[2023] (Illini Game Recap - Week 2 at. Mizzou) Late game heroics lead Illini over the Missouri Tigers

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Illinois WR Ty Shaffer and TE Josh Jackson celebrate the game-winning touchdown that led the Illini over the Missouri Tigers 23-17

As if the game last week was not the best showing for the Illini, this time around was a much better showing. As it wasn't a complete blowout -- it was a close game and a game that set Illini fans through a rollercoaster of emotion. Fortunately, it ended up in the favor of the Illini, and that energy from the win last time somewhat carried through to a week where the Illini fought in a tough battle over the Mizzou Tigers. Despite the win, the game felt more like a loss than the win that the Illini soulfully deserved. 

This was a very ugly game for the Illini, and it felt as if they were the underdogs of the game. The Illini did struggle a little bit, as the offense had seen their play downgrade from the last game. The defense was not any better, as they found themselves unable to crack the code of Mizzou's offense. In fact, the defense gave up the first touchdown of the game despite scoring first. What's more, the Illini finds themselves down at the end of the half. A score of 14-13, to be exact. But the defense whipped back into shape in the second half and held the Tigers to only 3 points in the second half, and that set the stage for the comeback to begin. The Illini didn't see themselves getting any points in the third quarter, and the pressure was on. But it was a straight bullet of a pass from Jalen Jenkins to receiver Ty Shaffer that got it done for the Illini. 

Illinois first-year head coach nemolee.exe 

This was a sigh of relief for the Illini, as it wasn't the game that Illinois liked at all. It was a huge struggle for the Illini on both sides of the game. Quarterback Jalen Jenkins struggled compared to the game he had against East Carolina. He did have that game-winning touchdown but also suffered an interception by the hand of Mizzou's Zac McCutchen that almost helped Mizzou steal the game away, Gabriel Adeboyejo only got through 78 yards, and his partner Doug Murphy fumbled the ball once. The receivers were decent in the game, but couldn't compete with the stellar Tiger passing game. Even the offensive line looked out of sync -- giving up two sacks. The defense didn't fare any better, as they only managed to get one sack and were unable to stop both Chris Golden and Denzel Berrios and let both run the Illini over. The only highlight was the Swoopes touchdown, but an underwhelming performance for the Illini in terms of their gameplay. The only plus for the team was the special teams, where Tyler Diaz hit all of his field goals tries, and  A.J. Harrison helped pin Missouri deep so that points could be scarce. Head coach nemolee.exe had this to say about the team: 

"I know we won the game, but the team felt like they didn't win the game. We obviously need to get better if we want to face off against tougher competition and come back to the highs that we experienced that the team experienced during their first seasons. If we start playing like we are losing, if we play without any energy, we won't play to that level. I would be lying if I said I didn't like how our team played today, but we need to play better than today going forward." 

POTG: K Tyler Diaz, 2/2 XP, 3/3 FG, 40-yd LK (TOTW)

Player of the Game

It was hard to choose a player to earn offensive player of the game honors, but it will go to the player who made the big play that gave the Illini the game. That would be wide receiver, Ty Shaffer. He didn't have a good game this time around, only catching 5 in 6 attempts with 39 yards, but had the most yards for the Illini receiving game, getting 7.9 yards per catch. However, the fact that he earns these honors based off of his game-saving play tells you a lot about how much the offense struggled. 

Not much for the defensive side either, but there were some bright spots. It could be Micheal Rozier, who had 8 tackles, but it would be Vince Drummond, who made a bigger impact than any other players in the game. Drummond was a brick wall, getting only 6 sacks but also recording a grand total of 2 tackles for loss which somewhat stifled the run game for the Illini. Credit is also given to Rougned Utley, who stripped the ball off of Chris Golden once, Adrian Swoopes, who got the only interception for the Illini, and Jonas Wainwright, who got the only sack of the game. 

Also, a shoutout to the kicker Tyler Diaz, the Player of the Game this week, who earned a spot in the Big Ten Team of the Week for this week, the first time we have seen an Illini player earn this honor this season. 

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The Illini will face off against the Penn State Nittany Lions for Week 3, as they get ready for their first B1G game of the season

Next Game:

Coming off of two wins, the Illini will head back to Champaign and hope that the home crowd will carry them to another victory. This is also a game that the Illini have circled on their calendars, as this is also the first game that the Illini will have of Big Ten action. They will be facing off against the Penn State Nittany Lions, who look like a lesser team than the Mizzou Tigers. They did have a loss in a close one over the Washington State Cougars, but they dominated the Rice Owls in a 24-7 action. The Illini are hoping that the outcomes come in their favor after struggling to get wins for their first two games of the season. 
 

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