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Illinois football: Barry Lunney Jr. needs to find a better mix as the Illini’s play-caller

Shawn Ekwall

By Shawn Ekwall

Published:

Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. has done a terrific job with the Illini offense to this point. But Saturday’s 23-15 loss to Michigan State had its share of warning signs — that if not fixed immediately — could haunt the team during its final stretch and push for a B1G West title.

In fairness to Lunney, Saturday’s weather made life difficult on the offense. Especially when headed into the teeth of a 30+ mph wind. Throwing the ball into the wind just wasn’t effective, which led to a more conservative game plan.

That’s all fine and dandy when the game is tight. But after Sparty scored 23 unanswered points to lead 23-7, more offensive urgency was needed.

Brutal starting field position

Of Illinois’ 12 offensive possessions, 8 started from at or inside the Illini 25. Five started inside the 15. Too often, the offense had a long field to drive.

Wind and long fields put Lunney a bit on the conservative side. Lots of running plays. Chase Brown toted it 33 times. Of the 12 possessions, Lunney called 1st down running plays on 10 of them. One of the pass calls was on the final drive when Illinois was trying to mount a rally.

Let’s take a peek at the starting field position and 1st play of each drive.

  • MSU 41 – Chase Brown rush for 13 yards
  • ILL 41 – Brown rush for -1 yard
  • ILL 20 – Brown rush for 4 yards
  • ILL 25 – Josh McCray rush for 5 yards
  • ILL 8 – Brown rush for 6 yards
  • ILL 7 – Brown rush for 10 yards
  • ILL 11 – Brown rush for 8 yards
  • ILL 35 – Brown rush for 3 yards
  • ILL 44 – Brown rush for 3 yards
  • ILL 1 – Tommy DeVito pass to Brian Hightower for 10 yards
  • ILL 13 – Reggie Love III rush for 6 yards
  • ILL 20 – DeVito incomplete pass

Granted, the 1st down plays weren’t awful. But that’s a ton of running calls. The Spartans loaded up against it. Brown’s 136 yards came on 4.1 yards per carry. He wasn’t able to shake free to big gains. Neither could Josh McCray. Brown’s fumble at the Spartan’s 22 in the 2nd quarter kept points off the board.

Everyone knows Brown is having a fantastic year. But the Illini need more juice in the passing game. Isaiah Williams broke free on a 60-yard TD after catching a shallow crossing route on Illinois’ 2nd possession. Why not use a few more shorter routes and play-action throws to keep the MSU defense honest?

DeVito needs to be more than a game manager

The Syracuse transfer has taken the reins at QB and performed admirably. Probably his biggest asset has been ball security. DeVito’s thrown just 2 picks on the year, and none since a Sept. 10 win over Virginia.

His completion percentage is high, and his weekly numbers (outside of a 42-yard performance vs. Iowa) have been good.

But the DeVito-led offense isn’t putting up the points it needs. The Illini had 441 yards and only 15 points to show vs. Sparty. Tough to do. Lunney refused to push the ball down the field and take any shots. Wind and weather to blame? Yes. But more aggressiveness is needed. Trust your QB to make a few deep throws. If not for anything else, to keep the defense honest and from stacking the box.

Illinois entered the red zone 4 times Saturday. It came away with points just once. Lack of creativity and bland play-calling were the culprits. All 15 Illini points came via the air. Williams and the other receivers need more opportunities to make plays. It’s Lunney’s job to figure out how to involve them more and trust his QB to do more than handoff to Brown and company.

Too many predictable play-calls

Lunney’s offense ran the ball 47 times against Sparty. Not 1 of those 47 rushes ended with a TD.

I get it … the wind was awful. Throwing into it wasn’t an ideal option. But way too often — on short yardage and red zone plays — Brown got the call. And most times Sparty was waiting for it.

Illinois converted just 1-of-6 4th down plays. That’s 5 times it turned it over on downs. Not going to get it done with those numbers. On 4 goal-to-go plays, Brown got the call on 3. All 3 he was turned away. It seemed too predictable.

Small adjustments vs. Purdue

Last Saturday’s loss to Sparty has ramped up the urgency for this week’s home finale vs. Purdue. Win, and Illinois puts itself in prime position to capture the West. A loss opens the door to several teams (Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue and Minnesota).

How can Lunney put together a winning game plan against the Boilermakers? Simple. Take a few shots here and there. Get Williams more targets. Keep feeding Brown and McCray, but not make it as predictable. Find ways to finish drives in the red zone.

You know Purdue’s gonna sling it around the yard. Aidan O’Connell will want to redeem himself for a below-par performance against Iowa. Purdue’s West Division title hopes are slim. They need a win to stay in the race.

It’s arguable the loss to Sparty was more an anomaly than anything. The wind and weather forced both teams to adjust game plans. Mel Tucker’s squad adjusted better.

For the Illini to stay on the path to Indy, they’ll need Lunney to be in attack mode. To trust DeVito to make a few big plays.

The Illini can’t wait for their opponents to hand it to them. They need to go out and take it.

Shawn Ekwall

Shawn Ekwall has been a contributing writer for Huskers Illustrated and covers the Huskers and other B1G teams for Saturday Tradition. Follow him on twitter @shawn_ekwall