College Football: Illini Suffer First Home Loss

By Jeff Mayfield

[November 07, 2022] 

The University of Illinois Fighting Illini missed a golden opportunity in the opening minutes of the Saturday game, scored the first touchdown, but uncharacteristically struggled the rest of the day resulting in a tough 15-23 loss to Michigan State. It was their first home loss of the season.

That was the most yards and the most points the Illini defense had given up all season. But poor special teams play, an untimely fumble, and a struggle-bus performance in the red zone seemed to doom the Illini in this contest.

The Illini did get a few things done. Chase Brown continued his streak of 100-yard rushing games and only fell one spot in his quest to bring home the Heisman Trophy by galloping for 136 yards. He’s now third on Illinois’ all-time rushing list! Tommy DeVito went 25 of 38 for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns. Isaiah Williams hauled in 5 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. And the Illini offense racked up over 400 total yards for the 5th time this season!

IF you heard all of that independent of the outcome you’d probably ask, how much did we win by? Unfortunately, it was not to be. The lack of execution, the miscues, and the failure to convert on critical downs in key situations all contributed to the disappointing loss. Hopefully, it will serve as a motivator for the big game coming up Saturday.

The Illini find themselves 4-2 in the Big Ten standings and are 7-2 overall heading into next week’s marquee matchup with Purdue.

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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