The time has come for Illinois football to return to Memorial Stadium for another year of intense, competitive play. After a subpar 2023 campaign, the Illini knew they had a lot of pressure going into this first game, and they asserted their confidence with ease.
The Illini won the coin toss and elected to begin the game on offense. They picked up positive yards in the first three drives of the game, with sophomore running back Aidan Laughery being the man to pick up the yardage. Despite this, the Illini soon needed to punt after unsuccessful forward attempts.
All eyes turned to Illinois’ defense as they took to the field for the first time. Eastern Illinois picked up a 27-yard catch, however, junior defensive back Miles Scott managed to force a fumble on the next play. Excitement roared from the crowd after senior linebacker Seth Coleman recovered the ball to get the team back on offense.
Cheers continued from the stands with a 29-yard run from sophomore running back Kaden Feagin, and the Illini quickly approached the endzone. Junior quarterback Luke Altmyer reached senior wide receiver Pat Bryant for a 15-yard catch in the endzone, and put the Illini on the board, 7-0 with four minutes remaining in the first quarter.
After the touchdown, Illinois returned on defense and forced a quick punt from Eastern Illinois. Sophomore defensive back Mac Resetich returned the ball successfully and ran 30 yards bringing the team to Eastern Illinois’ 25-yard line.
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Altmyer threw a swift pass to junior tight end Tanner Arkin in the endzone, and the team had a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. In the first 15 minutes, Altmyer went 7-9 in passing, totaling 62 yards.
The second quarter started off with a bang, as Scott leaped up to grab an interception on the Panthers’ first play of the period. Feagin picked up a 22-yard run, and immediately after, Altmyer ran for nine yards himself. Despite positive yards, the Illini were unable to pick up a consecutive touchdown and stuck with a successful field goal to increase their lead to 17.
After the field goal, the excitement died down for a while, until junior defensive back Torrie Cox Jr. picked off the Panthers, putting the Illini in a good position to score. Altmyer threw a deep pass to Bryant, and once more, the Illini put up another touchdown, keeping a large lead of 24-0 with four minutes left in the half.
Altmyer continued the hot streak he was having, and threw a 34-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Malik Elzy in the endzone, ending the second quarter on a high note, leading 31-0. The Illini went into the locker room with their heads held high after both the offense and defense showed promising skills on the turf. Altmyer threw 163 yards in 19 attempts, and the defense put up 21 tackles in the first 30 minutes. Head coach Bret Bielema had plenty of praise to give to his team.
“I thought Luke threw the ball extremely well,” Bielema noted. “I thought he threw the ball deep, and connected on some things. Our defense played very aggressive as they have been. I thought they attacked the football to get four turnovers, those were all pretty self-created.”
The defense came out hot in the third quarter, aiding the team in getting back on offense. While the Illini had immense success on the outside, the running backs frequently had trouble running up the middle. However, the ferocious Feagin pushed his way into the endzone, adding another cluster of points to the scoreboard.
Defensive pressure came in strong from the linemen, and freshman linebacker Joe Barna sacked Eastern Illinois’ quarterback for a loss of yards. Soon after, they forced another fumble that was recovered by sophomore defensive back Kaleb Patterson.
On the flip side of things, one offensive lineman in particular who protected Altmyer well was the new transfer, J.C. Davis. He was consistently set and aggressive for his opponents, not allowing anyone to lay a finger on his quarterback, and this useful protection made Altmyer more comfortable on the field.
“I felt confident out there,” Altmyer touched on. “I thought I saw everything well, and it came off my hand pretty well, and I feel like the route details of the receivers, they were on their p’s and q’s. I’m looking forward to just growing from week one into week two, and I’m excited to get back to work and display some other things too, I’m looking forward to it.”
An illegal use-of-hands foul was called on the Panthers, which brought the Illini close to the endzone once again. Junior running back Josh McCray ran the ball in for a six-yard touchdown, and the lead then grew to 45-0, absolutely decimating the opponents.
The remainder of the game was quiet on both ends. The student section counted down the final seconds of the game and the Illini emerged victorious.
@tess_eken
