At halftime Saturday, No. 9 Illinois (3-0) trailed the Western Michigan Broncos (0-3) in total yards 133-122. The Illini led 10-0, but the powerful offense that posted 97 points over the first two games was sputtering against the winless Broncos.
After the break, the Illini were Bronco-busting, blazing out of halftime with three-straight touchdown drives. The sudden turnaround fueled Illinois to a comfortable 38-0 win.
“I can’t repeat what I said at halftime,” said head coach Bret Bielema. “I was probably as spirited as I’ve ever been as a head coach since I’ve been here at Illinois.”
Second-half team
Illinois’ turnaround at half continued a season-long trend of much-improved play in the final quarters. Last week against Duke (1-2), Illinois turned a narrow 14-13 halftime lead into a 45-19 blowout win.
In fact, the Illini have now outscored their opponents 80-9 in the second half this season. While Illinois won its first three games handily, the team will need to play better early on to have a chance against No. 22 Indiana (3-0) next week.
“We can’t give away two quarters of football and expect to be in the contest at the end,” Bielema said of the upcoming game.
Senior quarterback Luke Altmyer mirrored Bielema’s concern. The veteran also had a much stronger second half Saturday, going 9 for 10 on passes after an 8 for 16 first half.
“It’s good to have these moments right now,” Altmyer said. “We can figure out where our weaknesses are, our strengths are. I think we’re on the right track.”
Ground-based attack
With junior running back Aidan Laughery out, junior Kaden Feagin and sophomore Ca’Lil Valentine picked up the slack. Each found the endzone once in the win, while Feagin totaled 113 yards as both a runner and receiver.
“He’s a freight train, man,” said senior linebacker Kenenna Odeluga of Feagin. “You gotta run to the roar when it comes to him because he’s just so big. He can put that shoulder down, but he’s also got a lot of speed to outrun you, too.”
Valentine added 63 yards and scored Illinois’ final touchdown in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.
Defense steps up
The Illinois defense cooked up its first shutout since the unit blanked Eastern Illinois in last year’s season opener.
“Zero points, that’s so cool,” Altmyer said. “They had our backs today for sure, especially in that first half.”
Western Michigan nearly put points on the board several times, including at the end of the second quarter. The Broncos found themselves with a third-and-1 at the 1-yard line, but the Illini stepped up and twice kept the team out of the endzone. Odeluga made the crucial stop on fourth down and credited his teammates for making the play happen.
“I may be the one that made the tackle,” Odeluga said. “But if it wasn’t for everyone else, it’s not going to be there.”
Next up
Illinois faces its toughest test of the season next week. The team travels to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on No. 22 Indiana, fresh off a 73-0 stomping over FCS Indiana State. The primetime game kicks off at 6:30 p.m.
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