Ladies and gentlemen, Illinois football is officially back.
For the first time since there was snow on the ground, we got to watch the Illini play a game. That in itself was exciting. What was even more exciting was seeing the Orange and Blue pick apart Western Illinois from every front.
Illinois was able to run and pass all over the Leathernecks. We scored a special teams touchdown on a big punt return. And while the defense shockingly didn’t score, they were extremely effective. This all culminated in a 52-3 blowout win over Western Illinois.
Here are five big observations from the Illinois football win over Western Illinois
1. Illinois 3-headed monster is dangerous
Coming into the 2025 season, I figured Illinois was not just going to lean on one running back to handle the carries. This isn’t the Chase Brown-led Illini teams. We have three running backs perfectly capable of being starters.
Against Western Illinois, we saw that fact. Illinois unleashed one of the most dangerous three-headed monsters in the college game.
I can’t tell you who was the most effective, as all three running backs played well. Aidan Laughery had nine carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He had a big 57-yard scamper for a touchdown later in the game to pad those numbers, but Laughery was still extremely effective, being able to wiggle through defenders.
Kaden Feagin is more of the wrecking ball for the Illini. He doesn’t have a ton of east-to-west movement in him, but when he gets going downhill, the defense feels the pain. There were so many runs last night when Feagin would just bounce off defenders and rumble through the defense. He finished with 13 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown.
And then we get to who I feel was the most effective in the game against the Leathernecks. While Ca’Lil Valentine only had nine carries for 51 yards, every single carry felt like it went for at least six yards on the night.
Valentine has the edge speed that I don’t believe Laughery has. He also has the ability to take contact like Feagin and stay on his feet. I was most impressed with what I saw out of Valentine on the field. Regardless, this three-headed monster was huge in the 49-point win.
