Football Falls at Illinois 30-9

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A much better performance. Not enough to win on the road against a Big Ten opponent.

Illinois exerted control in the second half on Saturday in handing Central Michigan a 30-9 nonconference loss before 51,498 at Memorial Stadium.

Central Michigan (1-2) opens Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 21 against Ball State at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

"We've got to take care of our home field and we've got a long bus ride home to think about this one," CMU coach Jim McElwain said.

The Chippewas played much better against the Illini (3-0) than they did a week ago when they committed six turnovers in a 36-point loss at Florida International.

Defense kept CMU within striking distance when the Chippewa offense failed to capitalize. Twice the Chippewas drove inside the Illinois 10-yard line and another time CMU had a touchdown nullified by a penalty.

In each case, CMU ended up settling for a field goal.

"Give the kicker credit, he made them," McElwain said. "But at the same time we've got to find a way to get it in the end zone.

"You get down in there you've got to come away with touchdowns. They've got a good defense; their numbers show it. Give them some credit; but we've got to be able to put it in the end zone."

Illinois scored on its opening drive of both halves and sandwiched those scores around two field goals, the second of which was a program record 59-yarder as time expired in the first half.

"First drive of the first half, first drive of the second half, they march right down the field and put it in," McElwain said. "That's unacceptable. Can't do that."

The Chippewas never led, but remained within striking distance at 13-6 at halfime.

CMU quarterback Joe Labas completed 12 of 25 passes for 125 yards and threw one interception after throwing five last week at FIU. He also ran for 20 net yards.

Labas' one interception was costly, however, as it came with the Chippewas driving inside the Illinois 30-yard line and trailing 23-6 in the third quarter.

"I thought he did a good job of competing," McElwain said. "He used his feet, gave us some first downs and did a really good job that way and for the most part took care of the ball. He did some really good things; we've got to get the guys around him to help him."

Notes
• CMU placekicker Tristan Mattson was a perfect three for three on his field goal attempts. He connected from 32, 29 and 25 yards. Mattson, a redshirt senior in his second year at CMU, had never made more than one field goal in a game in his Chippewa career.

• CMU punter David Chapeau averaged 49.5 yards on four punts with a long of 56. The 56-yarder was Chapeau's longest as a Chippewa. The senior is in his first year at CMU after transferring from East Carolina. He also previously played at Air Force.

• Evan Boyd had three catches for 38 yards to lead the CMU receiving corps. Eleven Chippewas caught at least one pass.

• Myles Bailey led CMU run game – with produced a respectable 142 net yards on 33 attempts – with 49 yards on six carries. Bailey's 35-yard run in the second quarter was CMU's biggest play of the game. It put the Chippewas on the Illini 15-yard line.

• Linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski led the Chippewa defense with a career-high 12 tackles.

• CMU recorded three sacks, all in the first half. Elijah Rikard, Fernando Sanchez III and Da'Raun McKinney each posted a sack. The Chippewas totaled eight tackles-for-loss.

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Team Stats

Joe Labas

Tyler Jefferson

Players Mentioned

Myles Bailey

Evan Boyd

David Chapeau

Jordan Kwiatkowski

Joe Labas

Tristan Mattson

Da'Raun McKinney

Elijah Rikard

Fernando Sanchez III