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Two games can make the difference in a close game. Like the last two at Memorial Stadium.
Charlotte kicker Jonathan Cruz missed a field goal for 29 yards. A game later, Illinois backer Chase Brown broke free for an 80-yard touchdown and a double-digit lead over Illini.
Brown has now run 17 times for 204 yards. The 80-yard score is tied for the 10th longest in Illinois football history, and the Canadian running back also has the Illini’s first 200+ yard rushing performance since Reggie Corbin passed 200 yards in 2018 against Minnesota.
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Chase Brown was Illinois’ No.1 running back out of fall camp for a reason. The Canadian has a mix of speed and enough power / strength that makes him rather dangerous.
Brown showed it today, including the 31-yard touchdown he just picked up, with a good chunk of that distance after first contact. Brown now has 16 carries for 124 yards and touchdown and is averaging 7.8 yards per carry. Ideal.
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Charlotte is going to try the double dip. A 27-yard touchdown pass from Chris Reynolds to Elijah Spencer with 46 seconds left gave the 49ers a 14-10 lead. And unless Illinois can score in the remaining time of the first half, Charlotte will have the same lead when she recovers the ball to start the third quarter.
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Brandon Peters didn’t have a good game. But better than he has been since his return. The result? A 10-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Barker where he threaded the needle into Charlotte’s secondary.
But it was a touchdown. Something Illinois had failed to achieve in the red zone in the last two games.
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We’ve pretty much come to “every team gets a first quarter record” territory. After a long drive to Illinois to open the game, Charlotte responded with her own. The 49ers covered 75 yards on 10 plays in 5 minutes and 57 seconds.
Charlotte edged out Illinois, however, scoring a touchdown after almost reaching 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 execute a quick attack. Reynolds gets rid of the ball pretty quickly. If this reminds you of UTSA, you are right. You probably also remember that the Illini didn’t do very well at slowing the Roadrunners down.
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Illinois converted three third downs on their first down of the game. Covered 64 yards in 17 plays on a drive that lasted 7 minutes and 32 seconds. The result? A 29-yard field goal by James McCourt after the fourth down on third down resulted in an incomplete pass to Daniel Barker in the back end of the end zone (even though he caught it).
Illinois therefore missed an opportunity to score a touchdown. Pretty much by for the course of the end. Four red zone chances in the last two games have also ended with none of them resulting in touchdowns.
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Offensive coordinator Tony Petersen touched on a few topics on Monday …
On its receivers
“We’re young at the wide receiver. Probably our best receiver to be physical in these one-on-one games is actually Casey Washington. He’s got the most experience in that. We have two guys there. who are fighting who was in my room in the spring as quarterbacks. Then you have a real freshman there. We’re really young in this position. As these guys develop they are going to be great players. understand how young they are. “
“(Brian Hightower and Jafar Armstrong) are improving on the health front, but for now we’re going to put the guys on the pitch who we think give us the best opportunity to win. Right now, in some positions, it’s young people. “
About QB Art Sitkowski backup
“Art does a great job. What I always say about Art is Art reminds me of when I had (Jeff) Driskel a year. He really approaches her like a professional. If Art isn’t the guy and he’s not in there, he’ll do whatever he can to improve himself with each rep. He’s locked in and focused and he’s a great teammate. When he gets the chance, he’ll be ready. “
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Some notable elements of warm-ups …
– Chase Brown is dressed and warming up. Illinois should have their two best running backs for today’s game. Brown is Josh McCray’s thunderbolt. Ideal.
– Jake Hansen is also dressed and doing warm-ups. It would look like Illinois would regain their starting center linebacker. Ideal too.
– Devon Witherspoon wears a bob, not his helmet. It is also not in the towels and does not go through warm-ups. Illinois’ top cornerback won’t play today. Not ideal.
– Doug Kramer was lashing out at Brandon Peters at the start of the warm-ups. This indicates that Peters will start. Ideal? Not ideal? We will find out.
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Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters destroyed Charlotte’s defense on Monday:
“They operate from 11 and 12 members of staff, enter several different formations which can create problems. You see a lot of imbalance, you see a lot of X’s out of motion. They do a lot of speed changes and movements before the hooking up. The quarterback operates and executes his attack at a high level. He takes the ball out quickly. I know these are largely RPO games.
“They all complement each other. Their receivers are long and have good ball skills. Every running action complements a passing game. You will see a myriad of different running patterns, whether in the inside zone, the split zone, the counter, the GT. You’re going to see the sweep fly. You’ll see screens out of the race. We need to have our eyes right and in the right place. Their quarterback operates quickly, gets the ball out on time, knows where to go- y depending on the type of shell we have defensively. We have to do a good job of disguises before the snap, have our eyes in the right place and practice disciplined football. “
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A few notes on Illinois and Charlotte to prepare you even more for today’s game …
–Illinois running back Josh McCray had 150 yards after a contact last week at Purdue, which is remarkable as he rushed for 156 total yards against the Boilermakers. It was the sixth most touching yards in a game this season, per PFF.
– McCray and wide receiver Pat Bryant scored Illinois’ first pair of true offensive debutants since MJ Rivers and Carlos Sandy against Penn State on September 21, 2018.
– Julian Pearl is the nation’s No. 5 ranked goalie, by PFF. The Danville native has the # 2 race blocking rating nationally and the best race blocking rating among any FBS guards.
– Doug Kramer is also the No. 10 ranked center in the country with the No. 3 race blocking rank in the country among centers.
– The Illinois defense ranks 12th in the country and is tied for first in the Big Ten with nine takeaways. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon is eighth in the country with 1.8 assists defended per game.
–Charlotte’s quarterback Chris Reynolds, a former replacement, set new career records for the 49ers this season in passing yards (5,966), touchdowns (45) and over 300 games passing yards (five). He set Charlotte’s new record in C-USA action with four touchdown passes last week in a win over Middle Tennessee that also earned him the career record. Reynolds also tied a school record by throwing at least one touchdown in his ninth straight game.
– Reynolds thrived in the air with a number of new targets in the passing game. His nine touchdowns this season have all gone to newcomers. Main receiver Grant Dubose (20 catches, 323 yards and four touchdowns) spent his first season at Miles College, a Division II school in Alabama.
***
It was a difficult September for Illinois. Really rough. Four losses in roughly four weeks.
But the calendar has shifted. Maybe October will be better for Bret Bielema and Co., as the Illinis try to reclaim everything that worked in Week 0 against Nebraska. At least the opening weekend of the month.
The rest of October is when the Illinois schedule gets tough. Wisconsin and Penn State arrive. For the moment? The Illini have a chance of a successful game against Charlotte.
Not that the 49ers will fall without a fight. They’ve already beaten Duke – another of the latter of the Power Five teams – in the first week of the season. But at least it will be an interesting game.
What Illinois is doing well, Charlotte has a hard time stopping. Conversely, what the 49ers are good at has been the Illini’s biggest fight.
So which team breaks first? Will it be Charlotte’s lackluster defense against the duo of Josh McCray and Chase Brown? Or will it be the pass defense of Illinois who lost a lot of yards in the air to 49ers quarterback Chris Reynolds (who can pitch it)?
The answer to those questions will likely determine the outcome of the game. Or maybe Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters pulls out of his two-game funk, finds how to complete a higher percentage of his passes and gives McCray and Brown a little complementary football.
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