After a disappointing 38-27 home loss to the Purdue Boilermakers, Illinois is looking forward to the week’s end after hearing starting quarterback Wes Lunt will be sidelined 4-6 weeks with a fractured fibula.
Lunt suffered the injury after being sacked in the fourth quarter by Purdue defensive end Ryan Russell.
The former Oklahoma State quarterback was having a very solid season before his injury. Through six games, he was leading the Big 10 in passing yards per game (313.8) and was completing 66.5% of his passes for 1,569 yards, 13 touchdowns, and only three interceptions.
Against Purdue, Lunt completed 27-of-39 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns before going down with the injury.
He was replaced by senior quarterback Reilly O’Toole who managed to throw for 114 yards but also threw an interception in the loss.
As you could imagine, Illinois head coach Tim Beckman had some somber words for Lunt.
“I’m very disappointed for Wes, his family and the Fighting Illini family, but I know we all will respond to this situation in a positive way,” Beckman said. “He’s having an outstanding season and we’re very hopeful to have him back on the field for the final three games. We are fortunate to have two bye weeks coming up so the games Wes will have to miss are as limited as possible. We have a lot of confidence in Reilly O’Toole and Aaron Bailey as we prepare for our upcoming game against Wisconsin.”
Whoever gets the starting nod will have to prepared for a very tough contest at Camp Randall stadium in Madison.
Illinois (3-3) will battle the Wisconsin Badgers this Saturday at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
*Photo credits to Mike Granse, USA Today Sports
