Illinois OC Rod Smith praises Brandon Peters' work in nasty conditions
Nothing about the win over Purdue was especially pretty, but it still goes down as a win for the Illini.
With a tropical storm cutting through the middle of the country, sloppy conditions were the theme of the weekend for a number of games. Purdue’s home in West Lafayette, Indiana took a lot of wind and rain, turning the field into a mess.
Whenever conditions play a role, teams must adjust and adapt. Illinois OC Rod Smith admitted it impacted the team, but he said QB Brandon Peters did a good job leading the offense.
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Looking at the stat sheet, Peters’ performance seemed far from remarkable. He only threw for 26 yards and rushed for another 17, but Peters was able to control the ball all afternoon.
Isaac Trotter with Illini Inquirer shared Smith’s comments from his Monday press conference:
“I could care less if we have any stats,” Smith said. “The most important stat is winning the football game. Whatever you do offensively to win the football game is the most important. Whether we throw it 70 times or run it 70 times. Our kids are selfless. What he did well was he handled the football extremely well in wet conditions. He made a lot of good reads in the run game. He made some pivotal pulls and some reads and got five, six or seven yards on some. One time, he got 10 or 11 yards. He did a good job of keeping them honest and making the defense play both sides of the football.”
The surprisingly dominant performance by Illinois in a 24-6 win also changes the team’s outlook the rest of the way. Sitting at 4-4, the Illini need just two more wins to reach bowl eligibility.
With games still to come against Rutgers and Northwestern, a bowl game looks like a real possibility.