Since they trudged off the field from their season-opening loss to Missouri last weekend, Illinois players had said whether it was a squeaker or a blowout against Illinois State, all they wanted was a victory.
Making a statement against Illinois State — a FCS team — might temporarily calm the unexpectedly early-season nail-biting and fretting of Illinois fans.
But all worrying this weekend had less to do with the Illini’s play in their 45-17 home-opening victory against the Redbirds and everything to do with the health of their star player.
Last week, it was the wide receiver. This week, it’s the quarterback.
After Arrelious Benn returned from an ankle injury he suffered early against Missouri, quarterback Juice Williams left after two plays in Saturday’s game with a right quadriceps strain. He should be back for the Big Ten opener in two weeks, and the Illini are off next week.
The injury occurred on a play that at first prompted fans at Memorial Stadium to cheer, then to fear.
Williams burst toward the end zone on Illinois’ first play from scrimmage, pulling up and falling at the 1-yard line while grabbing his right thigh. He limped off the field a play later after Jason Ford ran the ball into the end zone for a 6-0 lead.
Backup Eddie McGee took over for the rest of the game, experiencing some ups and downs but leaving with a victory under his belt. And that’s all Illinois said would matter.
McGee threw an interception, fumbled away an exchange and was sacked twice, but he also threw a touchdown pass and ran for two other scores while leading the Illini to victory.
The interception was in the end zone on his first drive as Williams tried to run on the sideline and warmed up on a stationary bike. Through the rest of the half, Williams prowled the sideline wearing a headset while the Illini built a 24-0 halftime lead.
McGee found his most success connecting with players other than Benn, who is Williams’ go-to man. Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui caught three passes for 51 yards and Jarred Fayson caught four for 39.
Ford carried the load for the Illini on the ground, rushing 10 times for 137 yards, including one carry for 68 yards. McGee finished 13 of 17 passing for 164 yards and rushed 18 times for 55 more.
Running back Daniel Dufrene saw action, carrying five times for 61 yards.
Illinois was not at full strength on defense either.
The Illini played without middle linebacker Martez Wilson, who suffered a stinger in practice.
The defense shut out Illinois States until midway through the third quarter, when Eyad Salem caught a 3-yard TD pass from Matt Brown to trail 31-7, but still had some glaring missed tackles that led to big pass plays.
Brown, a redshirt freshman, was filling in for starting quarterback Drew Kiel, who had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb after he injured it in the Redbirds’ opening loss to Eastern Illinois. He passed for more than 200 yards, but the Illini held the Redbirds to 44 yards rushing.
sryan@tribune.com
