Illinois 33, OSM{Arkansas State} 15

So maybe Arkansas State's season opener at Illinois didn't go as nicely as they would have hoped. Their first third of the game was something I'd be proud of. They did give up a first quarter touchdown, but then the second quarter started with their punt converage team pinning the Fighting Illini at their own 1. One play later, the Red Wolves tackled the running back in the end zone for a safety! On their following drive, they got 6 yards to convert a 4th-and-2, but unfortunately, they fumbled on this play. However, they did quickly force a punt, which they followed with a field goal. And then they quickly forced another punt, and then they followed that with second field goal to claw their way back and take an 8-7 lead. It unraveled kind of quickly, though. This fantastic lead lasted only 1:26 as Illinois's Nathan Scheelhaase threw a 45-yard TD pass to Darius Millines with 1:24 left in the half. Then on their next play, Arkansas State's Ryan Aplin threw an interception, which Illinois converted into a field goal to take a 17-8 lead into the locker room. Aplin's 290 yards on 20 of 32 is good enough for 17th in the nation after the first weekend of play. That's not terrible. And the guy who caught his 66-yarder has the last name Frampton. I'm pretty excited about the "comes alive" possibilities for later games, especially next week, when the Red Wolves take on Memphis, who gave up 645 yards against Mississippi State.