Most football teams make their biggest jump from the first game to the second game.
That didn’t quite happen for Illinois last week as it followed up a 42-23 season-opening win over UAB with a mistake-filled 31-27 defeat against Duke.
Coach Bret Bielema says the Fighting Illini (1-1) need to take a step forward on Saturday afternoon when they finish non-conference play against visiting Southern Illinois (2-1) in Champaign, Ill.
“I think you build yourselves more on moments of adversity than you do success,” Bielema said. “It’s never fun after a loss and I don’t want it to be that way. I don’t want the things we experienced to be the norm.”
Name the mistake and there’s a chance Illinois made it against Duke. There were seven penalties for 71 yards, as well as missed assignments that led to the Blue Devils gashing the defense for 170 rushing yards.
Even quarterback Katin Houser, who threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns in an otherwise solid performance, tossed an interception that Duke cashed in for a touchdown.
“I’ve got to clean up the details,” Bielema said.
While the Illini look to fine-tune things, the FCS Salukis make the three-hour bus trip north after a 34-20 win over Southeast Missouri State that saw them score 21 points in the fourth quarter.
DJ Williams returned from missing the previous game with a knee injury to throw for 286 yards and a score while rushing for 67 yards and four touchdowns. He ran for 2-, 13- and 30-yard scores in the final eight minutes.
Williams is coming off a 2025 season that saw him account for 40 touchdowns (22 passing, 18 rushing). He turned down offers from Northwestern and other FBS programs to come back for a final year at SIU.
Head coach Nick Hill has designed the offense around Williams’ dual-threat abilities.
“There’s not anything game-plan wise that we don’t feel that we can run with him,” Hill said.
The Salukis have earned three FBS victories since 2019, including one at Northwestern in 2022.
