#wes lunt

Lunt said he’s looking to get into a similar rhythm Saturday and gain back confidence.

“Getting timing back is going to be the biggest thing,” Lunt said. “Not being able to play was tough.”

Although the injury wasn’t announced until early October, Lunt said he thinks the injury happened during Illinois’ 44-19 loss to Washington on Sept. 13.

“After that game, I felt some pain in my leg and I thought it was a Charley horse, so I never got an X-ray,” Lunt said. “It just kept getting worse and worse through Texas State and Purdue, and just through practice and getting hit, it just got worse.” 

Offensive line injuries

The Illini have also been dealing with injuries on the offensive line.

Right guard Ted Karras tore his ACL and MCL during Illinois’ 55-14 loss at Ohio State last week.

The junior had started every game at right guard this season.

Beckman said left tackle Simon Cvijanovic will start against Iowa. The senior left late in the game against Ohio State.

As a unit, the offensive line has allowed more than three sacks per game, which is tied for 111th in the nation.

With an injury-prone quarterback returning, Illinois is desperately looking for better protection on the line.

“If that means keeping extra players in to protect or whatever that means, we’ve got to be able to have that happen,” Beckman said.

But Illinois is running out of linemen. The line is already jumbled heading into Saturday’s game, with linemen Michael Heitz, Alex Hill and Joe Spencer all starting while simultaneously backing each other up on the depth chart. 

“It’s a big concern,” offensive coordinator Bill Cubit said. “We’ve just got to be smart.”

Illinois’ opportunities dwindling

Beckman has stressed his belief in treating the season like four quarters all year. 

Now, his team finds itself in the “fourth quarter” of the season, needing two wins in its next three games to reach bowl eligibility.

This season marks the latest point in a season the Illini have been bowl eligible under Beckman.

“We have been very successful in the fourth quarter of football games,” Beckman said. “We’ve talked about finishing and we’ve talked about what we need to get accomplished in these last three football games.”

But while Beckman’s Illini have performed well in fourth quarters, outscoring opponents 87-56 in the final quarter, the team still needs to come away with wins — something it has only done twice in its last seven games.

Beckman said Lunt is in a medical boot and will still travel with the team to provide leadership on the sidelines.

Lunt was cleared by doctors to go back into Saturday’s game following his injury, but the Illini coaching staff elected not to risk Lunt’s health further.

“You could tell Wes was injured when he came off the field,” Beckman said. “You’ve got to do what’s best for the student-athlete and that’s the bottom line.”

Kicking woes continue

Beckman said there will continue to be competition between sophomore David Reisner and junior Taylor Zalewski this week for the starting kicking spot.

Zalewski struggled in the beginning of the year for Illinois, missing two field goals, and lost the job midway through the game against Texas State after missing a point after attempt.

Reisner also missed a point after attempt Saturday against Purdue and had a field goal blocked late in the fourth quarter. Beckman said the blocked field goal was due to Reisner, not blocking up front.

“It wasn’t high enough and there wasn’t enough penetration,” Beckman said. “Other than me going out there and kicking it, we’re going to have to pick who’s being the most successful during practice.”

Tackling the issues on defense

Illinois gave up five plays of more than 40 yards against Purdue in Saturday’s 38-27 loss, something Beckman credits to missed tackles on defense.

In total, Illinois allowed 293 yards to Purdue in those five plays.

“We’ve got to be able to tackle,” Beckman said. “It’s something you have to practice. You have to rep it.”

The Illini defense ranks worst in the conference and 112th in the country, allowing an average of 482.3 yards per game. Opponents have rushed for 14 touchdowns against Illinois in six games.

“When we give up the big plays, guys want to try and do too much to stop them,” linebacker Mason Monheim said. “We need to be consistent. Every guy has a job on every play and when one guy doesn’t do that, the opportunity to hit a big play is there.”

Illinois has yet to stop an opponent inside the redzone on 26 trips and ranks 119th in the country in rushing defense. Senior defensive lineman Austin Teitsma said the defense must push itself to perfect its fundamentals in practice and to fulfill personal responsibilities.

“It just comes back to worrying about what you, individually, have to do on the field,” Teitsma said. “We’ve been around this game a long time and we need to trust each other that everybody’s going to be where they need to be.”

Illinois’ defense will face another tough challenge Saturday, going up against Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon III, who leads the country in rushing yards per game (174.2).

Beckman said the team will be told exactly what it needs to work on in practice this week, making it apparent the Illini need a quick turnaround to avoid a string of conference losses.

“They’re going to get a breakdown of every game that they’ve had,” Beckman said. “They’re going to be told honestly where they have to get better at. We’ve got to move forward.”

“I’m very disappointed for Wes, his family and the Fighting Illini family, but I know we all will respond to this situation in a positive way,” head coach Tim Beckman said. “He’s having an outstanding season and we’re very hopeful to have him back on the field for the final three games. We are fortunate to have two bye weeks coming up so the games Wes will have to miss are limited as possible. We have a lot of confidence in Reilly O’Toole and Aaron Bailey as we prepare for our upcoming game against Wisconsin.”

Lunt led the Big Ten in passing yards per game (309.2) heading into Purdue, where he threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns. He currently ranks 10th in the nation in completions per game (25.4) and 14th in passing yards per game (313.8).

Beckman has stressed he doesn’t want to play the sophomore Bailey, who has the potential to be redshirted. Whether or not that is still the case remains to be seen. O’Toole has been Lunt’s backup and started at Nebraska a week ago. O’Toole has thrown one touchdown and four interceptions in the past two weeks.