Illinois
‘Routine for him’: Illinois’ receivers showed up when it mattered most
Goooood afternoon, Illini fans. If you’re reading this on Sunday, it’s the one-year anniversary of the Illini’s loss to Kansas in Lawrence. It’s also the one-day anniversary (not sure if that’s a thing) of the win over No. 19 Kansas in Champaign. There were plenty of positives to take away from the game, including but not limited, to our receiving game.
“Holy cow, did you see that catch?”
That’s a question you could’ve asked a handful of times during Illinois’ 23-17 upset win over the Kansas Jayhawks, but for the most part, you said it while pointing at the players wearing 13 or 4.
While even the more pessimistic Illini fans might point to the team’s slow start and argue that a better first quarter may have made things easier, we’d like to argue it wouldn’t have made the game as fun as it was.
The Illini exited the gates playing great defense, with a Xavier Scott interception and a turnover on downs keeping the game close despite a Zakhari Franklin fumble in Illinois territory.
Just when Illini fans started hoping for Luke Altmyer to start slinging it, he did. With around two and a half minutes left in the second quarter, it looked like Barry Lunney Jr. made the call to start slinging it to a target the OC is very familiar with.
Franklin, who knew Lunney from his days at UTSA, made this catch look easy.
“It was third down. I saw Luke scrambling, and I just wanted to stay in bounds. Keep my feet in and make the catch,” Franklin said, reminiscing on the catch. He’s a man of few words, and when asked what the key to making a grab like that, he said: “Concentration. Focus.”
On the play following the catch, Franklin was called for an offsides, turning 1st and 10 on the 28 to a 1st and 15 on the 33. The drive would end with David Olano sinking a 50-yard field goal into some wind.
“Flush it. Mistakes are gonna happen, so [I] just play the next play,” Franklin said on the mindset following the earlier fumble and the penalty. He says that’s been his mindset when handling in-game mistakes, something that’s developed as he’s matured. He’s a journeyed veteran and is currently college football’s active career leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. When asked when that ability to simply ‘flush it’ came to him, he said: “Man, I don’t even know man. It just happened over time.”
While Illini fans may be quick to label Franklin to be as good as advertised, Bielema says there’s much more left to come from him.
“I think he’s only going to begin to get better,” he said. Franklin was a late addition to this recruiting class, committing in June. “He’s understanding how we do things here, and [he’s] put himself in a position to not only help us this year but also for the future.”
Following a quiet third quarter that saw Kansas reclaim its lead, Altmyer’s arm got back to slinging, leading the charge on an eight-play, eighty-yard drive looking to reclaim the lead.
A big 37 yards. The hesitation, acceleration and separation before the catch were perfectly orchestrated by the veteran.
Directly following that pass, Illini fans wouldn’t be blamed for having a feeling of déjà vu: a chunk of that big gain was taken away by a seven-yard sack.
The passing game was on line and in the heads of the Kansas defense. That success through the air opened the door for Luke Altmyer on the ground. He’d scramble for 18 yards to convert the 2nd-and-17 and threw another dot to Bryant two plays later.
TCR staff photographer Brad Repplinger got a great shot of Bryant’s stretch for the pylon, too:
“He does it every day in practice man, it’s just like routine for him,” fellow wideout Franklin said on Bryant’s pass-catching ability after the game.
The following play would be a one-yard punch-in for running back Kadin Feagin, giving Illinois its first lead since going up 13-10.
A 15-play, 42-yard and nearly seven-minute drive burned plenty of clock and gave Illinois a 23-17 lead, which featured true freshman running back Ca’Lil Valentine. The back, who Bielema says is as “quick as a hiccup”, finished with eight rushes and 25 yards, including two crucial first downs to set up Olano from 43 yards out.
After that, the game boiled down to letting the defense do what the defense had been doing for the past three quarters.
Illinois might not have had a ton of yards through the air (just 192) or any receiving touchdowns, but Altmyer, Franklin and Bryant made the passing game look good when it mattered most.
Illinois is off to its first 2-0 start since 2019. Next week, they’ll be chasing their first 3-0 start since 2011. If they can do that and grab one or two road victories, Kansas might not be the last sellout of the season.
“I look forward to playing in [front of] some more sellout crowds here,” Franklin said.
Saturday will be a September Homecoming at home against the Central Michigan Chippewas. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium be at 11 a.m., and the game can be seen on Peacock.
Illinois
Johnson scores 14, UIC takes down Southern Illinois 70-57
Thursday, January 8, 2026 4:14AM
CHICAGO — – Andy Johnson’s 14 points helped UIC defeat Southern Illinois 70-57 on Wednesday night.
Johnson had five rebounds for the Flames (6-10, 1-4 Missouri Valley Conference). Ahmad Henderson II added 13 points and Elijah Crawford scored 11.
Damien Mayo Jr. led the way for the Salukis (8-9, 2-4) with 17 points, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Jalen Haynes added seven points for Southern Illinois. Rolyns Aligbe had six points and two blocks.
UIC took the lead with 14:56 left in the first half and did not trail again. Henderson scored nine points in the first half to help put the Flames up 31-21 at the break.
——
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.br/]
Copyright © 2026 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.
Illinois
Illinois Democrats express outrage, seek full investigation into ICE fatal shooting of Minnesota woman
Illinois Democrats are demanding a full investigation into the death of a woman at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, with some calling it a “murder” and an “execution.”
The woman was fatally shot Wednesday during a traffic stop in a residential neighborhood just south of downtown Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it “an act of domestic terrorism” by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.”
Noem said an officer “acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”
Videos taken by witnesses show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him, according to the Associated Press. It’s unclear whether the vehicle made contact with the officer.
The woman, whose name wasn’t immediately released, is at least the fifth death linked to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. Silverio Villegas González died on Sept. 12 after being shot as he allegedly tried to flee from ICE agents in suburban Franklin Park. Body camera footage first obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times shows the federal agent telling local police he was “dragged a little bit.” Speaking over the radio, his partner relays the agent suffered “a left knee injury and some lacerations to his hands.”
Villegas González had no criminal history, but DHS has said he had “a history of reckless driving” and was in the country without legal status.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia said he is “heartbroken and outraged” by what he called a “murder.” U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson called it “an execution in our streets.”
“This tragedy occurred less than a mile from the hallowed ground where George Floyd was murdered during Donald Trump’s first term,” Jackson said in a statement. “It is a chilling and devastating reminder that the cycle of state-sanctioned violence against our communities has not only continued but has been weaponized under this administration’s ‘Operation Metro Surge.’”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth is calling for an immediate investigation into the ICE officer who fired the shot. She wrote on X, “ICE is clearly not making us safer. This needs to stop.” And Sen. Dick Durbin called the death “tragic, heartbreaking and enraging” but urged protesters to “remain peaceful.”
“A full investigation must be completed so the truth can be revealed,” Durbin said in a statement. “Video of the incident starkly contradicts DHS’s narrative, and the fact that DHS has jumped to characterize this shooting in ‘self-defense’ is rushed, at best, and a lie, at worst.”
Three top Democrats vying to replace Durbin in the March 17 primary all said they would push for answers about the death.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he will be “demanding full answers and accountability from the Trump administration” over a “horrific loss of life.”
“This is Donald Trump’s America: a woman is dead because ICE is operating with impunity in our neighborhoods,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “…When federal agents are unleashed without restraint or oversight, the consequences are deadly — and the responsibility for this killing is on their hands.”
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly evoked Villegas’ death in commenting on the Minnesota shooting.
“The city of Chicago knows all too well that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem only lies. After the deadly shooting of Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop, Secretary Noem tried to hide the truth, but bodycam footage disproved injuries sustained by the ICE officer,” Kelly said. “The Minneapolis Mayor has already said that video disputes Secretary Noem’s claims. It’s clear that to achieve public safety, ICE must leave our cities immediately.”
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton called the shooting “horrific.”
“Rejecting authoritarianism should not be a death sentence in the United States of America,” Stratton said. “We need answers and we need ICE out of our communities.”
Rep. Brad Schneider called the fatal shooting “a stain on our entire nation.”
“Sending strength to the Minneapolis community. Chicagoland knows all too well the trauma and terror Trump’s chaotic immigration operations bring to otherwise peaceful communities,” Schneider said. “Our President should be making America and Americans safer. He is failing.”
Illinois
Illinois Inexplicably Drops in ESPN’s Updated Bracketology From Joe Lunardi
Illinois’ win over Penn State at The Palestra was anything but flawless. A horrid shooting night and a stagnant offensive performance – specifically when freshman guard Keaton Wagler was off the floor – characterized the whole affair.
Defensively, the Illini were fairly stout, but they gave up far too many second-chance opportunities to the Nittany Lions – who parlayed 14 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.
But to steal a win on the road – technically, the game was played in neutral-site Philadelphia – against a Big Ten opponent is an accomplishment in itself. (It was just lowly Penn State, you say? Tell that to Michigan, which squeaked by the Nittany Lions by two on Tuesday night.)
In a college basketball season of more than 30 games, it’s inevitable that a two-hour window will overlap here and there when the shots simply don’t fall – no matter how open the looks are. That happened on Saturday, yet the Illini still triumphed.
That’s glass half full. The glass-half-empty perspective goes something like this: putting up 73 points on 39.3 percent shooting against a Penn State team that entered the game outside of the top 200 in defensive efficiency (per KenPom) is embarrassing. And as a team that prides itself on controlling the glass, giving up 14 offensive rebounds to the Nittany Lions is entirely unacceptable.
Where Illinois landed in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology
Perhaps ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is a pessimist, as that latter line of rationale could be the only possible explanation for his decision in Tuesday’s edition of Bracketology. In it, he dropped the Illini a seed line, moving them down from a three seed to a four seed.
Since Lunardi’s previous update, Illinois has played exactly one game – against Penn State. Were the Illini really exposed that badly in Philly? In any case, they have two full months to bolster their resume, and the Big Ten schedule provides plenty of prime opportunities: In the next 32 days alone, the Illini have road meetings at No. 19 Iowa, No. 5 Purdue, No. 10 Nebraska – a key chance at vengeance – and No. 12 Michigan State.
Split those contests and Illinois may find itself sitting firmly as a three seed. Win three out of four and the Illini are suddenly a borderline two seed. But until they prove themselves with a few more statement victories, it appears they will be stuck as a four – an excellent “consolation” prize for the time being.
Every Big Ten team in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology for ESPN
Ohio State (No. 11 seed)
Indiana (No. 10)
UCLA (No. 9)
USC (No. 8)
Iowa (No. 6)
Michigan State (No. 4)
Illinois (No. 4)
Nebraska (No. 3)
Purdue (No. 2)
Michigan (No. 1)
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