Illini Fall Despite Lunt's Big Day

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Western Michigan jumped out to an early lead, as the Illini played from behind all game in a 34-10 loss. Senior quarterback Wes Lunt threw for over 300 yards, but the Broncos dominated inside, holding Illinois (1-2) to just three rushing yards. 

Jamauri Bogan led Western Michigan with 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. The Broncos relied heavily on the run, handing off 54 times to just 13 pass plays.

Big Day for Lunt

Senior quarterback Wes Lunt had a big day for the Illini, finishing the day 29-of-42 for 312 yards, to go along with one TD and one INT. Saturday was Lunt's fifth career 300-yard passing game.

The Best Reverse Flea Flicker You Will See

With the Illini trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, Offensive Coordinator Garrick McGee reached into his bag of tricks, calling a reverse flea-flicker. Lunt handed the ball off to running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, who then gave it to receiver Malik Turner before tossing it back to Lunt. The quarterback then found tight end Ainslie Johnson wide open for a 56-yard touchdown. The touchdown was the first of Johnson's career.

Phillips In The Backfield

Senior defensive lineman Carroll Phillips recorded 2.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks. Phillips has recorded 9.0 TFLs on the season, good for second in the conference behind Michigan's Jabril Peppers (9.5 TFLs). Phillips totaled eight tackles (two solo) on the day, tied for the team lead. 

Two Weeks To Prepare

The Illini are off next weekend before a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten opener Oct. 1. Last year, Illinois beat Nebraska, 14-13, in a thriller at Memorial Stadium.

Lovie's Take

"It goes without saying how disappointed we are in our play today. I wouldn't necessarily say our effort, but our play. We have to be a better football team than that. You have to keep it in perspective, though. There are four quarters to a season and of course this first quarter didn't end the way we wanted it to. Going into this football game, we all knew, that it would be, like it is most games, but I think more so this game, how our lines did, how our offensive line would block them and how our defensive line would control the rushing attack. We didn't do either one of those the way we expected we would be able to do it, [there are] a lot of reasons why."

Team Notes

• Illinois dropped to 1-2 this season.
• The Illini are 23-4 in Aug./Sept. home games dating back to the start of 2007.
• Illinois leads the all-time series against Western Michigan, 4-2.
• Illinois had 10 receivers catch a pass against Western Michigan, eight were targeted more than once. Illinois has had 10 or more receivers catch a pass in three consecutive games. 

Individual Notes

• Junior G Jordan Fagan made his first career start in place of redshirt-freshman Gabe Megginson, who is injured.
• Freshman S Stanley Green became the eighth true freshman to play for the Illini this season when he was on the opening kickoff. Other true freshman to appear this year include LB Jake Hansen, LB Dele Harding, DL Kenyon Jackson, OL Darta Lee, RB Tre Nation, DL Tymir Oliver and WR Dominic Thieman.
• Senior QB Wes Lunt went 17-22 for 206 yards and a touchdown marking the second-most first-half yards of his career (240 vs. WIU in 2015). He went 10-13 in the first quarter, the third time in his career making 10 + completions in the first quarter.
• Lunt went 29-42, for 312 yards and a touchdown to mark his fifth career 300+ yard game.
• Lunt threw 95 passes this season before getting intercepted, a fourth-quarter interception today.
• Senior TE Ainslie Johnson scored his first career touchdown on a career-long 56-yard reception.
• Senior DL Carroll Phillips recorded 2.0 sacks and 2.5 TFLs against WMU. He is up to 9.0 TFLs this season, currently behind Jabrill Peppers (Mich) for the Big Ten lead (9.5 TFLs).
• Senior WR Zach Grant had a career long 19-yard reception on the first play of the game. He had three receptions for 32 yards after entering the day with three receptions for 22 yards in his career.
• Junior FB Nathan Echard had career highs in receptions (2), receiving yards (22), long reception (17) and all-purpose yards (37).
• Redshirt-freshman DL Jamal Milan started on the defensive line for the first time in his career. He had a career-high seven tackles, 1.0 sacks and 2.5 TFLs.
• Junior WR Malik Turner went over 100 yards for the second time in his career, totaling 107 yards on nine receptions.
• Sophomore CB Chris James had a half-sack, the first of his career, and a career-high tying six tackles (also had six last week vs. North Carolina).
• Senior DT Rob Bain blocked a field-goal attempt in the second quarter. He was second in FBS with three blocked kicks last season.
• Redshirt-freshman CB Patrick Nelson had a career-high six tackles and 0.5 TFLs.
• Sophomore DT Tito Odenigbo had a career-high three tackles.
• Senior DE Dawuane Smoot had a career-high eight tackles.
• Senior DT Gimel President had six tackles, the most of his career (including Auburn).
• Sophomore LB Tré Watson had a career-high six tackles.
• Senior P David Reisner's 61-yard punt was the longest of his career.
• Sophomore K Chase McLaughlin continued his perfect kicking on the season with a field goal and extra point. He is 11-for-11 on PATs and 2-for-2 on field goals this season.
• Usual contributors G Gabe Megginson, P Ryan Frain and SS Caleb Day missed the game.