Throughout the early part of the season, one of the biggest storylines for Illinois was their backfield, and if there would be a star emergence. During Saturday’s 24-14 win against Charlotte, Chase Brown had a career day for the Illini, as he put himself in the history books for the University.

Brown’s numbers were out of this world, he had 26 carries for 257 yards and two touchdowns, with one of his TD’s being an 80 yard rush. The London, Ontario native is now fourth on the Illinois all-time single-game rushing yardage wish.

This backfield group is deep for Illinois. Every week another back seems to be the primary ball carrier, however it is certain that Brown set himself apart from the rest of the squad. Despite being a few yards off from Mikel Leshoure’s absurd 330 yard rushing game against Northwestern in 2010, Brown has elated with his performance against Charlotte. 

“I work really hard,” Brown said. “Coaches have been pushing us all year long, and I feel like it’s finally paying off.”

Along with Mikel Leshoure, there are several notable Illinois running backs on the single-game rushing yard list. Rashard Mendenhall, Red Grange and Robert Holcombe are just a few of the names, and Brown knows the importance of being up here with these players.

“When I first came to Illinois, I knew I wanted to be a part of those big name guys that played there before me,” Brown said. “The fact that I was able to come out here today and put up the performance I did, I felt really grateful.”

When a player such as Brown puts up Madden type numbers, any head coach would be over the moon. Bret Bielema loved to see Brown have the game he did, and the first-year head coach hopes to see more of these strong performances in the future. 

“You see Chase (Brown) and his abilities and his skillset, but I also think he has the ability to take the home run hit like you saw, there was nobody that was going to catch him,” Bielema said. “So he’s really just scratching the surface of what he’s going to become, I think he’s a really talented back.

Brown was vital to Illinois’ success against the 49ers. The Illini have struggled offensively over the past few weeks, and this week seemed to be a breath of fresh air. Josh McCray was the second leading rusher in the backfield, as he had 16 carries for 64 yards. Brandon Peters had a decent game from the quarterback position as well. He went 10/19 with 78 yards and a touchdown pass. 

Obviously Brown probably won’t put up similar numbers in future games this year, especially as Illinois face off against some ranked opponents from the Big Ten. However, it was great to see a young member of this Illinois backfield dominate the ground game on Saturday.

@WillPayne33

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