CHAMPAIGN – No. 9 Illinois (3-0) hosted Western Michigan (0-3) on Saturday night, and with a strong run game performance, Illinois extended its win streak to three in a row. Illinois beat Western Michigan 38-0 and totaled 162 rushing yards on the night.
Takeaways
Illinois: Illinois started slowly at the beginning of the game. At halftime, it was only 10-0, and Western Michigan had a chance to get on the scoreboard before the 1st half clock hit zero. Illinois started to reset the tone early in the second half, and that got Illinois back to adding points to the scoreboard. Although it started slowly, Illinois adjusted at halftime and kept the ball on the ground and ran it across the field.
Western Michigan: For the first half, Western Michigan looked really impressive as they were able to not let the number nine team in the country take complete control over the game. The Broncos’ defense shone when it came to disrupting Illinois’ passing game. Western Michigan kept things close for the first half, but the longer they took to score, the quicker Illinois was able to pull away for the win.
Key moment
Western Michigan was knocking on Illinois’ door at the end of the first half. Not only were they keeping the game close, but they were also within striking distance to cut the lead to three heading into the first half.
The Broncos were smoothly galloping down the field and found themselves inches from the endzone on fourth down with three seconds left in the first half…