Illinois (7-3, 4-3) celebrated the weekend with a 24-6 victory against the University of Maryland (4-6, 1-6). It was a windy game as Illinois tried to fight off the 15 mph winds all game.
Takeaways
Illinois: In the first half, Illinois struggled to get an offensive rhythm as three of its drives led to a three-and-out or a turnover. Even though they were going up against the wind, Illinois relied more on the run game to get them down the field and end the first half with an eight-point lead. Right out the gate in the second half, Illinois started to open up the pass game now that they had the wind in their favor. To open up the second half, Illinois senior quarterback Luke Altmyer threw a 23-yard touchdown along the left sideline to junior Hudson Clement. Clement had two receiving touchdowns against the Terrapins, making it back-to-back games with a receiving touchdown for Clement.
Maryland: The Terrapins kept the Illini on their heels the entire game. Consistently bringing pressure to Altmyer made it easier for Maryland’s offense to keep the score close. Within the first half, Maryland was able to get two field goals because of the defense forcing Illinois to punt and put Maryland in a position to score. Maryland freshman quarterback Malik Washington had 238 passing yards and challenged Illinois’ defense to guard his passing attack and his running ability. Even with almost 300 offensive yards, Maryland was unable to score a touchdown a single time in this game.
Key moment
As Maryland started to march down the field in the fourth quarter, Illinois’ defense started to let up some big yard plays. This allowed Maryland to be knocking on Illinois’ endzone. Illinois’ defensive line made sure not to let the Terrapins run up the middle for the score and forced a fourth and goal with only three yards separating Maryland and the endzone. After forcing Washington out of the pocket, Illinois began to crowd the endzone. Maryland tried to throw it to an open receiver, but the ball was dropped, and Illinois’s offense took over at the three-yard line.
Key Stat
After his two passing touchdown performance, Altmyer has accumulated 56 passing touchdowns in his Illinois career. This has tied former Illinois quarterback Juice Williams (2008-2009) with the second most passing touchdowns as an Illini. Altmyer looks to surpass Williams as he has two more games left in the regular season to get touchdown No. 57.
Up Next
Next Saturday, Illinois will hit the road for its final away game of the season against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison. The time of kickoff is to be announced at a later date.
