Illinois (2-1) defeated the Southern Illinois Salukis in their last game before Big Ten conference play. Illinois won 48 to 10.
Takeaways
Illinois: It took a while for the Illini to get going, but once they found their rhythm, there was no looking back. Illinois quarterback Katin Houser found his go-to receiver, Collin Dixon, for two touchdowns in the first half. That brings his total to seven touchdowns in the first three games of the season. Dixon is now three touchdowns away from breaking the program record for most touchdown receptions in a season.
After halftime, Illinois’ offense began to stall out. Compared to the first half, Illinois scored four touchdowns in the first four drives. Since then, they have had to punt the ball three times and have thrown an interception. They would eventually score another touchdown in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 38.
Illinois’ defensive struggles continued. Even though they did not let SIU into the end zone often, they were exposed in the passing game. A lot of SIU’s receivers were found wide open in multiple plays throughout the game. As the game progressed, Illinois began to tighten their defense up, only allowing nine rushing yards before the starters were subbed out in the fourth quarter.
As the 4th quarter began, the Illini forced a 4th down on the Sulkis. Illinois defensive back Matthew Bailey came up with an interception and brought it all the way back for an 88-yard touchdown. This was Bailey’s 5th interception of his Illini career and first one to be returned for a touchdown.
SIU: In the beginning, it looked like the Sulki’s were going to make the Illini fight for the win. Responding to Illinois’ first-drive touchdown, SIU slowly marched down the field and tied the game. All within the first half, they were unable to capitalize on Illinois’ mistakes.
As Illinois was knocking on the door of scoring another touchdown, SIU flipped the script. Senior cornerback Sebastian Vargas stepped in front of Illinois’ pass and intercepted the ball. Even with this momentum coming out of the second half, Sulkis were unable to score.
Key Stat
After scoring his second touchdown of the game, Dixon now holds the record for most touchdowns scored at Gies Memorial Stadium. Gies Memorial Stadium saw the name change after a $100 million donation by university alum Larry Gies. Since the name change, Dixon has grabbed in seven touchdowns, three weeks into the season.
Up Next
Illinois will begin its Big Ten Conference play. The Illini will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on No. 6 Ohio State at 11 am.