COLUMBUS, OHIO — Though the Illinois offense was virtually nonexistent in the team’s 55-14 loss to Ohio State, freshman wide receiver Mike Dudek broke the Illinois single season record for freshman receiving yards. It was a record he didn’t even know he broke at the time.

At the 6:47 mark of the first quarter and with the Illini down 10-0, offensive coordinator Bill Cubit dipped into his bag of trick plays to spark a stagnant offense.

Quarterback Reilly O’Toole was in the shotgun formation with two blockers flanking him, one wideout outside the hashmarks and one offensive lineman five yards in front of him. The remaining five linemen were lined up to O’Toole’s right. Behind them was Dudek.

O’Toole quickly fired a pass to Dudek who, with the convoy of blockers, took it upfield for a 56 yard gain.

“It was just another thing we throw out there, just got to throw some stuff at the wall. A lot of times, it works,” Cubit said.

Dudek said the team had executed the play throughout its practice week. The play also succeeded because Ohio State’s formation was one the Illini liked.

“That was an awesome play for me, when you’ve got all those big linemen in front of you and you’ve just got to make one guy miss,” Dudek said.

Despite being in a stadium that seats nearly 105,000 patrons, Dudek could not hear, nor see, the fans all that well as he made his way towards the south end zone.

“After I made that first guy miss I looked up at the screen, and I could see the two guys coming,” Dudek said. “So then, I don’t know what happened but I just covered the ball up naturally. And they got me.”

Before kickoff, he only need 38 yards to break Arrelious Benn’s previous record of 636 receiving yards, set in 2007.

Though Dudek enrolled at Illinois in January and impressed coaches early on, Cubit did not think Dudek could break the record. But Dudek and injured starting quarterback Wes Lunt immediately displayed a rapport, especially when the freshman hauled in eight passes for 200 yards in a loss to Purdue . Both are highs in his young career.

Cubit said Dudek’s opportunities have recently dwindled because of the style of offense the team has adapted in wake of Lunt’s injury. Yet, he has still hauled in passes no matter who has been under center.

“That’s a credit to him,” said Cubit, who also added that Dudek is just a “super kid who loves football.”

For Dudek, the record was one of three goals he set for himself at the beginning of the season, though he said he could not be happy about it following the loss.

As for the other two goals he set for himself:

“One of them was to be All-Big Ten. And then the other one was to win the Rose Bowl,” Dudek said.

Erik is a senior in media. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @e_prada.