Wes Lunt and Geronimo Allison are a perfect combination in the Illinois passing attack

When sophomore wide receiver Mikey Dudek went down with an ACL injury, the Fighting Illini needed to find a way to replace over 1,000 yards and 6 touchdowns in the passing game. That's by no means an easy task for a single player to accomplish, but one candidate has emerged early on in the season -- senior wideout Geronimo Allison.

Allison first arrived in Champaign as a lanky 6'3 target from Iowa Western Community College. It took a few weeks for him to fully adjust to the next level, but he was able to quickly cement himself as a starter and even became one of Wes Lunt's favorite targets through the first few weeks of the season.

Fast forward twelve months and Allison has already logged 10 receptions for 181 yards and a touchdown through the first two weeks (in limited playing time due to blowouts).

In order for the Fighting Illini to make a second-straight bowl appearance, they'll need both Wes Lunt and Geronimo Allison to be at the top of their respective games moving forward. If they can find a way to consistently expose zone defenses (as shown above), it'll open up the rest of the playbook while giving Josh Ferguson, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, and others more room to operate.