UAB BlazersvsIllinois Fighting Illini
UAB 23/ILL 42
Things to say
Illinois beat UAB 42-23 at home to open the season 1-0.
01
opener
Illinois handled UAB 42-23. Looked closer at half, then the Illini pulled away. Houser was picking them apart.
02
key player
Katin Houser was surgical. 13 of 17, three touchdowns, and he punched one in on the ground. Efficient as it gets.
03
hot take
Scoreboard says 19, but that game wasn't that close. UAB couldn't do anything in the red zone until it was garbage time.
04
deep cut
The dagger was that Ismael Kante pick-six, 59 yards to the house. That's when it went from comfortable to over.
05
exit
Solid tune-up. Real test is when Big Ten play shows up, then we'll see what they've actually got.
The recap
Illinois never let this one get uncomfortable, riding Katin Houser to a 42-23 win over UAB. Houser was surgical, going 13-of-17 for three touchdowns and adding a rushing score, and he uncorked a 54-yard bomb to Ty Robinson right before half that flipped a one-point game into a two-score cushion.
UAB hung around early behind Ryder Burton, but the Illini pulled away in the third and then Ismael Kante slammed the door with a 59-yard pick-six. Burton's late rushing TD was pure garbage time.