It wasn’t a pretty first half, but the Illinois football team got past a pesky Western Michigan bunch on Saturday.
The game ended up being a 38-0 blowout in favor of the Illini, but it wasn’t smooth sailing throughout. Illinois needed a wake-up call at halftime, and they responded with some impressive play.
After the game, Bret Bielema had some interesting quotes from his postgame press conference.
Here are the five interesting Bret Bielema quotes from the Illinois football presser vs Western Michigan
- “Injury-wise, I know Xavier (Scott) at the end, Melvin (Priestly) at the end, but I don’t expect anything there.”
That is a great sign for the Illini. The Xavier Scott injury looked like it could have been bad when he came down on his ankle wrong while defending a pass. It was a great play, but I am glad there is nothing too serious there.
Melvin Priestly, on the other hand, has now had two scares in the first three games of the season. I think that is something to keep an eye on. Illinois has some depth, so this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
- “J-Bow (Justin Bowick), we did lose him in the first half there, so I don’t know exactly where we are at with him.”
This injury is the most concerning moving forward. Illinois has depth at wide receiver, but I thought Luke Altmyer and Justin Bowick were really creating a nice chemistry this season.
Bowick’s injury happened early in the first quarter, and it appears to be an ankle injury. Not knowing the extent is the issue. Hopefully, we can get him back and going for the Indiana game.
- “…Aidan Laughery and Dylan Rosiek, on Wednesday, we ran them and they just weren’t right where we needed them to be…I do expect to have them back this week against Indiana.”
On the positive injury front, I think this quote by Bielema should provide some calmer feelings. Illinois will likely have Aidan Laughery and Dylan Rosiek back for the game against the Hoosiers.
Both starters were missed at times against Western Michigan, and having them back against Indiana will provide a much-needed boost. The fact that we gave up zero points without our best middle linebacker is impressive.
- “…Barry (Lunney) botched a call, I got after his ass a little bit. Like, hey, we need to move forward, right…the 3rd and 1 call.”
This quote by Bielema really piqued my interest. He called out offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. What this says to me is that they have a great relationship where they feel comfortable enough to do something like this.
The play that Bielema was referring to had to be the second drive of the game. Illinois had a three-and-out, and on 3rd and one, there looked to be confusion on offense. Western Michigan loaded the box, knowing what was coming. The Broncos then piled on Kaden Feagin for a two-yard loss.
- “I can’t repeat what I said at halftime. I was probably as spirited as I have ever been as a head coach since I’ve been here at Illinois…I slapped a board, and my hand is still numb. I’m probably going to have to get it checked out.”
This shows me how much the team and success on the field mean to Bielema. He knows how much better Illinois is than Western Michigan. His disappointment in the first half was expressed in the locker room. I would imagine the message was received based on the 28-point second half.