It was a tale of two halves for Illinois (2-0) as it beat Duke (1-1) 45-19. The offense was sluggish out of the gate but exploded for 31 points in the second half. Senior receiver Hank Beatty was once again a standout on offense.
Who else but Beatty
After breaking Red Grange’s punt return record last week, with 108 receiving yards on top of it, Beatty stayed hot against Duke. The Illinois native caught all eight passes thrown his way and racked up 128 receiving yards.
“Hank’s a great player, obviously talented,” said senior quarterback Luke Altmyer. “But the reason why those things work out so well is because he sees the field very well … the trust factor is certainly very, very strong.”
However, the highlight of his performance didn’t come through the air, but on the ground. Midway through the third quarter, Beatty lined up under center. He took the direct snap and faked a pitch back to Altmyer before turning on the burners. With blockers in front of him, he wove his way into the endzone for a 25-yard touchdown run.
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“Coach B called me on Monday and said they wanted to do a little QB run play with me,” Beatty said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it, sounds like fun.’”
Beatty now has 236 receiving yards on the season. Last year, he totaled 294 yards across all 13 games. His emergence as a top target for Altmyer has been a big reason for Illinois’ offensive success.
Pushing through the slump
Despite its struggles last week, Duke shut down Illinois’ run game in the first half. None of Illinois’ three running backs could get things going.
It got better in the second half, along with the rest of the offense. Sophomore running back Ca’Lil Valentine put the rushing attack on his back. He tallied 48 yards on six carries and often got into the second level.
His speed got him past the defensive line. It seemed like he zipped through holes whenever they opened.
The rushing attack also suffered after junior running back Aidan Laughery came out of the game. He only carried the ball six times and wasn’t seen after halftime.
“I don’t know anything right now,” said head coach Bret Bielema on Laughery’s absence.
Takeaways galore
The Illini defense was clicking on all cylinders against the Blue Devils. They forced five turnovers, four of them forced fumbles. Junior defensive back Matthew Bailey led the charge in the turnover battle.
He forced a fumble and recovered one as well. Bailey credited one of his coaches after the game, saying the trick is seeing the ball.
“He says, ‘Laser beam your eye to the ball,’” said Bailey. “That was his saying, and that stuck with me.”
Sophomore defensive back Tanner Heckel got in on the fun as well. He snagged an impressive interception and forced a fumble late in the game. The interception came early in the fourth quarter as Duke was driving down the field. After a long drive, Illinois struck the killing blow.
“I spun and I saw it, and I was like, I can get this ball,” said Heckel. “So I really just thought, ‘I’m not going to try to bat this one down, I just got to go try to get it.’ And my hands went out, and I connected with it.”
On the docket
Illinois takes on Western Michigan (0-1) on Sept. 13 in front of a sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium. The game is scheduled to kick off at 6:00 p.m.
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