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 They also stunned their own fans and
maybe even themselves to some extent. I even asked others and none
of us saw this coming.
The Illini put up 646 yards of total offense led by senior transfer
QB A. J. Bush. All Bush did was run for 120 yards and two
touchdowns, complete 18-25 passes for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns and
literally set the pace, tone and tempo of this ball game from the
opening kick-off.
Not to be outdone were a trio of Illini offensive stars. Reggie
Corbin pulled off two +70 yard touchdown runs on his way to 213
yards rushing on only 13 carries. Dre Brown also ran for 93 yards
and a touchdown. Ricky Smalling caught four passes for 86 yards and
1 touchdown as well.
 And let’s not forget the improvement the Illini made on the
defensive side of the ball. With Head Coach Lovie Smith calling the
formations, stunts and blitzes the Illini appeared to be much more
aggressive and their pursuit of the ball much more intense. While
the Gophers were still able to eat up more yards than you’d care to
see, Illinois’ defense came up big on crucial third down plays. [to top of second column] |
The Illini were the first FBS team in college football to score
4 times from 65 yds+ since 2008:
72 yard run - Reggie Corbin
72 yard run - Dre Brown
67 yard reception - Ricky Smalling
77 yard run - Reggie Corbin The 55 points were
most in a game since 2010.
-With the 4th win of the year this marks the best season in the
Lovie Smith era.
With the win Illinois moves to 4-5 on the year.
The schedule gets a lot tougher the rest of the way as Illinois must
travel to Nebraska, then entertain Iowa at home, and close the
season at Northwestern.
[By JEFF MAYFIELD]
Respond to the writer at
jeffqmay@gmail.com.
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