[2023] (Illini Game Recap - Week 1 vs. ECU) Second half heroics bring Illinois victory during Opening Week in Champaign

[nemolee.exe]

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Illinois WR Joe Burwell runs to the end zone after catching a pass from Jalen Jenkins for a 64-yard score in the Week 1 win over the East Carolina Pirates

After concerns about a lackluster spring showing and a diminishing of both team morale and chemistry, the Illini were quick to prove all doubters wrong heading into the season. Week 1 has finally come and gone, and the pressure for the Illini to take charge is much more than anyone else anticipated. Still, Illinois came into the game as 10-point favorites against the East Carolina Pirates with the idea that this was a fairly easy team to beat, considering they were facing a mid-major Group of Five teams. Somehow, Illinois managed not to disappoint and ended up victorious in Champaign. 

This, by no means, was not an easy game to watch. Considering the fact that Illinois managed to go winless during Spring Play, as well as going on a 5-game losing streak -- not including the Bowl game -- this was Illinois' game to lose. And in the first half, it seemed as if Illinois was going to lose the game, seeing themselves get into a 3-6 deficit at the end of the first half. However, thanks to a more-than-ideal second half Illinois took away the game and never looked back. Two huge touchdowns -- including an unbelievable 64-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Jenkins -- helped Illinois avoid a loss. Now, the Illini see this game as one that dictates that they would be better than the beginning of the season suggests. 

Illinois head coach nemolee.exe celebrates a win over the ECU Pirates at home

Coming into the season, there were many questions regarding the state of the team. This game perhaps answers some of the questions that some people have questions over. The biggest issue was the state of the offense. Specifically, how well will Jalen Jenkins play, given that he isn't even the top 5 quarterbacks in his own conference? While it seems like the doubts about the offense have been confirmed in the first half, that has all been gone ever since the halftime show. Throughout the game, Jalen Jenkins played much better than anyone expected, He outplayed his opponent on the other side of the field, adding a touchdown to his total over no interceptions against two interceptions, along with a grand 130.27 QBR and a 7.33 yards per attempt total. 

It wasn't just Jenkins that had a good game, it seemed like even with the departures, everyone on the offense was in rhythm all game.  Gabriel Adeboyejo did Gavbriel Adeboyejo things, and although he did not eclipse 100 yards, he still had the most yards and YPA amongst all of the other running backs. There was also Joe Burwell, the recipient of the huge touchdown, who also somehow was the best receiver in the game despite the limited passing game he was given. And best of all, the strong offensive line did not allow a sack, including a couple of pancakes during the run game -- including two accounting for the second touchdown of the day for the Illini on an Adeboyejo 23-yard run.

However, it was the defense that stole the show today. One of the best defensive sides in the Big Ten showed their resilience and decimated the East Carolina offensive. This includes two sacks on Jordan Matz, a Carlos Denorfia fumble recovered by the Illini, and an interception by 239-pound outside linebacker Rougned Utley that fans of ECU Rivals' -- most notably UCF fans -- ridiculed the Pirates for on Twitter. Clearly, Illinois' defense outperformed their East Carolina peers throughout the game, which was key for the Illini win. 

It was to no surprise that Head Coach nemolee.exe was very proud and overjoyed about the win -- as it was his first regular-season win in his first regular-season game, no less. He had this to say in his press conference

"I really enjoyed our win today. Although I was satisfied with us winning this game, I am 100% sure that our players are not satisfied with our performance. I would feel the same way, given how we played. We have to take this momentum into our next game and towards the rest of the season and get better from there. After all, it's Week 1, so the only way to go is to go forward. But this is a good start.. and a good opportunity to improve. So, yeah. Proud of our guys today to getting the win."

POTG: RB Gabriel Adeboyejo: 17 carries, 95 yards, 5.59 YPC, 1 touchdown, 2-3 catches, 7 yards

Player of the Game

There are honestly a lot of people that we could've put into this category, given how well both sides were spot on today. There are players such as Jalen Jackson and Joe Burwell on the offense and Michael Rozier and Jonas Wainwright on the defense. However, the choice for the player of the game for Week 1 should be very obvious, even for us. That would be Gabriel Adeboyejo, who is seen as one of the best running backs in the Big Ten. He has had a great start to the season, grabbing a total of 95 yards. Despite getting the ball 17 total carries, that is still good for 5.59 yards per carry -- which is the best YPC amongst the other running backs in the game. It wasn't the best game of his career, but Adeboyejo is slated for a good season with the Illini if he keeps on playing the way he has or if he improves from this game onto the next. 

The defensive player of the game should be rather obvious for the game, and that player would be the likes of Michael Rozier. He didn't make any flashy plays like Carlos Denorfia, Rougned Utley, and Jonas Wainwright did, but he was the most productive out of the entire defense that game. He put up an impressive 9 tackles, as well as one of those tackles being a tackle for a loss. It might not be the best defensive stat line for Rozier, but it is still pretty impressive, given that the second-best tackler on the team had 4 tackles. Surely, Rozier is going to be the captain of the defensive front seven, and how this defense plays will be based on his performance. 

The Illini will face off against the Missouri Tigers for Week 2

Next Game:

After a one-game homestand, the Illini will hope to bring that momentum on the road for Week 2 as they head to Columbia to take on the Missouri Tigers. There is a lot of anticipation and excitement for the Illini faithful for the upcoming game, with hopes high all around. Despite a good performance from quarterback Chris Golden, Mizzou is coming off of a loss against the Marshall Thundering Herd from a failed comeback that fell short in overtime. Given this unfortunate tragedy, as well as Mizzou lagging behind Marshall almost all game, the Illini hope that this could give them a huge lift into defeating the Tigers to gain yet another victory in the well-anticipated Braggin' Rights rivalry. 
 

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Edited June 6, 2023 by nemolee.exe

[BabaYaga]

Great article. Love it. Super clever title.