Luke Altmyer threw for two touchdowns and rushed for a score Saturday night while Kaden Feagin added 100 rushing yards and a score as No. 9 Illinois pulled away from visiting Western Michigan 38-0 in Champaign.
Altmyer completed 17 of 26 passes for 196 yards for the the Fighting Illini (3-0), which outscored their nonconference opponents 135-22. They jump into the meat of Big Ten play next week with a trip to No. 22 Indiana and then a home game in two weeks against USC.
Illinois led just 10-0 at halftime but turned it on in the second half, rolling up 236 total yards and holding the Broncos (0-3) to 71 yards. Western Michigan’s leading rusher, Jalen Buckley, managed only 13 yards on six carries.
The Broncos played two quarterbacks but neither could get them into the end zone. Broc Lowry completed 10 of 16 passes for 78 yards, while Brady Jones was 3 of 8 for 13 yards. The Illini notched three sacks and recorded nine tackles for loss.
David Alano initiated the scoring for Illinois at the 8:47 mark of the first quarter, converting a 28-yard field goal to cap the game’s opening drive. Altmyer got the Illini into the end zone for the first time with 13:31 left in the half, finding Hank Beatty for a 6-yard touchdown pass.
Illinois blew it open in the second half by scoring on its first three possessions, cashing in two short fields and mixing in an 80-yard drive as well. Feagin powered in from the 3 with 10:59 remaining in the third quarter to finish a 53-yard drive.
Altmyer capped the next drive with a 2-yard touchdown run at the 2:48 mark of the period for a 24-0 advantage, then fired a 6-yard scoring strike to Ashton Hollins just 54 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Ca’Lil Valentine finished the scoring for the Illini on a 2-yard run with 5:15 left. He finished with 63 yards on 12 attempts.
