There was no doubt people were excited for the 2008 Illini football home opener. Whether you were a student “preparing” all morning, an alumnus who drove through hours of cornfields or a last-minute construction worker who tracked the number of hours until game time on the wooden walls of the unfinished press box elevator with a pencil, you had to be excited.

And why not? The Illini offense put up huge numbers through the air the previous week against Mizzou and now they were going to unveil their newly renovated stadium in a match-up with sprinkle-covered cupcake, Eastern Illinois. Tasty.

Personally, I was most excited to see the continued development of quarterback Juice Williams as a passer. In fact, I was so excited I even wrote a column about the new and improved, passing Juice. You know, the Juice who could do more with his arm than ever before and who finally looked like the passer we all hoped for.

But then Juice had to go on and break his own single-game quarterback rushing record by running for 174 yards against Eastern. Don’t I look like a smart guy?

Of course on a day with so many great players from Illini football’s history being in the stadium and the team wearing throwback uniforms, it seemed only fitting for us to get a performance from the vintage Juice of 2007.

“I love to run the ball. It’s what I grew up doing,” Juice said after the game. “I was blessed with the ability to be able to make plays with my legs, but as a quarterback you have to sit back in the pocket and try to make throws down the field.”

… Just not this game.

Juice’s 174 yards running was only a cog in the Illini rushing machine that manufactured 399 total yards on the ground en route to a 47-21 victory against the Panthers. Contributors of all shapes, sizes and positions got in on the action and spread the wealth around.

Junior running back Daniel Dufrene slashed around for 99 yards rushing and wide receiver Arrelious Benn used the option to add two rushing touchdowns to his 48 yards on the ground.

“We have different types of runners,” Williams said. “Daniel does one thing well. Rejus does just about everything well. And I do different things well.”

Even running backs like freshman Mikel LeShoure and sophomore “bucket of hair” Troy Pollard got in on the action with 49 yards rushing and a 25-yard touchdown run, respectively.

“Coming out of high school I was used to carrying the load and at this level you can’t carry the load like that,” LeShoure said. “You need other people to surround you, so to have multiple players who can run the ball it helps out a lot.”

Last season, the bulk of the running game was put on the shoulders of Rashard Mendenhall, as he was the lone back with supporting appearances from Juice. Now with Mendenhall gone and no feature back on the roster, a full-team rushing effort seems to be the new plan of attack, which the players executed on Saturday.

“We’re a team that’s going to run the ball or at least attempt to run the ball regardless of what happens. Whether it’s Juice, Arrelious or any of the other tailbacks,” LeShoure said.

Nothing seemed to be more evident of this desire to run the ball than the vicious blows Illini runners were delivering to defenders at the end of their carries. Instead of avoiding violent contact like offensive coordinator Mike Locksley probably would like them to do, Juice and Benn would run full speed into opposing defenders for a few extra yards by lowering their shoulders and initiating contact.

“He’s a big guy,” Eastern Illinois head coach Bob Spoo said about Juice and his running ability. “I was amazed with his size.”

The key to the offense and what they really showcased to the fans this weekend was the diversity of their athletes and play calling. Over the past few seasons, Coach Locksley has been modifying his advanced spread offense. This scheme challenges the traditional roles of offensive players while forcing defenses to adapt. Most of all, though, the focus is about getting the ball in the hands of the playmakers.

“Any way to get the ball in my hands. Run it or pass it. Those are my goals to score. Running and passing,” Benn said. “I don’t want to look at myself as just a receiver even though I am a receiver.”

So after two weeks of football, it appears the Illini offense is suffering from a bit of a split personality disorder. I’m not sure what the plan is for next week or what kind of attack they are going to use against Louisiana-Lafayette. For all I know, they could score 40 points on special teams alone. Nothing would surprise me at this point … and it’s only been two weeks.

But isn’t that exciting?