Illinois Bounces Back in Win over Southern Illinois

RECAP:

Illinois handled business at home Saturday, cruising to a 48-10 victory over SIU.

The Salukis opened the game with a 21-yard play, but the Illini defense quickly settled in and forced a punt. Illinois responded with a 65-yard drive capped off by a Jordan Anderson touchdown.

SIU answered with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game, but from that point on, it was all Illinois in the first half.

Aidan Laughrey broke loose for a 77-yard touchdown run, the longest rushing touchdown for an Illini since Chase Brown’s 80-yard score against Charlotte in 2021. Illinois added another touchdown before halftime and used some excellent late-half clock management to set up a 36-yard field goal, taking a 31-10 lead into the break.

The third quarter was relatively stagnant. Illinois put together a long drive that eventually stalled in the red zone after Katin Houser forced a ball toward Collin Dixon instead of hitting Davin Stoffel, who appeared to be wide open for an easy touchdown. It was the lone costly mistake Houser made all game.

The Illini opened the fourth quarter with a field goal to extend the lead to 34-10. The defense then finally forced a turnover, and it immediately turned into points. Matthew Bailey intercepted DJ Williams on fourth down and returned it all the way to the end zone for a touchdown.

With the game firmly in hand, Illinois was able to get its second-string players some valuable snaps. And in my opinion, the star of the game emerged from that group.

Freshman running back Javari Barnett made all eight of his carries count, finishing with 50 yards and a touchdown. It only took two carries for fans to realize that the Illini may already have their next potentially great running back on the roster.

Barnett ran with smoothness, but he was also violent. He simply wasn't easy to bring down. It's easy to see why Alabama was able to flip him Barnett before he ultimately decided to flip back on signing day. This guy is a beast.

Overall, it was the kind of game Illinois needed to have. The Illini took care of business, dominated the second half defensively, avoided major mistakes on offense and got some valuable reps for the younger players.

TAKEAWAYS:

Feed Javari Barnett. I do not want to overreact to one game against Southern Illinois, but that just looked like a better freshman Josh McCray. Illinois needs to find some touches for Barnett going forward. Throwing him in against Ohio State next week may not be the time, but after that, I want to see him get several touches a game.

The defense looked better. While I am still skeptical, the Illini did put together a better defensive performance. The one 11 play 75-yard allowed is still very concerning, so my optimism moving forward is very limited. It was cleaner though. There did not seem to be communication errors, and the tackling looked decent.

Hudson Clement and Brayden Trimble were more involved. I was looking for receivers other than Collin Dixon to step up after last week. There seemed to be more of an effort to get those guys involved. It was still the Collin Dixon show, as he is now the Memorial Stadium single season receiving touchdown record holder. Houser's only error came because he was trying to force one into Dixon, but overall, the room made progress. Houser needs to continue to build trust and confidence in his other guys when teams like Ohio State are able to put all their focus on Dixon.

UP NEXT:

The Illini are looking to take the ILLIBUCK trophy home for the first time since 2007, and the Illini's historic upset over OSU in the 'show. Can the Illini do it again this Saturday as 4 touchdown underdogs?