Illinois Football Week 1 Recap vs Eastern Illinois

The Illinois Football season is officially underway. The Illini season kicked off last night with a late start of 8:00 PM CT against FCS opponent Eastern Illinois. The Illini had this one wrapped up on the scoreboard by halftime and continued their dominance in the second half shutting out the Panthers 45-0. Now, let’s dive into each side of the ball and how they looked in Week 1 of the college football season.

Illinois Football Offense

🚨Leek 🚨

2023 All-American Malik Elzy (@elzy_malik) scores his first touchdown of the season.#ILL 🔷🔶#AllAmericanBowl 🇺🇸

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— All-American Bowl (@AABonNBC) August 30, 2024

The Illini offense started the season right by scoring 45 points on an FCS defense. However, they started a bit slow after a quick first down to Aidan Laughrey they had to punt after their second set of downs. But after a fumble forced by Miles Scott, the Illini offense started rolling. Illini Football then marched 77 yards down the field where Luke Altmyer hooked up with Pat Bryant for a 15-yard touchdown. It was a great throw by Altmeyer as he rolled to his right finding Bryant back in the middle of the end zone. That was the first of two touchdowns from Bryant on the night.

Luke Altmyer had a great night through the air. He did make a few questionable decisions, but that happens. Altmyer looked in command of the offense all night long. He finished with an efficient 19-24 for 213 yards and four touchdowns. He linked up with Pat Bryant for two, Tanner Arkin for one, and a beautiful 34-yard touchdown to sophomore Malik Elzy.

The backfield was terrific all night long. To my surprise, Aidan Laughery got the first drive at running back over Kaden Feagin. However, Kaden Feagin led the backfield in carries with 16 for 108 yards and a touchdown. It was a running back by committee as we thought it would be. Feagin saw 16 carries, Laughery saw 10, and Josh McCray saw five. Jordan Anderson and freshman Ca’Lil Valentine combined for seven carries in mop-up duty.

The Illinois offense was in control from the second drive and on. It will be interesting to see if they can continue that efficiency against the Kansas Jayhawks at home next weekend.

Illinois Football Defense

The Illini defense looked similar to the defense that we saw during the 2022 season. They were flying around and forcing turnovers from the first drive and on. The EIU offense had momentum on the first drive until Miles Scott met EIU running back Jay Pearson in the hole to force a fumble which was recovered by Seth Coleman.

The Illini defense would go on to force four turnovers on the night with two interceptions and two fumbles forced. Not only did Miles Scott force that fumble but he also got his hands on an interception. It was also a great night from Ohio transfer Torrie Cox Jr. who also got his hands on an interception.

We knew this defense would stack up well against this EIU offense. However, to shut them out like they did was just the way to set the tone for their 2024 season. The defense looks like they could have their swagger back. The real test will be next week against Jalon Daniels and the Kansas Jayhawks offense.

Illinois Football Special Teams

There is not a ton to note for the Illini special teams which is usually a good thing. New kicker David Alano made all six of his extra points and made his lone 26-yard field goal attempt. Punter Hugh Robertson also had a solid night pinning the Panthers inside the 20 in three out of his four punts.

One thing to note was Mac Resetich was the punt returner for the Illini. His first return was awesome catching it on the run, showing his speed, and taking it for 30 yards. However, his second return was a muffed punt, which is never good to see. As of now, it looks like Mac is the guy, but it will be interesting to see how long his leash is.

Final thoughts

My final thoughts are this is how the season should have started for this Illini team. They outmatched the EIU Panthers in every facet of the game and imposed their will all night. It was a great start to the season and the Illini will look to build on it with their Week 2 matchup against Kansas at home.

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