The Illini (5-6, 3-5) hosted their Evanston rivals, the Northwestern Wildcats (6-5, 4-4), on Saturday for a fall break scrimmage. The final regular-season game for the Illini also served as the team’s senior day, giving fans an opportunity to show appreciation for departing players’ contributions to the football program.
Before kickoff, Illini seniors were each recognized in a short senior day ceremony as they ran onto the field. Many players were escorted by their parents while fans cheered.
With bowl game hopes, the Land of Lincoln trophy and bragging rights on the line, both the Wildcats and the Illini brought the heat to the crisp November matchup. The fuzzy feelings of senior day were short-lived for the Illini, as the Wildcats brought home a hard-fought 45-43 victory.
Once fans had given thanks to their Illinois seniors, Northwestern won the coin toss, deferring and deciding to defend the south end-zone.
.A Northwestern kickoff gave way to a 23-yard return by freshman wide receiver Kenari Wilcher. The following drive for the Illini yielded a short defensive struggle.
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Both teams then went three-and-out on their respective drives, with Northwestern making progress towards the north endzone.
A faulty pass by senior quarterback John Paddock was intercepted by Northwestern, making way for a drive for the visiting team. The Northwestern drive resulted in several completions and ultimately a passing touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead.
The ensuing Illini drive was productive for Paddock, who completed a pass to junior running back Reggie Love III that gained eight yards for the Illini. This progress from the Illini was also aided by a 17-yard rush from redshirt freshman running back Aidan Laughery.
A 42-yard field goal attempt from senior Caleb Griffin brought much needed hope to the Illini, narrowing Northwestern’s early lead and bringing the score to 3-7.
Northwestern responded without pause with a controversial play. An incomplete pass from quarterback Ben Bryant looked like intentional grounding, and head coach Bret Bielema made his dissatisfaction known to the officials after no call was made. Ultimately, the drive resulted in another Wildcats touchdown, giving them a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.
An attempted deep-right pass by Paddock was dropped by sophomore tight end Tanner Arkin, stopping what would have been a huge gain on a trick play. However, the offense chugged along, with a pair of rushes setting the stage for a nine-yard passing touchdown by Paddock to senior wide receiver Casey Washington. Washington leaped above the defender for a remarkable catch, immediately enlivening the crowd and yielding a score of 10-14.
Northwestern looked to regain its big lead, but after a holding call, things looked bleak. Junior defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton made his presence known, as he usually does, with a sack, solidifying Illinois’ defensive position.
After a series of promising plays from Northwestern, Paddock successfully passed the ball 18 yards to Washington, allowing the Illini to cover more ground. This position was lost shortly thereafter, as Paddock was sacked by Northwestern, causing a loss of nine yards.
The Illini then kicked into gear, making several strong plays and setting the tone for a field goal from Griffin, shrinking the Wildcats’ lead to only one point.
Northwestern responded to the strong Illinois initiative, executing a series of big offensive plays. However, freshman safety Miles Scott intercepted Bryant and ran it back 55 yards for an Illini touchdown.
With the score at 20-14 and just over a minute remaining in the half, the Illini now had the Wildcats right where they wanted them.
Following a period of offensive progress on the part of the Illini, Northwestern changed the trajectory of the game. The Wildcats progressed down the field through a series of passes, which ultimately yielded a controversial touchdown. In spite of protests from the stands, the ruling from officials stood and the Wildcats took a 21-20 lead into the locker rooms.
The Wildcats’ offense took the field to start the second half, looking to pad their lead after their surgical drive to end the first half. In the first five minutes of the third quarter, Northwestern found a path down the field, systematically gaining yards on the Illini and ultimately snatching a five-yard passing touchdown. Northwestern sixth-year quarterback Ben Bryant completed nine of nine passes on the final drive of the first half and first drive of the second half, much to the dismay of the Illini secondary.
A suite of rushes from Love and a pair of successful short passes from Paddock granted the Illini seven yards, allowing for a Griffin field goal. This move narrowed the Northwestern lead, making the score 23-28.
Despite best efforts by the Illinois defense, Northwestern made considerable progress with a series of plays down the field, including several influential passes from Bryant. The party was over for the Wildcats, however, when a field goal attempt by senior kicker Jack Olsen fell flat.
Instilled with a new optimism, the Illini resolved to end the third quarter with an offensive hustle. A pair of Love rushes and a pass from Paddock to Washington in the final minute of the quarter indicated that the ever-optimistic Illini were not content to back down.
The Illini began the fourth quarter trailing five points behind the Wildcats, but this would not last long. A pass from Paddock and a rush from Love allowed junior wide receiver Isaiah Williams, a former quarterback, to think on his feet with a short-right passing touchdown to Pat Bryant. Once again, Illinois was on top with a three-point lead.
The celebration was cut short when Northwestern recovered a muffed punt by Williams, shattering the momentum from what was originally a pivotal stop by the Illinois defense.
Bryant took the fresh Illini lead personally, completing a series of successful passes down the field and eventually an eight-yard touchdown. The game flipped in favor of Northwestern, with a score of 31-35.
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said Saturday’s game was lost on turnovers, and the defeat was avoidable.
“I give credit to Northwestern — they were obviously able to achieve a win, but to give up 24 points out on turnovers, you’re just never gonna win games like that,” Bielema said. “So extremely frustrating.”
On the kick-off, Northwestern forced, recovered and took the ball into the end zone, stunning the Illinois faithful. The score gave the visitors a 42-31 lead.
Paddock then made a potentially game-saving pass to Casey Washington, who ran the ball 73 yards down the field, falling just short of the end-zone.
After some offensive progress from the Illini, Paddock threw yet another passing touchdown to Washington. An unsuccessful two-point-conversion attempt forced Illinois to take what they could get — a smaller Northwestern lead. The scoreboard read 37-42 with just over seven minutes remaining in the game, leaving the Illini in a precarious position.
With a formidable offensive challenger at hand, the Illini defense was preparing for battle. As Northwestern gained on Illinois, several big defensive plays pulled in the reigns and reduced the Northwestern advantage.
In moments of strife, the Illini sought solace in the arms of Paddock and Washington, who fell into a promising rhythm throughout the match.
According to Bielema, Washington is one of the team’s strongest players.
“Guys showed resilience offensively,” Bielema explained. “Casey Washington was, you know, just incredible today. He was just a microcosm of what I’ve seen all year, just a really good competitive spirit and, and even (in) that last touchdown.”
Another now-familiar Illini hero, Newton, sacked the Northwestern quarterback. Still, the Wildcats made headway with a field goal and added to their lead.
In the final two minutes of the game, Northwestern made an unsuccessful field goal attempt, leaving room for the Illini to redeem themselves in the home stretch. An 80-yard touchdown pass from the Illini brought the Northwestern lead down to just two points with 55 seconds on the clock.
In the hopes of closing the gap between themselves and the Wildcats, the Illini attempted a two-point conversion, which was thwarted by the Wildcats. There were seconds remaining and Illini now faced a steep uphill journey to the win.
Following several big plays from Northwestern and noble attempts to combat them, Illinois threw in the towel.
Newton explained that games and seasons like this one have taught him mental toughness.
“You just have to keep fighting through adversity, you know,” Newton said. “A great example is the end of our game. Casey scored a touchdown, we thought the game was over. Times like this, you gotta keep fighting. That’ll show who you really are.”
With a final score of 43-45, the final game of the regular season left the Illini just short of their bowl game aspirations.
According to Bielema, despite a rocky season, the Illini are not deficient in spirit.
“I’ve never, through these 12 games, ever questioned the heart, the desire to fight, the faith, the belief that these guys have had,” Bielema said. “Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough to will us through where we were today.”
