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Ben Fader, Carson Gourdie and Jonathan Alday provide analysis of Illinois’ 9-6 victory over the Hawkeyes.

As a journalist, I’m supposed to be objective. “Call balls and strike.”

But I am also human. When I saw Iowa scoop up Illinois quarterback Artur Sitkowski’s fumble late in the fourth quarter for a touchdown, my heart dropped. Iowa was about to lead 12-6 with only minutes left.

Same old Iowa, unable to win a game on its own offensive merit, was about to walk away with a key West Division matchup and jump-start their division title hopes. 

Sitkowski had more faith than me, though, that the touchdown would be overturned. 

“‘Hey, Coach B, I think my elbow hit the ground,’” Sitkowski said he told Illinois head coach Bret Bielema. 

According to the referees, he was right.

The Illini benefitted from the overturned call with a successful field goal that gave them a 9-6 lead. The defense stepped up with two consecutive stops, and now the Illini are off to their best start since the beginning of the 2011 season.

“I always like our guys to do something they’ve never done,” Bielema said. “I said on Wednesday that, ‘Hey, why don’t we make an effort to make (our backups as good as our starters).”

Illinois fought against key injuries to their personnel, specifically the loss of senior quarterback Tommy DeVito, who left in the first half after an ankle injury. It’s unclear what his status will be against Minnesota, but having junior running back Chase Brown will help take pressure off of Sitkowski. Brown finished with another 100-yard performance, marking six straight games achieving that stat. 

“We did everything to lose the game, but everything to win the game,” Brown said. 

The Illini finished with three turnovers, but they were able to overcome it with another stellar defensive performance. The Illini defense has still not allowed a touchdown at home this season, the only FBS team who can claim that achievement. 

Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, a likely candidate for the Colorado Buffaloes head coaching position, could probably leverage his unit’s current performance with another big raise from the athletic department. 

“This defense is the best fire department in the history of the United States,” Bielema said about his defense’s ability to limit other teams’ scoring chances. 

The Illini appear to be a West Division front-runner, but defeating Minnesota will be a tough task if the quarterback play doesn’t improve under Sitkowski. The Gophers did drop their most recent game to Purdue 20-10, but their offense is still light years ahead of Iowa.

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