CHAMPAIGN — The losing streak is no more for Illinois football.
Bret Bielema can thank Chase Brown and a steady defense for that.
Brown rushed for a career-high 257 yards, helping the Illini defeat Charlotte 24-14 on Saturday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 30,559 at Memorial Stadium to end a four-game losing skid.
Brown’s 257 rushing yards on 26 carries are the second most by an Illini in Memorial Stadium history, trailing only the 263 Howard Griffith had against Northwestern on Nov. 24, 1990. And they’re the fourth most in program history, with only Mikel Leshoure (330 against Northwestern on Nov. 20, 2010), Robert Holcombe (315 against Minnesota on Nov. 16, 1996) and Griffith ahead of Brown.
Brown, who has dealt with injuries this season after leading the Illini in rushing during the 2020 season, broke off two long touchdown runs in the third quarter to rally Illinois past the 49ers in the final nonconference game this season for Illinois (2-4).
His 31-yard run with 6:52 left in the third quarter pushed the Illini ahead 17-14, and he showed off his speed down the sidelines for an 80-yard touchdown run at the end of the third quarter to pad the Illini’s lead to 24-14 against the 49ers (3-2).
The Illinois defense limited Charlotte to only 263 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers, including a key interception by defensive lineman Keith Randolph in the fourth quarter. Owen Carney added two sacks.
Brandon Peters started for the third straight game at quarterback and didn’t dazzle. The sixth-year senior completed 10 of 19 passes for only 78 yards, but did throw his first touchdown pass of the season.
It didn’t matter, though, with Brown’s emergence in the second half and the Illini defense shutting out the 49ers after halftime to propel Bielema within one win of 100 in his college coaching career.
Now, Illinois will turn its attention back to the Big Ten and prepare to face Bielema’s old employer next Saturday afternoon when struggling Wisconsin visits for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium for the Illini’s homecoming game. The Badgers (1-3) are on a two-game losing skid and lost 38-17 to Michigan on Saturday at home.
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Two plays can make a difference in a close game. Like the last two at Memorial Stadium.
Charlotte kicker Jonathan Cruz missed a 29-yard field goal. One play later, Illinois running back Chase Brown broke free for an 80-yard touchdown run and a double-digit Illini lead.
Brown has now rushed 17 times for 204 yards. The 80-yard score is tied for 10th longest in Illinois football history, and the Canadian running back also has the Illini’s first 200-plus yard rushing performance since Reggie Corbin topped 200 yards in 2018 against Minnesota.
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Chase Brown was Illinois’ No. 1 running back coming out of fall camp for a reason. The Canadian has a mix of speed and enough power/strength that makes him rather dangerous.
Brown has showed that off today, including the 31-yard touchdown he just uncorked, with a good portion of that yardage coming after first contact. Brown now has 16 carries for 124 yards and the touchdown and is averaging 7.8 yards per carry. Ideal.
***
Charlotte is going to get a shot at the double dip. A 27-yard touchdown pass from Chris Reynolds to Elijah Spencer with 46 seconds to play put the 49ers up 14-10. And unless Illinois can score in the remaining time of the first half, Charlotte will have that same lead when it gets the ball back to start the third quarter.
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Brandon Peters has not had a great game. But better than he’s been since his return. The result? A 10-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Barker where he thread the needle through the Charlotte secondary.
But it was a touchdown. Something Illinois hadn’t managed in the red zone in either of the last two games.
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We just about got to “each team gets one drive in the first quarter” territory. After a lengthy Illinois drive to open the game, Charlotte answered with its own. The 49ers covered 75 yards on 10 plays in 5 minutes, 57 seconds.
Charlotte one-upped Illinois, though, by actually scoring a touchdown after getting almost to the red zone. The Illini got a decent pass rush, but Charlotte quarterback Chris Reynolds was able to complete the 22-yard touchdown pass to Victor Tucker.
The 49ers run a quick-hitting offense. Reynolds gets rid of the ball rather fast. If that reminds you of UTSA, you’re right. You probably also remember that the Illini didn’t fare all that well in slowing down the Roadrunners.
***
Illinois converted three third downs on its opening drive of the game. Covered 64 yards on 17 plays on a drive that lasted 7 minutes, 32 seconds. The result? A 29-yard field goal by James McCourt after the fourth third down try wound up as an incomplete pass to Daniel Barker out the back of the end zone (even though he did catch it).
So Illinois squandered an opportunity to actually score a touchdown. Pretty much par for the course of late. Four red zone opportunities the last two games also ended without any of them yielding touchdowns.
***
Offensive coordinator Tony Petersen touched on a few topics Monday …
On his receivers
“We’re young at wide receiver. Probably our best receiver at being physical in those one-on-one matchups is actually Casey Washington. He’s got the most experience doing it. We’ve got two guys out there fighting their tails off who were in my room in the spring as quarterbacks. Then you’ve got a true freshman out there. We’re really young at that position. As those guys develop, they’re going to be great players. You’ve just got to understand how young they are.”
“(Brian Hightower and Jafar Armstrong) are getting better health-wise but right now we’re going to put the guys out on the field we feel like give us the best opportunity to win. Right now, at some of the positions, it’s the young guys.”
On backup QB Art Sitkowski
“Art does a great job. What I always say about Art is Art reminds me of when I had (Jeff) Driskel one year. He really approaches it like a professional. If Art’s not the guy and he’s not in there, he’s going to do everything he can to get better every single rep. He’s locked in and focused and he’s a great teammate. When he gets his opportunity, he’s going to be ready.”
***
Some notable items from warmups …
– Chase Brown is dressed and going through warmups. Illinois should have its top two running backs for today’s game. Brown is the lightning to Josh McCray’s thunder. Ideal.
– Jake Hansen is also dressed and going through warmups. That would make it seem like Illinois would have its starting middle linebacker back. Also ideal.
– Devon Witherspoon is wearing a bucket hat and not his helmet. He’s also not in pads and not going through warmups. Illinois’ top cornerback won’t play today. Not ideal.
– Doug Kramer was snapping to Brandon Peters early in warmups. That indicates Peters will start. Ideal? Not ideal? We’ll find out.
***
Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters broke down the Charlotte defense on Monday:
“They operate out of 11- and 12-personnel, get into multiple different formations that can create problems. You see a lot of unbalanced, you see a lot of X off of motion. They do a lot of shifting and motions pre-snap. Quarterback operates and executes their offense at a high level. He gets the ball out quick. I know a lot of it is RPO games.
“They all complement each other. Their receivers are long and have good ball skills. Every run action complements a pass game off of it. You’ll see a myriad of different run schemes, whether it’s inside zone, split zone, counter, GT. You’re going to see fly sweep. You’ll see screens off the run action. We’ve got to have our eyes right and in the right spot. Their quarterback operates quickly, gets the ball out on time, knows where to go with it depending on what kind of shell we present defensively. We’ve got to do a good job of pre-snap disguises and having our eyes in the right spot and playing disciplined football.”
***
Some notes on Illinois and Charlotte to get you even more ready for today’s game …
– Illinois freshman running back Josh McCray had 150 yards after contact last week at Purdue, which is notable since he rushed for 156 total yards against the Boilermakers. It was the sixth-most yards after contact in a game this season, per PFF.
– McCray and wide receiver Pat Bryant marked Illinois’ first pair of true freshmen offensive starters since M.J. Rivers and Carlos Sandy against Penn State on Sept. 21, 2018.
– Julian Pearl is the No. 5 graded guard in the country, per PFF. The Danville native has the No. 2 run blocking grade nationally and the top run blocking grade among all FBS guards.
– Doug Kramer is also the No. 10 graded center in the country with the No. 3 run blocking grade in the nation among centers.
– The Illinois defense ranks 12th in the nation and is tied for first in the Big Ten with nine takeaways. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon is eighth nationally with 1.8 passes defended per game.
– Charlotte quarterback Chris Reynolds, a former walk-on, has set ;new career records for the 49ers this season in passing yards (5,966), passing touchdowns (45) and 300-plus yard passing games (five). He set a new Charlotte record in C-USA action with four passing touchdowns last week in a win against Middle Tennessee that also got him the career record. Reynolds also tied a school record by throwing for at least one touchdown in his ninth straight game.
– Reynolds has thrived in the air with a number of new targets in the passing game. His nine touchdowns this season have all gone to newcomers. Leading receiver Grant Dubose (20 catches, 323 yards and four touchdowns) spent his freshman season at Miles College, which is a Division II school in Alabama.
***
It was a rough September for Illinois. Really rough. Four losses in four weeks rough.
But the calendar has flipped. Maybe October will be better for Bret Bielema and Co., as the Illini try to recapture whatever worked in Week 0 against Nebraska. At least on the opening weekend of the month.
The rest of October is when Illinois’ schedule gets tricky. Wisconsin and Penn State are coming. For now? The Illini have a shot at a “get right” game against Charlotte.
Not that the 49ers will go down without a fight. They already beat Duke — another one of those bottom of the Power Five teams — in the first week of the season. But it will at least be an interesting matchup.
What Illinois does well, Charlotte struggles to stop. Conversely, what the 49ers excel at has been the Illini’s biggest struggle.
So which team breaks first? Will it be Charlotte’s lackluster run defense against the duo of Josh McCray and Chase Brown? Or will it be Illinois’ pass defense that has given up plenty of yards through the air against 49ers quarterback Chris Reynolds (who can sling it)?
The answer to those questions will likely determine the outcome of the game. Or maybe Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters snaps out of his two-game funk, figures out how to complete a higher percentage of his passes and gives McCray and Brown a little complementary football.
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