fourth year offensive coordinator also has a new weapon that has emerged in the last couple weeks. Reciever Hudson Clement has been coming on strong, with three touchdown catches in his last two games. While his breakout may be surprising some, Lunney and his coaching staff have seen it coming.
“Hudson has been one of those guys for weeks now who we felt was on the verge of breaking out, because of what he have seen in practice, and his experience as a player, even though it wasn’t here, that translates,” Lunney said. “He caught a lot of balls at West Virgina, made a lot of plays at West Virginia. He really has kind of come into his own, and gotten comfortable with what we are doing, and his natural abilites are starting to be unlocked.”
The Fighting Illini kick off at 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
