Lunt’s accolades spark Illini confidence

IOWA CITY — Last year's cold, gray stinker of a game in Champaign has faded into foggy memories. Few Iowa nor Illinois players recall much of what happened in the Hawkeyes' dominating 30-14 win last November and even fewer believe it matters this year.

Take Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt, for instance. He suffered a broken leg early in the Illini's Big Ten campaign last fall and missed three games. He returned in time to face the Hawkeyes and completed 14 of 25 passes for 102 yards and a score. He lacked any mobility and eventually left the game.

'I definitely wasn't 100 percent — I know that — but I was healthy enough to play,' Lunt said. 'I don't remember too much of that game; I know we was somewhat close in the first half and even in the third quarter before they pulled away at the end there.'

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz could tell Lunt wasn't the player he had expected to see.

'Standing out on the field, I didn't feel like he was all there ... you know what I mean,' Ferentz said. 'He's a much better player than that. So I'm guessing he's probably still hurting a little bit. I can't even remember what the injury was, but that was not a fair representation of the kind of player he is. What we're seeing right now is.'

Lunt, a junior, has moved the Illini beyond the doldrums of mediocrity to the precipice of respectability. He directed two fourth-quarter touchdown drives last week against Nebraska in a 14-13 comeback victory. In the final period he completed 8 of 18 passes for 122 yards and two scores.

With 51 seconds left, the Illini trailing 13-7 and sitting at his 28-yard line, Lunt's first two passes went for 15 and 50 yards, respectively. A pair of pass interference penalties pushed the ball to the Nebraska 1, and Lunt found Geronimo Allison for the game-winning score.

Drives like that inspire your team and instills belief from your teammates. It also forces your opponent to look beyond last year's replay.

'He led us down to two fourth-quarter scores, the last one with 10 seconds left,' Illinois guard Ted Karras said. 'That's a very invaluable asset.'

Lunt's numbers so far are decent this year, completing 58.1 percent of his passes for 1,107 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. In 13 games at Illinois, Lunt has thrown for 2,870 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. But it's the intangibles that Iowa's players notice and hope to counter on Saturday.

'He's got a really good arm. He manages the offense really well,' Iowa cornerback Greg Mabin said. 'Similar to North Texas, off every run they have a pass play as well so you definitely have to be ready for that. That's why I talked about we've got to read our keys and leverage the ball properly.'

Last week's comeback proves these aren't the same old Illini, who often folded in critical moments. The 6-foot-5, 223-pound Lunt is the catalyst with his big arm and leadership quality.

'It just shows that they've got a lot of heart,' Mabin said. 'It's a completely different team than last year. We definitely got a lot of respect for them. We're not going to take them lightly in any way, shape or form. So we're going to go out there and be ready for them on Saturday.'

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