Read what Voice of the Illini Brian Barnhart had to say on his blog about Saturday night's victory here.

CHAMPAIGN – Illinois coach Ron Zook said Sunday that no further tests are planned for quarterback Juice Williams, who suffered a strained leg muscle on his first play Saturday night against Illinois State.

Illinois doesn't play again until Sept. 26 (at Ohio State), which will give Williams time to rest.

"He's sore," Zook said.

The Illini did lifting and light running on Sunday, but Zook planned to have Williams on an exercise bike instead.

"They feel he'll be sore for a couple of days, but it won't be something that will limit him too long," Zook said.

Missing parts. As of Sunday, Zook said he hadn't decided what he will do about the suspensions that kept running back Mikel Leshoure and defensive back Ashante Williams out of Saturday's game.

"I'll talk to them (today) and make sure they're on board with us and do things the way they need to be done," Zook said. "If they agree to that then we'll probably bring them back."

Work, then rest. With no game Saturday, the Illini will have practices today through Wednesday.

"Open dates, you can give them a little time off," Zook said. "On the same token though, we've got to work to get better."

Illinois could have played a game this upcoming week but chose instead to finish with nonconference games against Cincinnati (Nov. 27) and Fresno State (Dec. 5).

"If you had your druthers, you probably would rather have another game or two," Zook said. "But, once again, it's the way it is. It's good that you get a chance to regroup a little bit.

"With football, it's hard to really concentrate when you're game planning, to really work on the things that you work on. When you're game planning, you're working on their stuff."

Wilson update. Illinois linebacker Martez Wilson missed Saturday's game with a sprained neck.

"He's been better every day," Zook said. "That will be a day-to-day thing."

Zook said he expects Wilson to be ready for the Ohio State game.

Jumping in. With Wilson out, sophomore Russell Ellington became one of the starting linebackers Saturday.

"Whenever the team needs me, I'm here. I'm ready to play," Ellington said.

Illinois stuck with a two-linebacker lineup during most of Saturday's game, using Dere Hicks as the nickelback in place of the third linebacker.

"Had Martez played, we would have played the same packages," Zook said.

Aches, pains. Sophomore receiver Fred Sykes suffered a hip pointer during Saturday's game at the end of an 11-yard catch.

"It's not necessarily a serious injury, but it's a very painful injury," Zook said.

Taking a look. Going into Saturday's game, Zook said he had planned to try different players at the safety spots. But Donsay Hardeman and Garrett Edwards started and played a bulk of the plays early.

"If you go back and you look at the first half, the secondary probably played about as well as it could," Zook said.

Illinois State had 135 passing yards in the first half and gained 219 after intermission.

"In the second half, we started getting a little sloppy there in the first series," Zook said. "That's intensity and that's where you can't relax."

Zook said Hardeman "can't miss tackles."

"That's what I'm upset about," Zook said.

Not taking a look. Zook said he didn't consider putting third-string quarterback Jacob Charest in Saturday's game. Eddie McGee replaced Williams on the second series of the game and went the rest of the way.

"We could have," Zook said. "Obviously, he was the next guy to go in. But Eddie's the backup quarterback. Eddie had the opportunity to play the game and I think he deserves that."

McGee finished his most significant playing time since 2007 with 164 passing yards and another 16 and two touchdowns rushing.

Williams is in his final season, which makes McGee the likely replacement in 2010. He will compete in the spring and fall with Charest, freshman Nathan Scheelhaase and incoming freshman Chandler Whitmer. Whitmer, who will enroll at Illinois in January, attended Saturday's game.