OrangeandBlueNews.com - Illini, Beckman survive Broncos for win, 24-7

September 1, 2012

Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- With quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase injured, Ashante Williams returned an interception 60 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown to help Illinois and new coach Tim Beckman hang on for a 24-7 win Saturday over Western Michigan in the season opener for both teams.

The Illini opened up a 17-0 lead but their offense stalled when Scheelhaase left the game with an ankle injury late in the third quarter. Illinois struggled to move the ball after that and the Broncos came to life, scoring on an 8-yard touchdown from Alex Carder to Jaime Wilson to make it 17-7 just before the end of the quarter.

Western Michigan reached the Illinois 46 when Carder looked for Wilson again, but Williams stepped in front of the receiver and raced to the end zone.

The win was Beckman's first at Illinois after he was hired from Toledo to replace Ron Zook.

Scheelhaase was 11 of 18 for 126 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for a touchdown.

Carder finished 26 of 43 for 239 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. In last season's game between the teams, Carder threw for more than 300 yards in Illinois' 23-20 victory.

Illinois got a look at the limits of its offense without Scheelhaase. Before the junior left, the Illini had close to 240 yards of offense. They finished with 248 total yards.

Sophomore Reilly O'Toole came in at quarterback and completed two of three attempts for just 7 yards.

A year after Illinois' close call with Western Michigan, Scheelhaase looked to quickly end any suspense. He hit Ryan Lankford deep for a 64-yard touchdown pass 1:40 into the game for a 7-0 lead. Then, after Nick Immekus' field goal, Scheelhaase ran the ball in from 4 yards out midway through the second quarter to make it 17-0.

Illinois' leading rusher was Jon Davis, a tight end lining up as an H-back. He carried the ball six times for 54 yards.

But with the offense struggling, Illinois defense played tough. The Illini held the pass-heavy Broncos to 259 yards, including minus-6 yards on the ground. Defensive end Michael Buchanan and safety Earnest Thomas joined Williams with interceptions.

Zook's Illini were 4-0 after last season's win over the Broncos, but his team won just twice more before losing six straight, a streak that cost him his job. Beckman's Rockets last season held on for a wild 66-63 win over the Broncos in the Mid-American Conference.

The Illini travel next Saturday to Arizona State, while the Broncos will face Eastern Illinois at home.

Tim Beckman quotes

I was very proud of the way the kids came out. We had some guys who needed to respond to maybe someone getting dinged up or somebody who wasn't able to play. Mike (Thomas) was kind enough to give me the game ball but really it belongs to the whole team today. We're going to get the ball framed and it's going to sit right here in the meeting room.

I was happy with the way that the players responded. There's really not anything that we do coaching besides getting our players ready to play. It speaks highly to the senior class, the 19 seniors we have. The only thing I'd like to say is that we as a staff forgot to get our guys together with the band to celebrate the win. That's something we're going to start doing after we win games.

I'm very happy with the way the defense played. I think Coach Banks and Coach Ward and so on devised a great game plan. We let some of our players play. When you're not playing with Steve Hull or Supo Sanni; well we needed Pat Nixon and Earnest Thomas to step up and they did.

The interception by Ashante Williams was huge. With the way the game was going we needed the momentum to swing to our side and that's what that play did. Ashante has had a great, great 8 months. This isn't about having a good camp or a good few weeks; he has been providing leadership for the last 8 months that I've been here. That play did not surprise me.

I think Reilly was kind of up and down. It's not that he's not capable though; he's definitely capable. We need to give him more input on what we want him to do and not leave it up to him to figure out all of his checks. Reilly O'Toole is very capable of being a Division 1 quarterback.

Game notes

* The seven points allowed by the Illini defense were the fewest by an FBS opponent in nine seasons, since UCLA scored six on Sept. 13, 2003.

* The Illini held the Broncos to negative 6 rushing yards. It marked the first time Illinois held an opponent to negative yards rushing since the 1998 home opener against Middle Tennessee.

* Ryan Lankford's 64 yard TD catch from Nathan Scheelhaase was the longest of Lankford's career and Scheelhaase's seventh career TD pass of 50-plus yards.

* Eleven Illini played in their first game for the Orange and Blue today, including four true freshmen (V'Angelo Bentley, Mike Svetina, Mason Monheim, and Justin Hardee)

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