It was a bittersweet final home game for Illini football on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Memorial Stadium. The seniors rushed onto the field before the game to embrace their loved ones in celebration of Illinois’ senior day. 

The Illini knew they needed to end their home play on a high note, for the fans and their teammates. Fortunately, they did just that. In a battle against the Michigan State Spartans, the Illini played with heart and soul to achieve their seventh win of the season, 38-16. 

Early complementary football

Some recurring problems that arise for a team come when there’s an unequal distribution of effort from the offense and defense. Today, the Illini executed well on both sides of the ball, and they did this early on to establish dominance over the Spartans. 

Junior outside linebacker Gabe Jacas came out with an attack mentality. He sacked Spartans’ sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles to regain offensive possession for the Illini. Then, to accompany the defense’s success, junior quarterback Luke Altmyer threw beautiful a 57-yard bomb to senior wide receiver Pat Bryant, who entered the end zone for a touchdown. 

The Spartans responded quickly with a touchdown of their own, but the Illini were unfazed. To round out the first quarter, Illinois took seven minutes for its next touchdown drive. Through strong blocking, pressuring Michigan State’s quarterback and long pass completions, Illinois complemented itself to get ahead 14-6 after 15 minutes. 

Getting things going on offense

It’s hard to win games when a team can’t advance downfield, let alone score touchdowns. Against Oregon and Minnesota, Illinois failed to produce results on offense when the team needed points the most. However, this was not the case today. Illinois continued to gain ground on Michigan State and landed in its territory often. 

Additionally, each time the Illini got into the red zone, they increased their score. Getting downfield is one thing, but actually generating scores is another, and the Illini succeeded in that realm. Junior running back Josh McCray finished with three rushing touchdowns, Bryant ended with one and so did senior wide receiver Zakhari Franklin. 

Striking hard on defense

Illinois’ linebackers made some of the most impactful plays on the turf today. Not only did they spot Michigan State’s routes to cut them off early, but they tackled them with a vengeance. Players like senior outside linebacker Seth Coleman, senior linebacker Ryan Meed and junior outside linebacker Alec Bryant played with immense force and tackled their opponents to prevent added yardage. On average the Spartans rush for 117.8 yards per game, but today the Illini held them to only 87, a much-needed performance for the Illini’s run defense.

Also, Illinois’ defense stepped up in dire moments. The Illini held the Spartans to 2-15 on their third-down attempts. Especially in the fourth quarter, it was a total collective effort to take down Chiles and prevent any chance of scoring for the Spartans. 

Much-improved, much-needed Altmyer effort 

Altmyer has had his fair share of ups and downs in his second season with the Illini. Against Michigan State, Altmyer had his struggles, but it was clear that he re-evaluated his performances from the weeks prior. 

The quarterback greatly improved on the length of time he held the ball in his hands. In past weeks, Altmyer held onto the ball way too long and lacked awareness when pressures came at him. Today, with help from his linemen, Altmyer got the ball out of his hands quickly and reached his targets accurately. 

When he had enough time to read his options down the field, he was patient and read them with precision. It may not have been his best performance of the season, but he demonstrated his intelligence and leadership skills. If he can direct his squad like this for the last stretch of the season, the Illini could end just as strong as they started. 

@tess_eken

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