Illinois coach Ron Zook didn’t go into Saturday night’s home opener against Western Illinois expecting to unearth great truths about his team.
In the wake of Appalachian State’s upset of Michigan last weekend, the idea of surviving with a victory over the Leathernecks, ranked No. 23 in Division I-AA, would do just fine.
And that’s what the Illini (1-1) did, sending the crowd of 48,301 home happy with a run-of-the-mill 21-0 triumph over the Leathernecks (1-1).
But the way they won will cause some concern among the faithful. Rashard Mendenhall ran for 139 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that ended the scoring.
But the passing game didn’t pose much of a threat. Juice Williams, who was knocked out of the season-opening loss to Missouri with an eye injury, completed only 12 of 24 passes for 123 yards with one interception.
“I could have probably told you this was going to happen, though I wished it wouldn’t, before the game,” Zook said. “All the things being said — he gets knocked out of the first game, he wants to prove [things] to people — I told him to relax, you can’t force things.
“I told him I don’t want him walking out of the locker room feeling badly. It’s a learning process in a young quarterback’s life.”
In the third quarter, the sophomore used good judgment by giving his receivers plenty of time to get open before taking off on a 9-yard scramble for a TD that made the score 14-0.
More Top Picks Best Task Lamps For Crafts And Hobbies
“I treated today like it was my season opener because I didn’t play much last week,” said Williams, whose left eye still has blood in it. “I was pressing too much, doing everything fast, and forgot about little things. I had problems as far as my reads and hitting open guys. I left some plays out there. It was the second game, and I have a long road to travel.”
It was left to the Illinois defense to take care of business for much of the evening, and it did, recording its first shutout since a 31-0 victory over Iowa on Oct. 14, 2000. Illinois held Western to 152 yards, the best total in Zook’s three seasons.
The defense made its key stand in the opening moments of the second half. Walter Mendenhall, Rashard’s brother, fumbled the opening kickoff to set up the Leathernecks on the Illinois 36. On fourth-and-1 at the 27, linebacker J Leman stopped Herb Donaldson for a 2-yard loss to kill the drive.
The play proved to be a turning point. The Illini drove 71 yards on nine plays to take a 14-0 lead on Williams’ 9-yard scramble after he couldn’t find anybody open on third-and-5.
Freshman receiver Arrelious Bench touched the ball for the first time in the second quarter — on a handoff. He took the ball 18 yards for a first down at the Leathernecks’ 35, but the Illini wound up punting. In the fourth quarter, with the Illini leading 14-0, he hauled in a 28-yarder from Williams that set up Mendenhall’s touchdown.
Mendenhall had help running the ball from backup Daniel Dufrene, who gained 51 yards, 32 on a scoring run that gave the Illini a 7-0 lead.
“It’s nice to get 100 yards. The line did a great job the whole game,” Mendenhall said. “There were seams all over the place.”
As Williams grows into his position, Mendenhall and others must carry the load.
“He really ran well today,” Zook said. “I’m proud of him. He’s trying to do everything we asked him to.”
———-