Illinois football pushed forward in the 2024 season on Saturday with a big win over Michigan State.
On a two-game losing streak and having been nearly a month since we last won a game, the Illini couldn’t afford to fall to the Spartans. Michigan State doesn’t have a great team this season, so Illinois needed to flex some offensive firepower.
Illinois looked good coming out of the gates. We opened a double-digit lead in the first half. Michigan State showed some life early in the second half, but Illinois was able to push the ball down the field and put up an insurmountable lead.
With the offense playing well and the defense looking stout for most of the contest, Illinois was able to come out with a 38-16 victory over Michigan State.
Here are five huge observations from the Illinois football win over Michigan State
1. Illinois offensive line played flawlessly
Coming into the game on Saturday, I published three keys about how Illinois can beat Michigan State. One of the keys was to give Luke Altmyer time in the pocket.
Altmyer is a much better passer when he doesn’t have a defensive player breathing down his neck. That means the Illini offensive line was going to have to come through for Altmyer against Michigan State.
Thankfully, the Spartans' pass rush this season has been below average. Heading into the game on Saturday, I had high hopes that the Illinois offensive line was going to have a good game, and therefore, Altmyer would have a good game. Those hopes turned into reality.
I would argue this was the best game the Illinois offensive line has played all season. They kicked things off with the touchdown pass on the second drive of the game.
On that drive, Altmyer stepped back, and there was a perfect pocket for him to scan the field. He had time to see Pat Bryant’s route develop, and Altmyer let the ball fly. It resulted in a 57-yard touchdown.
Illinois’ offensive line hasn’t been good this season. They have given up at least two sacks in all but two games in 2024. The last time they didn’t give up a sack in a game was back in week one against Eastern Illinois, an FCS team. That was in August. On Saturday, the Illini offensive line rose up and played a great game, and the results showed.
2. Seth Coleman and Gabe Jacas were nightmares on the edge
The Illinois defense played well in all but two drives on Saturday. They had Michigan State looking for answers nearly the entire game.
Giving up fewer than 20 points in a game is an impressive feat. A big reason for the great defensive outing was due to the dominance of our edge rushers, Seth Coleman and Gabe Jacas.
Coming into the game, I figured Jacas was in for a big day. He has led Illinois in sacks the entire season, and Michigan State’s offensive line isn’t great. Not only did he have a big day, but Coleman was also incredible for the Illini defense.
Both players were extremely disciplined. Aidan Chiles likes the run-pass option plays. When he would pull the ball instead of handing it off, Coleman or Jacas weren’t biting on the play and would be there with great contain. This stopped Chiles from having big games, as he had 12 carries for 40 yards on the day.
The pressure Coleman and Jacas brought in the passing game was impressive too. Chiles didn’t have much time to pass the ball. Coleman led Illinois with two sacks, and Jacas wasn’t far behind with 1.5 sacks on the day. They both combined for 10 tackles as well.
The type of plays that Coleman and Jacas were making on Saturday were game-changing. They helped sway momentum in Illinois’ favor and stopped any potential momentum the Spartans had going. These two are nightmares on the edge.
3. Pay Bryant is bolstering his NFL Draft stock
Over the years, Illinois has had some talented wide receivers. We are just coming off a combination of Isaiah Williams and Casey Washington who helped lead Illinois to a lot of wins the past couple of seasons.
Williams and Washington are both in the NFL, but I would argue the best has yet to come at the wide receiver position. I think Pat Bryant might be the most NFL-ready wide receiver Illinois has had in years.
Bryant had a huge game on Saturday. He finished the Michigan State win with four receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown. The 135 yards is the most in his career, beating his game against Indiana last season by four yards.
For the season, Bryant has 43 receptions for 717 yards and eight touchdowns. He has three 100-yard games and has hit at least 60 yards in all but three games. In his career, when Bryant has at least 50 yards receiving, Illinois is 14-2. When Bryant has fewer than 50 yards in a game, Illinois is 10-18.
The numbers for Bryant are impressive, but what makes him an even bigger NFL-ready wide receiver is his physical size. Bryant stands at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds. So, not only does he have good hands and a great ability out wide, but he is a big target who can go up and get the ball.
On Saturday against the Spartans, Bryant only continued to bolster his NFL Draft stock. He is someone who could easily rise up the draft boards and be selected in the top three rounds in 2025.
4. A healthy Josh McCray is extremely dangerous
When it is all said and done and the dust settles from the 2024 campaign, the one player who is going to fly under the radar as far as importance goes is Josh McCray.
In 2021, McCray busted out as a freshman and looked great. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry, and I remember thinking we had something special here. The following two seasons were rough, though.
McCray dealt with injury troubles, and when he did step on the field, he was slow and not game-ready. I remember thinking to myself and probably typing it quite a few times, that McCray shouldn’t even be in the top three strings of the depth chart. I thought he was done at Illinois.
I was completely wrong. McCray is finally healthy after multiple years, and he continues to impress me each and every game. He looks game-ready, and his quickness has been incredible for the Illinois offense.
McCray put the Illinois running game on his back on Saturday against Michigan State. He had nine carries for 61 yards and three touchdowns. That is an eye-popping 6.8 yards per carry. The Spartans couldn’t stop him on the ground.
While McCray isn’t going to blow by defenders with tremendous speed, he does have a sneaky quickness. He can make little moves to get around defenders and make them miss. Now that he is healthy, he can make those moves well.
On top of McCray looking good and being healthy, he has also been a big-time savior for the Illinois backfield. With Kaden Feagin getting surgery, we needed someone to step into that role. McCray has helped lead Illinois at this position. His contributions to this program have been huge.
5. The Illini offense answered the call when momentum turned
Someone who didn’t watch the game will look at the box score and think this game was a blowout. They might think that the Illini didn’t have to worry too much in the game.
That wasn’t the case at all, though. While Illinois had a 21-9 lead at halftime, this lead shrunk quickly to start the second half.
Michigan State got the ball on the opening possession of the second half and had one of their two great drives of the game that led to a touchdown. The Spartans narrowed the deficit to 21-16 immediately to start the third quarter, and this was a game in the blink of an eye.
The Spartans changed momentum completely. This game could have gone in a bad direction if Illinois didn’t also answer the call. But, thankfully, the Illini offense brought their A-game on Saturday.
On the next drive after the Michigan State touchdown, the Illinois offense drove down into Michigan State territory and was able to get a field goal on the board. This zapped some of the Spartans' momentum and extended the lead to eight points.
There were a few game-changing moments throughout the game on Saturday. I think the response to Michigan State’s opening drive in the second half was one of the bigger moments in the contest. Illinois showed life offensively and didn’t let the Spartans get too much momentum.