M.J. GIVES FANS SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT
QB Rivers sparks offense filling in for injured Bush
CHAMPAIGN — Illinois beat Western Illinois 34-14 on Saturday, but the victory came with a price.
Illinois quarterback AJ Bush injured his left leg in the first quarter and didn’t return. Enter M.J. Rivers, who provided a needed spark for an offense that has had trouble getting started early in both games this season.
While Bush’s injury didn’t appear serious, Illinois coach Lovie Smith declined to provide specifics.
“I’m coach Smith, not Dr. Smith,” he said. “We’ll see what the doctor says on Monday.”
For the second week in a row, the Illinois offense was ineffective in the first half. Smith couldn’t explain the team’s slow, mistakeplagued starts.
“Early struggles are like any struggle,” he said. “The guys were as pumped up as ever before kickoff, so it certainly wasn’t a matter of not having enough energy. We’ll evaluate our mistakes when we watch video Monday.”
Rivers was 9-for-16 for 105 yards and two touchdowns for Illinois (2-0). Mike Epstein rushed for 105 yards on eight carries. Reggie Corbin ran for 63 yards and one touchdown.
Sean McGuire went 24-for-36 for 276 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for WIU (0-2). Tony Tate rushed for 41 yards to lead the Leathernecks.
Illinois also lost receiver Edwin Carter, injured while making his second touchdown catch. Carter was seeing more playing time Saturday because of the season-ending injury to star receiver Mike Dudek last week.
McGuire was sharp early in the game, but the Illini adjusted at halftime and McGuire was forced to scramble often to avoid pressure. One of his two interceptions came as he was chased from the pocket. Michael Marchese intercepted for Illinois and returned it 41 yards to the 3. Reggie Corbin ran it in on the next play for Illinois.
“We didn’t plan on passing much in the first half, but we had some problems getting the run going,” Smith said. “But once we got our running game going, it opened up the passing game for us.”
This and that
Chase McLaughin’s 54-yard field goal for Illinois early in the third quarter was the third-longest field goal in school history. It was the longest Illini field goal since 2012.
◆ Illinois is 16-0 against the other state universities located in Illinois. The Illini are also 16-0 against FCS opponents.
◆ Illinois has scored more points in each of its first two games this season than it did in any one game in 2017.