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Report: Illinois star to return from shoulder injury
Published:
Illinois fans haven’t had a whole lot of good news the last month. Part of that was likely because the Illini offense was without Josh Ferguson.
Well, he’ll be back on Saturday.
Champaign News-Gazette Illini beat reporter Bob Asmussen reported on Friday that Ferguson will start against Purdue, as confirmed by Illinois coach Bill Cubit. Ferguson is expected to split carries with freshman Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
Ferguson went down in the first half of Illinois’ win against Nebraska to open B1G play. Since that happened on Oct. 3, the Illini offense has just four touchdowns. The unit ranks dead last in the B1G.
Ferguson averaged 5.4 yards per carry and had four touchdowns before his injury.
Illinois will look to right the ship with Ferguson back after last week’s 39-0 shutout loss to Penn State. It needs a pair of November wins to clinch bowl eligibility for the second straight year.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.