Bielema needs Peters, not more penalties
CHAMPAIGN — After a season-opening victory against Big Ten foe Nebraska, Illinois has lost two straight and is looking for something to help right the ship.
Next up on Friday night is a tough, balanced Maryland team that has won its first two games.
Illinois (1-2, 1-0 Big Ten) has looked bad on offense, defense and special teams in its last two games, losses to UTSA (37-30) and Virginia (42-14).
First-year coach Bret Bielema said he has been addressing the problems.
“We had 90 yards in penalties and 45 of them came on three plays,” Bielema said. “We’re not going to be able to win very many games that way. That definitely got addressed.”
Maryland opens conference play on the road after beating Howard 62-0 and West Virginia 30-24. The Terrapins are getting votes in the AP Top 25.
Balanced Terps
Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is the younger brother of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but he’s looking to make his own way on the field.
Tagovailoa has thrown for 606 yards and six touchdowns in two games, many to his favorite receiving tandem of Dontay Demus Jr. and Rakim Jarrett. The two wideouts are tied for the team lead with 12 receptions apiece, with Demus topping all pass catchers with 261 receiving yards.
Tagovailoa completed 22 of 27 passes for 274 yards with three touchdowns against Howard and sat out most of the second half.
Hope springs eternal
Bielema’s hopes come from starting quarterback Brandon Peters, who returns to the field for the first time since suffering an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder early in the Nebraska game.
“A lot of the things we saw [from Peters] during fall camp and even going back to last spring, through the summer, through fall camp, weren’t able to be materialized yet,” Bielema said. “He obviously has a very live arm, a lot of experience.”
Bielema was quick to praise backup Art Sitkowski after Peters’ injury but said the decision to go with Peters was easy.
With running back Mike Epstein injured, Illinois will rely on Chase Brown, Reggie Love III and Jakari Norwood to pick up the slack.
Illinois connection
Maryland coach Michael Locksley was an offensive coordinator at Illinois from 2005 to 2008. Terrapins special-teams coach Ron Zook was the head coach at Illinois from 2005 to 2011. They’ll be back Friday night, with their roles reversed.