Illinois Stymies Western Illinois
Illini beat the Leathernecks 44-0, Move to 2-0
By Jeff Mayfield

[September 14, 2015]  CHAMPAIGN-URBANA- The University of Illinois Fighting Illini started slowly but eventually found a rhythm and went on to a 44-0 victory over the Western Illinois Leathernecks. Illinois' Wes Lunt finally got in a groove and finished the day 33 of 46 passing good for 316 yards and 1 touchdown. It marked the third time the Rochester, IL QB had finished with more than 300 yards in a contest.

However, defense may be the thing more talked about from this one. The Illini defense held WIU to a total of only 5 first downs for the game and 141 total yards and 0 touchdowns. It is the first time since 1994 that Illinois has gone back-to-back games without yielding a touchdown. IF they can keep it up they’ll never lose!

I know I should be more optimistic than I am after a 2-0 start. But sometimes being an objective reporter is tough and if you ask me the Illini have several areas of concern. One area that will need to shore up is the o-line. I observed that the Illini had problems running the football against WIU’s mediocre defense. And if the Illini struggle to run the ball against Western what will happen when they face Big 10 competition? They will also need some other running backs to take some of the pressure off of Josh Ferguson who did carry the pigskin for 39 yards and a td. Help could come in the form of either Ke’Shawn Vaughn who actually led Illini rushers with 53 yards or Henry Enyenihi who tallied 34 yards on the day.

Another area that has me concerned is that Illinois seems to put itself in jeopardy often by coming up with too many 2nd and long and 3rd and long situations. You can get away with that against the Leathernecks but not against the Cornhuskers!

As I mentioned when the Illini finally got it in gear they were able to take a commanding 30-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. And maybe I’m making a mountain out of a molehill but it seemed like it took too long to get going. Seeing how strong the Big 10 is this year I just hope we can find ways to start faster and try to play with a cushion. I’m hoping it’s just the fact that we don’t want to show future opponents anything this early in the season. Could that be the case?

A couple of real bright spots on the day in addition to the defense were our receivers and our place kicker, Taylor Zalewski. Three pass catchers stood out and they were Geronimo Allison who had a great day hauling in 8 passes for 124 yards and he could’ve had a lot more. Marchie Murdock caught 6 throws for 51 yards and also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown-talk about having a fun day! And don’t forget Greg Taylor’s long lost cousin, Dionte Taylor who grabbed 5 completions for 46 yards.

I know I should be happy that Illinois won. I know I should be pleased that the defense pitched a shutout. I know I shouldn’t worry about the concerns until we get to or cross that bridge, but they pay me to call em like I see em and that’s how I see em! The good news is that Illinois has played two games and are in the clubhouse at 2-0. You can’t be any better than that at this juncture. Good luck to the Orange & Blue as they travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to take on the Tarheels next Saturday! Anybody up for going 3-0?

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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(Congratulations to Payne Mayfield who scored a touchdown on a 60-yard pass reception the first time he ever touched the ball as a freshman. Nice going!)