Illini get win, not praise
Colleen Kane
Senior writer
Brad Kahler
The Daily Illini
Illinois linebacker Matt Sinclair, bottom, and defensive tackle Charles Gilstrap (91) attempt to stop Illinois State running back Sha-Ron Edwards in the first half at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. |
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Illinois didn't earn many rave reviews in its meeting with Illinois State Saturday at Memorial Stadium. But the Illini did get one important mark — their first win of the season in a 49-22 defeat of the Division I-AA Redbirds.
"A win is a win — it doesn't matter how many yards we have or points you allow," Illinois quarterback Jon Beutjer said. "We know we have a lot of things to correct ... We had a lot of mistakes, but a win is a win."
The Illini overcame an Aug. 30 loss to Missouri to improve to 1-1 in front of a crowd of 56,304 in their home opener.
They also came to the realization that they have a lot of work to do before their next meeting with a tougher UCLA. The Bruins lost to No. 17 Colorado 16-14 Saturday.
The biggest problems came on defense.
"We've got to get better. A lot better, in a real short amount of time," Illinois head coach Ron Turner said. "I'm talking as a unit, we've got to play better. At times, we played OK, but obviously not good enough."
After breaking out to a 21-0 first quarter lead, Illinois allowed Illinois State 511 yards of offense, including 385 passing yards.
Former Illini receiver Dwayne Smith caught a stadium-record 14 passes for 243 yards for ISU. He also caught two touchdowns, including a 74-yard end zone pass from ISU quarterback Mike Souza in the third quarter.
"Anytime somebody gets behind our deep coverage, that's unacceptable," Illinois defensive coordinator Mike Cassity said. "In the second half, we knew they were going to pass, and we've got to rise to the occasion."
The Illinois defense took a hit last week when senior defensive end Mike O'Brien went down in practice with a torn ACL. O'Brien, who was the defensive leader against Missouri, is out for the season.
Sophomore Scott Moss took the start and junior Lee Robinson saw time in the spot. They each recorded one solo tackle.
"O'B's backups are very, very capable. One guy doesn't make a defense. Obviously we hate losing O'B — what a great person and a great player— but we're not going to construct our whole defensive philosophy around one player," Cassity said. "I know (Moss and Robinson) got a lot of reps, which is a positive, and I expect those guys to get better each and every game."
There were also other positives.
Beutjer had another solid performance, finding seven different receivers for 207 passing yards.
"Jon's playing great football. I really like the look in his eye. I like the things he's saying on the sidelines, what he's seeing," Turner said. "He's throwing the ball extremely well, like we knew he would, but I really like the way he has a good handle on the offense."
Beutjer found junior Mark Kornfeld for a career-high 73 yards and one touchdown. Morris Virgil led the rushing offense with 84 yards. John Gockman connected on two more field goals.
And the Illini special teams, which Turner said had two "very average" starting games, blocked an ISU field goal. Sophomore safety Travis Williams returned the block for a 66-yard touchdown to end the first half.
But the touchdown resulted in another of Illinois' problems — an excessive celebration penalty. The Illini racked up five penalties for 50 yards lost. They had totaled seven penalties for 33 yards against Missouri.
That's just another thing for Illinois to work on before heading to California, but the players, and Turner, were positive about those chances at improvement.
"(We'll) just clean the little things up, the fundamentals," junior linebacker Matt Sinclair said. "Little things like alignment that will make a five-yard catch into a 70-yard catch, like they did there when Dwayne (Smith) had a couple of those long catches. Luckily, that stuff we can work on. It's got nothing to do with heart and determination."
"I'm blasting our defense here, but we've got some good guys," Turner said. "And we will have a good defense."
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