Bret Bielema bemoans 'insanity' of 5 turnovers in lopsided loss to Penn State
Bret Bielema and his Illinois program returned to Memorial Stadium in Week 3 for a B1G opener against Penn State. Facing the No. 7 team in the country, the Illini had a chance to shock the world and record another win over Penn State after a 9-OT win in 2021.
Unfortunately, nothing would help the Illini on Saturday as the team committed 5 turnovers in the game. If not for those turnovers, Illinois might have had a shot, but Penn State scored 30 points and did not commit a turnover in the game.
The biggest issues were related to quarterback Luke Altmyer. After 2 interceptions in a Week 2 loss to Kansas, he doubled that number with 4 picks thrown against Penn State. Some of those turnovers even came on the other side of the 50-yard line, wiping potential points off the board.
To no surprise, Bielema hammered on those turnovers after the game, saying it doesn’t matter how well you play defensively if you turn it over that much. He also referred to the turnovers as “insanity” and noted the Illini cannot have that many miscues if they want to make a statement against the No. 7 team in the country.
#illini Bret Bielema: “If you were going to make a statement today on the seventh-ranked team in the country, you just can’t have that many miscues.”
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) September 16, 2023
Added there were a lot of positives but “it’s hard to imagine how that played out.”
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) September 16, 2023
#illini Bret Bielema: Any time you have five turnovers it doesn’t matter how well you play on defense, you’re not going to have success.
— Joey Wagner (@mrwagner25) September 16, 2023
We’ll see how Illinois responds moving forward, but right now, there are a number of questions to address.