Williams has a career day but Illini go down fighting, 52-42

Well this game was all that it was hyped up to be: an all out offensive battle, 1,081 total yards between both teams along with the 94 combined points, the stars were definitely shining brightly tonight.

Juice Williams completed 26/42 passes with five touchdowns, four of those coming in the second half, and 451 yards through the air. Meanwhile on the other side Heisman candidate Chase Daniel had 323 yards completing 26/43 passes three of those going for touchdowns.

Early on it looked as if the Tiger defense was too much for Juice to handle however after Williams connected with Chris Duvalt for a 26 yard touchdown pass, and then again with Will Judson for a 65 yard touchdown it seemed as if the Illini just had a chance.

However the Illini’s hopes were dashed after Sean Weatherspoon ripped the ball from Illinois running back Daniel Dufrene’s hands and returned the interception for a touchdown.

Although this goes down as a loss for the Illini, head coach Ron Zook should be very proud of the Illini because they never gave up, literally playing to the whistle. However their defense looked very fatigued and exhausted after only the first half, if Ron Zook is looking to challenge for Big Ten supremacy he will need to fix that, fast.

As for the Tigers, this win skyrockets their confidence and proved to America that last year wasn’t a fluke, they are here to stay. They also showed tonight that they deserved the schools highest preseason rating in history.

Bad news for the Tigers though, after an outstanding 99 yard kick-return that sparked them to score 21 unanswered points, Jeremy Maclin was carted off the field in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury, he later returned on crutches, x-rays were negative.

Tonight proved that last year’s biggest underdog stories weren’t just one year wonders, they will be here for many seasons to come. Hopefully this game will become another of the many storied rivalries in college football.