Illinois Football: 5 observations from the win over Western Illinois

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 01: Members of the Illinois Fighting Illini student body are seen during the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. MJ Rivers should start next game

The starting quarterback for the game against Western Illinois was AJ Bush. He showed some signs of leading this team on the field during the second half comeback against Kent State, so he deserved to get another shot this week.

Bush was playing okay going 5-for-7 for 33 yards through the air before he went down with an injury. The play was impressive on his part, scrambling out of the pocket, avoiding two defenders and throwing a jumping pass for a completion. But, when he jumped, the defender dove at him and put his helmet to Bush’s knee.

In steps true freshman, MJ Rivers. Now, if you have ever read anything I have ever written, you would know I have been “Team MJ” since he committed to the program. He had his chance to play in the second game of the season, and he did pretty well. Rivers stepped in and threw for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

Illinois was actually down 7-0 when Rivers came in. He helped the Illini to a 14-7 halftime lead and the team didn’t look back. Bush actually looked ready to go back in a few times as well, but the coaching staff did the right thing and left Rivers in the game.

Moving forward is going to be the big question. Do you put Bush back in the game or do you leave Rivers as the starter? I think we saw enough out of Rivers to say that he is the starter moving forward. He has a better arm – more accurate and stronger – and his running ability is just as good. He seemed like a vocal leader as well. Let’s go with Rivers for the USF game next week and go from there.

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