Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. provides perspective from his side of the ball before the No. 24 Illini face Minnesota on Saturday
at Memorial Stadium, courtesy beat writer Scott Richey:
What were the points of
emphasis for Luke Altmyer
after the Oregon loss?
"We approached Sunday like we do every other game as far as you learn from your successes, but really, to be honest with you, the time you learn the most is from your failure. The routine was the same, but the emphasis on, 'Hey, where can we improve? What can I do to help you? What did you like? What did you not like?' It's a constant conversation. Not just with Luke, but with all of our players on all sides of the ball on all phases.
"Obviously, we got off to a slow start. That goes without saying. Luke probably wasn't as sharp as he'd been in some other games. He made some really nice plays -- competed really hard like our team did in the second half -- but we had some things we got corrected that will help us moving forward."
How did Altmyer see the field against the Ducks?
"Obviously, the first interception was something he didn't see clearly. It was a misread. Their speed in the back end really showed up during the course of the day. That was a good example of that. The safety spun, and he thought the safety was grabbing the little crosser. It's a mistake most quarterbacks make at some point in time. Obviously, that's something we need to learn from, and he will."
Why do you think Altmyer is more equipped this year to bounce back from a tough game than he was in 2023?
"He's a more mature player, a more complete player than he was at this time last year. Every experience he's had has -- home, road, win loss, good game, bad game -- you learn from. He certainly approaches it like that.
"He's more comfortable in his role and what he's doing, so I feel very confident he'll bounce back and continue to lead our football team in the way he has and put his best foot forward in our preparation this week. He'll have to play well on Saturday against a really good defense."
What have you liked about the run game the last two weeks and what needs to improve?
"We still have some things that we've got to get better. We've got to run the ball better and continue to stay committed to that, but I do think our backs ran really hard (at Oregon) and at times our line did a really good job against that front and covered them up pretty well.
"Hopefully, we're kind of coming into our own a little bit and in sync in the run game. That's got to continue to be an important thing that we do. We've got to be able to run the ball efficiently and effectively."
What's Altmyer's role in the run game moving forward?
"There's some of that that's natural reads. Against Michigan a couple weeks ago, there were some more maybe designed things for him. Certainly had some of that stuff in the plan (against Oregon). It just never unfolded last week.
"We feel like he's a weapon for us, but the first priority for us is we want to get the ball to the backs. When we can add an extra hat or get the opportunity for him to get on the edge, that's something we've got to continue to explore because I think Luke's got a natural knack for that and good ability to do that."
What's unique about the
Minnesota defense you'll be facing on Saturday?
"This is primarily a four-(down lineman) team. New coordinator. Similar tree with what they've been previously running, but it's got a very different feel and flavor than the previous two years I was here going against Minnesota. The structure and infrastructure is certainly the same.
"I think they're playing at a really high level. You can tell they're playing with a lot of confidence. They know their scheme very well. Not to sound like a broken record, but a lot of respect for what they do and how they're doing it."