Despite being arrested for assault and battery at Joe’s Brewery, 706 S. Fifth Street, Champaigh, in early August, linebacker Matt Sinclair and defensive tackle Ryan Matha are scheduled to play in the Illinois season opener on Saturday against Florida A&M.;

The two will be in the lineup without question in coming games, head coach Ron Turner said, but disciplinary action could still take place.

“Our plan right now is to go with them,” Turner said. “We are going to let the process run its course and see what happens with that.”

Sinclair led the Illini with 129 tackles last year. He also led the Big Ten with 98 tackles in league play en route to being named 2003 honorable mention All-Big Ten.

Matha returned from reconstructive knee surgery in 2002 to play in all 11 games last year. The junior started eight games and picked up 25 tackles.

Turner said a lot of time was spent looking into the situation and feels confident in the decision to let them play.

“Before any decision was made whatsoever, we researched it, looked at it, looked at everything that happened and sometimes you have to do that,” Turner said. “There are two sides to every story and you want to find out and know exactly what happened before you make a decision. So I am very comfortable with the decision that was made based on the events that happened.

“They have a great attitude and they know they did something to hurt the team, regardless of what their involvement was. And they just wanted to go into camp and have a good camp, which they did, and help this football team.”

Under the lights

The Illini will kick off the 2004 season under the lights as game time is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday.

“It reminds me of being in high school again, under the lights, Friday night football,” Beutjer said. “We don’t get too many opportunities to play under the lights in college, so when we have a chance to it’s pretty exciting.”

The last night game at Memorial Stadium was Sept. 27, 2003, when Wisconsin came to town and handed Illinois a 38-20 loss.

“Do I like it? It’s fine; I don’t care. Just put the ball down and play,” Turner said. “At 5 o’clock, hopefully, we will have a good crowd. Night games always seem to generate a little more enthusiasm and a little more energy from the crowd. Afternoon tailgating might do that. I think it’s good to open. I wouldn’t want to play them all at five.”

Against AA action

Saturday’s game will be only the third time under head coach Ron Turner that the Illini will face a Division I-AA team.

The Illini go up against Florida A&M; with a 2-0 record against I-AA opponents.

“We’re not looking past any team,” strong safety Morris Virgil said. “We can’t look past any team, not coming off a season like we did. We can’t look past anyone.”

Last season, the Illini got their only win of the season in a 49-22 victory over Illinois State. They also beat Middle Tennessee in 1998.

Although the Illini have had success against I-AA teams in the past, they know they can’t overlook Florida A&M.;

“They are a great team,” Beutjer said. “We’ve had a chance to look at them on film and they are very athletic, very fast. And they can play football. At this level anybody can beat anybody at any time.”