Western Michigan strolled into its second Big Ten venue of the year, hoping to improve on the previous result. In Week 1, the Broncos traveled to Michigan State and failed to notch an offensive point in a 23-6 defensive-driven contest with a late Tate Hallock pick-six preventing a shutout. Saturday presented a redemption opportunity for Lance Taylor and the Broncos pitted against the No. 9 team in the country.
However, Illinois silenced Western Michigan’s offense in a 38-0 shutout. The Broncos came
up empty-handed on the scoreboard, marking their second game of the year without an offensive point and their third-straight season facing at least one shutout.
Similar to the first two contests, Western Michigan utilized a two-quarterback system. Brady Jones saw his third-consecutive start, finishing 3-of-8 for 13 yards before Broc Lowry checked in during the second quarter and played the majority of the contest. Lowry completed 10-of-16 attempts for 78 yards as Western Michigan attained a collective 91 passing yards against a feisty Illini defense.
The run game wasn’t much more fruitful as the Broncos finished with 204 yards of offense compared to Illinois’ 358. Western Michigan struggled moving the sticks from start to finish, converting 3-of-14 third downs and failed on both fourth down tries.
As brutal as the offense was in Big Ten Country, the defense once again provided substantial resistance on the road. Illinois only managed three first quarter points, and in the second quarter, Luke Altmyer found his favorite receiver Hank Beatty open in the end zone to make it 10-0. Western Michigan nearly sliced the halftime deficit to one score, but Palmer Domschke’s 46-yard attempt in the late second quarter missed the uprights and maintained the shutout.
Western Michigan provided substantial resistance against the run and even held Illinois to negative rushing yards in the second quarter. Micah Davis led the Broncos with 10 tackles, while the team registered five tackles for loss. However, Illinois’ offense flowed much better in the second half as Altmyer attained 121 of his 196 passing yards in the final 30 minutes of action. Kaden Feagin also shined as the game progressed, securing his first career 100-yard game against FBS competition.
After facing the 38-0 shutout, Western Michigan has now lost 11 in a row to Big Ten opponents, with a 2016 matchup against Illinois serving as its last win. The Broncos still have yet to attain their first AP Top 10 win in program history, and now they are 0-3 for the first time since 2013. Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo next Saturday where it hosts Toledo for its MAC opener, currently one of 11 FBS programs searching for win No. 1 of 2025.
