The Day After: Analyzing Illinois’ win against FAU

The Illini beat Florida Atlantic 23-17 at Memorial Stadium this weekend.

“We need to start the game the way we played in the second quarter and avoid slow starts.” Those were the words of Illini receiver Isaiah Williams after their 23-17 win against the Florida Atlantic Owls this past Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Though the veteran receiver could not quite understand why Illinois has started slowly this season, he realizes they need to get out of the gates better than they have this season.

Illinois needed a 14-point second quarter to erase a 10-0 deficit to the Owls. Quarterback Luke Altmyer connected with tight end Griffin Moore on a 46-yard pass play to open the scoring for Illinois. Luke Altmyer ran for a seven-yard touchdown to put the Illini ahead for good. The Mississippi transfer had his best game this season, throwing for 303 yards with two total touchdowns.

After allowing ten points in the first quarter, the Illini defense did not allow another score until late in the fourth quarter.

Here is the good and the bad from the Illini win.

The Good:

Luke Altmyer rebounded nicely against the Owls with his performance. The most encouraging aspect of his performance was he did not put the football in danger. Reggie Love and Josh McCray finally formed the 1-2 punch in the running game, combining for 158 yards. Isaiah Williams matched his career-high in receiving yards (92). The running game salted the game away on the final drive of the game.

The Illini defense held FAU to 97 rushing yards and 4.6 yards per play. They also held the Owls scoreless for two and a half quarters after allowing 10 points early in the game.

The Bad:

Luke Altmyer has one turnover in every game this season, including losing a fumble on Saturday. The offense started slow again. After a 56-yard drive to open the game, the Illini had eight plays for zero yards on its next two drives. After extending the lead to 23-10, the Illini offense had 99 yards of total offense and one turnover.

Though the defense played well, LaJohntay Wester had 137 receiving yards. Illinois had six penalties for 72 yards. Those penalties were crippling. Punter Hugh Robertson was flagged for a late hit that gave the Owls a short field. FAU quarterback Daniel Richardson connected with Wester for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

The general sentiment is the Illini should have won going away because FAU was hit hard by the transfer portal, and their starting quarterback was out for this game. However, head coach Tom Herman had his team ready to play, and they played hard. That said, Illinois played better, which is essential heading into conference play.