One of the up-and-coming teams in college football this season has been Illinois football, but Bret Bielema and company had to show their mettle and their resolve on Saturday. Coming off of a 63-10 loss on the road against Indiana, Illinois had to face a tough home test against No. 21 USC.
The Illini controlled much of the game before USC stormed back with 15 consecutive points to take a late 32-31 lead, appearing poised to steal a victory and remain unbeaten. However, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer led a great game-winning drive to set up a 41-yard field goal from David Olano to win it for the Illini.
Altmyer has played some very sound football so far this season to get a top 25 Illinois team to a 4-1 record, throwing for nearly 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns in five games without throwing an interception. He is one of two quarterbacks in college football, along with Alabama signal caller Ty Simpson, to have thrown 125 or more pass attempts and 10 or more touchdowns without an interception, according to Jeremy Werner of 247 Sports.
After the game, Bielema expressed his limitless confidence in Altmyer moving forward as his starting quarterback, via Joey Wagner of 247 Sports.
“I'm like, ‘There's nobody in this country I'd rather be on this field with than Luke Altmyer,'” Bielema said.
This win puts Illinois right back in the College Football Playoff discussion, as it will likely rise back into the top 20 with this win. The Illini will get a little bit of a reprieve in Week 6 against Purdue before a huge home date with Ohio State on Oct. 11. Later in the schedule, Illinois goes to Washington but has a pretty manageable Big Ten slate the rest of the way.
Like Simpson, Altmyer isn't the flashiest quarterback around. However, he is still more than capable of getting the job done and his experience helps him come through in the biggest moments, which was on full display on Saturday. If he can come up with some more clutch moments like that for the rest of the season, maybe he and the Illini can sneak into the CFP.
