Simon Cvijanovic was ready to play in the first quarter.

The Illini football coaches told him he’d see some play time Saturday against Western Michigan. He didn’t, however, expect to play the entire second half. After senior left tackle Jeff Allen was ejected on the last play of the first half, the redshirt freshman Cvijanovic got the nod to start in Allen’s spot.

“I didn’t want it to happen this way, but in the meeting last night I told (assistant head coach Joe Gilbert) I want to get Simon in there,” Illini head coach Ron Zook said. “We needed to get him some playing time and low and behold we did.”

Cvijanovic entered the game in a tough situation. The Illini trailed 13-10 at halftime and he had to fill the shoes of the player, who offensive coordinator Paul Petrino called the Illini’s “best offensive lineman.”

Before Cvijanovic returned to the field for the second half, Allen, a team captain, offered a few words of wisdom in the locker room: Watch out for tackle-end twists and the speed rush from Broncos junior defensive end Paul Hazel.

“I actually wasn’t nervous at all,” Cvijanovic said. “I was prepared because we’d been practicing hard, watching a lot of film. I felt I did all right. I could have done better on some plays, but for the most part we got the job done.”

*Young, Dimke latest Illini to receive weekly honors*

After losing a fumble early in the game against Arizona State, freshman running back Donovonn Young was forced to watch from the sidelines for much of the last three quarters and didn’t record a single carry the rest of the way. So when Young again fumbled early in the game against Western Michigan this past Saturday, it looked as though a similar situation might be developing.

Instead, the coaches continued to give Young the ball early and often throughout the game, and the freshman rewarded that decision by racking up 100 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries. Those numbers were good enough to earn Young Freshman of the Week honors in the Big Ten.

“I’m glad that they saw that I can contribute,” Young said. “I’m just happy that they kept me in after that.”

Head coach Ron Zook said Young should expect to see plenty of playing time throughout the rest of the season after recording his first 100-yard game as a member of the Illini.

“I think you have to have them all,” Zook said of his running backs. “I’ve said this for I don’t know how many years now, you can’t have enough good running backs.”

Young wasn’t the only Illini to have his efforts from this past weekend recognized, as kicker Derek Dimke was named the Big Ten Special Teams player of the Week. The senior was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals from 39, 35 and 21 yards as well as 2-for-2 on PATs. For the season, Dimke has yet to miss a kick, converting all six field goal attempts to go along with 15 PATs.

The pair of honors gives Illinois four Big Ten weekly awards after just four games. Linebacker Houston Bates was named the Freshman of the Week after the Illini’s opening week victory over Arkansas State, while fellow linebacker Jonathan Brown was named the Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against Arizona State.

*Brown benched for opening series against Broncos*

Just one week after Brown led the Illini defense with three and a half tackles for a loss and an interception, the sophomore was benched for the opening series of Saturday’s game against Western Michigan.

After the game, defensive coordinator Vic Koenning was hesitant to say exactly what the reason for the benching was.

“For lack of a better way of saying it, we all have commitments that we have to make and he just didn’t completely finish his commitment that he had to do,” Koenning said.

Brown said the punishment was deserved and also served as a wake-up call.

“It was actually a help,” he said. “I’m kinda glad I didn’t come out and start on the first drive. It kind of woke me up and got me ready for the game … It was definitely an experience I needed to have, a humbling experience.”