Fight For Respect: Illinois Fighting Illini

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Illinois Rides Big Second Quarter to Easy Win over Broncos
Nathan Scheelhaase tosses two TDs in Second Quarter

Donovonn Young wasn't going anywhere in the first quarter, and you could see the frustration building on the young running back's face. On four carries he was able to manage just five yards, and it seemed as if we would be in for a defensive struggle.

Then the offense started clicking. Led by Junior Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase's 266 yard and 3 touchdown performance, the passing game set up the run, and the Illini cruised to an easy 34-7 season opening win.

"You know, we got off to a slow start, and when they [Western Michigan] tied the game early in the second quarter, we really put the peddle down and started taking it to them." said Coach Sam Weston, after his first victory as the Illini head coach.

Young reeled off a spectacular 42 yard touchdown run in the second quarter, his way to 148 yards on the ground. He stiff armed a Western Michigan defender at the 30, while hurdling another. After that no one was going to catch him.

Illinois will take on their first real challenge of the season next week, as the head to the desert to visit the Arizona State Sun Devils.

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Western Michigan Broncos at Illinois Fighting Illini
Sep 1, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Western Michigan Broncos (0-0)	0	7	0	0	7
Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0)	7	21	3	3	34

Team Stats Comparison
	WMU	ILL
Total Offense	268	466
Rushing Yards	83	194
Passing Yards	185	272
First Downs	13	17
Punt Return Yards	0	48
Kick Return Yards	17	44
Total Yards	285	558
Turnovers	2	1
3rd Down Converstion	6-13	5-10
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	6-1-0	6-2-2
Penalties	2-20	1-5
Posession Time	9:08	14:52

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		WMU	ILL
4:38	(ILL) Lankford, 14 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		WMU	ILL
0:32	(WMU) Bynes, 14 Yard Pass from Carder	7	7
4:25	(ILL) Young, 42 Yard Run	7	14
1:21	(ILL) Harris, 3 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	7	21
0:19	(ILL) Whitlow, 34 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	7	28
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		WMU	ILL
2:49	(ILL) Zalewski, 28 Yard Field Goal	7	31
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		WMU	ILL
5:43	(ILL) Zalewski, 18 Yard Field Goal	7	34

Western Michigan Broncos PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Alex Carder 15/34 185 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Tevin Drake 18 64 3.5 0 Eric Monette 3 9 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tevin Drake 4 22 5.5 0 Clark Mussman 3 27 9.0 0 Eric Monette 3 71 23.6 0 Courtney Bynes 2 22 11 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Johnnie Simon 9 0 1 0 Lewis Toler 6 0 0 0 Donald Celiscar 6 0 0 0 Devon Brant 6 0 0 0 Trever Ishmael 6 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Chris Colombe 0/0 1/1 1 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 J Schroeder 6 266 44.3 0

Illinois Fighting Illini PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Nathan Scheelhaase 15/21 266 3 1 Miles Osei 1/2 6 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Donovonn Young 21 148 7.0 1 Josh Ferguson 4 27 6.7 0 Nathan Scheelhaase 3 15 5 0 Ean Days 2 4 2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Evan Wilson 4 98 24.5 0 Jeremy Whitlow 4 87 21.7 1 Spencer Harris 4 62 15.5 1 Hayden Daniels 2 8 4 0 Darius Millines 1 3 3 0 Ryan Lankford 1 14 14 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Akeem Spence 5 1 0 0 Jonathan Brown 5 0 0 0 Terry Hawthorne 4 0 1 0 Eaton Spence 4 0 0 0 Ashante Williams 3 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Taylor Zalewski 2/2 4/4 10 29 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Justin DuVernois 3 140 46.6 0

[jayenomics]

Illini Win Thriller in Tempe
Time Game on Last Second FG

We had a feeling this was going to be a good game coming in, and it did not disappoint, as the Illinois Fighting Illini were able to steal a victory on the road, leaving the Arizona State faithful shocked.

Arizona State had just gone on top 20-17 with :45 left to play in the game, and the stadium was rocking. Coach Sutton pulled his players together to give them some words. Whatever he said must have worked.

"I told them, :45 is an eternity in football. We had all three timeouts left, and if they stuck to the gameplan we'd be able to get down the field and either win it, or force OT."

That's exactly what they did. Illinois nearly won it in regulation, but Tight End Evan Wilson was taken down at the 3 yard line with 12 seconds to play. After Josh Ferguson tried to pound it in unsuccessfully, Taylor Zalewski was called on to send it to OT. His 20 yard chipshot was straight down the center.

Then it was time for the defense to step up once more. Arizona State gained no yards on three plays and had to settle for the field goal. Illinois did not want to give them another chance, two plays later it would be over.

Nathan Scheelhaase would connect with Spencer Harris on second down on a crossing pattern between two defenders. Harris would use a burst of speed to get behind them, and after being caught at the two, would power his way in for the game winner.

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Illinois Fighting Illini at Arizona State Sun Devils
Sep 8, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0)	0	10	7	3	6	26
Arizona State Sun Devils (1-0)	7	0	3	10	3	23

Team Stats Comparison
	ILL	ASU
Total Offense	373	385
Rushing Yards	114	111
Passing Yards	259	274
First Downs	20	19
Punt Return Yards	6	10
Kick Return Yards	67	87
Total Yards	446	482
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Converstion	6-12	8-13
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	6-1-1	4-1-0
Penalties	6-53	2-25
Posession Time	18:44	10:14

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		ILL	ASU
2:07	(ASU) Marshall, 38 Yard Run	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		ILL	ASU
1:48	(ILL) Zalewski, 37 Yard Field Goal	3	7
0:57	(ILL) Young, 2 Yard Run	10	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		ILL	ASU
0:01	(ASU) Garoutte, 42 Yard Field Goal	10	10
0:17	(ILL) Millines, 39 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	17	10
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		ILL	ASU
2:40	(ASU) Garoutte, 45 Yard Field Goal	17	13
0:45	(ASU) Smith, 5 Yard Pass from Bercovici	17	20
0:00	(ILL) Zalewski, 20 Yard Field Goal	20	20
OVERTIME SCORING		ILL	ASU
	(ASU) Garoutte, 43 Yard Field Goal	20	23
	(ILL) Harris, 26 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	26	23

Illinois Fighting Illini PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Nathan Scheelhaase 19/28 259 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Donovonn Young 22 94 4.2 1 Josh Ferguson 7 20 2.8 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Evan Wilson 6 77 12.8 0 Spencer Harris 4 74 18.5 1 Darius Millines 3 59 19.6 1 Ryan Lankford 3 29 9.6 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jonathan Brown 10 0 0 0 Houston Bates 7 0 0 0 Justin Green 3 0 0 0 Steve Hull 3 0 0 0 Terry Hawthorne 3 0 0 0 Akeem Spence 3 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Taylor Zalewski 2/2 2/2 8 38 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Justin DuVernois 4 183 45.7 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Ryan Lankford 2 45 22.5 0 Darius Millines 1 22 22 0

Arizona State Sun Devils PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Mike Bercovici 25/38 265 1 0 Cameron Marshall 1/3 9 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Cameron Marshall 12 76 6.3 1 Mike Bercovici 4 17 4.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Cameron Marshall 7 61 8.7 0 Rashad Ross 5 56 11.2 0 Kevin Ozier 4 60 15 0 Jamal Miles 4 46 11.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Brandon Magee 9 0 0 0 Kevin Ayers 8 0 0 0 Keelan Johnson 7 0 0 0 Oshahon Irabor 7 0 0 0 Shane McCullen 6 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Alex Garoutte 3/3 2/2 11 45 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Josh Hubner 2 93 46.5 0

[jayenomics]

Blue Raiders Not Enough, As Illinois Roll at Home
Donovonn Young Lost for 3 Months

It was all Illinois from the start, but celebrations were tempered when it was found out that starting running back Donovonn Young would miss up to 3 months with a Torn Labrum. This comes just a week after starting wideout Ryan Lankford went down with a dislocated elbow.

"This is why we have depth, this is why we have backups. Will we miss Ryan and Donovonn? Absolutely. Do I think we have guys who can come in and fill some roles? You bet." said Coach Sutton.

Fill roles is exactly what receiver Jeremy Whitlow did in Lankford's absence, picking up 147 yards and a score on 5 catches, the most electrifying being his 79 yard touchdown grab to give Illinois a 10-0 lead in the second.

In for Young, Josh Ferguson ran for a career best 167 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23 carries, as the Illini offense barely missed a beat with the absence of two starters. Illinois racked up 509 yards of offense, 323 through the air, and 186 on the ground. A balanced attack which kept Middle Tennessee off balance all evening.

While the game started slowly, 0-0 after the first, the Illinois offense took off behind quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase and the running game. The Illini will look to make it four straight wins to start the season as they take on Louisiana Tech at home, before they open the BIG10 schedule with Penn State in two weeks.

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Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Illinois Fighting Illini
Sep 15, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (2-0)	0	0	7	0	7
Illinois Fighting Illini (2-0)	0	17	10	7	34

Team Stats Comparison
	MTU	ILL
Total Offense	221	509
Rushing Yards	9	186
Passing Yards	212	323
First Downs	10	19
Punt Return Yards	0	30
Kick Return Yards	52	51
Total Yards	273	590
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Converstion	2-11	4-9
4th Down Conversion	1-3	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-1-0	4-2-2
Penalties	2-10	8-55
Posession Time	7:57	16:03

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MTU	ILL
2:52	(ILL) Feguson, 2 Yard Run	0	7
1:04	(ILL) Whitlow, 79 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	0	14
0:00	(ILL) Zalewski, 20 Yard Field Goal	0	17
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MTU	ILL
3:04	(ILL) Zalewski, 21 Yard Field Goal	0	20
1:20	(MTU) Kilgore, 2 Yard Run	7	20
0:31	(ILL) Ferguson, 40 Yard Run	7	27
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MTU	ILL
1:25	(ILL) Millines, 7 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	7	34

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Logan Kilgore 23/52 212 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Benny Cunningham 1 6 6 0 Logan Kilgore 1 3 3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jacob Bennett 5 59 11.8 0 Anthony Amos 3 50 16.6 0 Darrell Baptist 3 27 9 0 Benny Cunningham 3 14 4.6 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Reginald Farmer 10 0 0 0 Sammy Seamster 9 0 0 0 Roderic Blunt 7 1 0 0 Christian Henry 7 0 0 0 Kenneth Gilstrap 7 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Robert Oeding 0/1 1/1 1 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Josh Davis 5 235 47 0

Illinois Fighting Illini PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Nathan Scheelhaase 18/24 323 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Josh Ferguson 23 167 7.2 2 Donovonn Young 6 27 4.5 0 Ean Days 1 3 3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Darius Millines 7 60 8.5 1 Jeremy Whitlow 5 147 29.4 1 Evan Wilson 4 90 22.5 0 Spencer Harris 1 18 18 0 Donovonn Young 1 8 8 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Supo Sanni 5 0 0 0 Jonathan Brown 5 0 0 0 Terry Hawthorne 3 0 0 0 Justin Green 3 0 0 0 Steve Hull 2 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Taylor Zalewski 2/2 4/4 10 21 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Justin DuVernois 3 120 40 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Darius Millines 1 29 29 0 Steve Hull 1 22 22 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Darius Millines 3 30 10 0

[jayenomics]

Injury Bug Strikes Again as Illinois Dismantles La Tech
Josh Ferguson Latest Victim

Three straight weeks, three straight weeks with a starter going down with an injury. This time, Josh Ferguson, who assumed the starting running back role just this week with the injury to Donovonn Young, went down and could miss up to a month with a strained quadriceps muscle.

Ean Days stepped right in for the rushing attack, and amassed 142 yards on 21 carries to pace the Illinois offense to an easy victory over the visiting Bulldogs.

The question now is with just one healthy, non-redshirted, runningback on the roster, will the Illini remove their redshirt from Dami Ayoola or Devin Church? Without doing so they will be dangerously thin going into their BIG10 season, which kicks off next week with visiting Penn State. Miles Osei, the backup Quarterback even took two snaps in the back field when Ean Days needed a breather. Something Illinois would not like to repeat next week.

"We keep having these injuries, and our depth is really showing at this point. We' had Eaton Spence, a corner carry the ball 3 times. While we like the versatility, we need him fresh on that side of the ball. I'm going to have to figure out something this week." said coach Weston.

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Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Illinois Fighting Illini
Sep 22, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-2)	0	0	0	7	7
Illinois Fighting Illini (3-0)	14	7	7	3	31

Team Stats Comparison
	LT	ILL
Total Offense	320	417
Rushing Yards	24	200
Passing Yards	296	217
First Downs	13	18
Punt Return Yards	3	10
Kick Return Yards	114	33
Total Yards	437	460
Turnovers	0	1
3rd Down Converstion	3-11	5-10
4th Down Conversion	1-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-0-0	6-3-1
Penalties	2-20	2-10
Posession Time	8:21	15:39

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		LT	ILL
3:34	(ILL) Davis, 4 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	0	7
0:42	(ILL) Whitlow, 25 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	0	14
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		LT	ILL
2:46	(ILL) Becker, 7 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	0	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		LT	ILL
0:12	(ILL) Whitlow, 13 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	0	28
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		LT	ILL
2:03	(LT) White, 29 Yard Pass from Cameron	7	28
1:02	(ILL) Zalewski, 30 Yard Field Goal	7	31

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Colby Cameron 19/41 296 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Colby Cameron 5 -1 -.2 0 Hunter Lee 4 25 6.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Quinton Patton 6 86 14.3 0 Hunter Lee 5 69 13.8 0 Richie Casey 3 34 11.3 0 Chandler Spence 2 29 14.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Soloman Randle 14 0 0 0 Jamel Johnson 9 0 0 0 Craig Johnson 7 0 0 0 Ches Morrison 7 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Matt Nelson 0/0 1/1 1 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Ryan Allen 6 267 44.5 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Qunton Patton 3 73 24.3 0 David Gru 2 41 20.5 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Qunton Patton 1 3 3 0

Illinois Fighting Illini PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Nathan Scheelhaase 16/23 217 4 1 Miles Osei 0/1 0 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Ean Days 21 142 6.7 0 Josh Ferguson 6 34 5.6 0 Nathan Scheelhaase 5 9 1.8 0 Eaton Spence 3 12 4.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jeremy Whitlow 4 56 14 2 Ean Days 3 39 13 0 Evan Wilson 2 53 26.5 0 Jon Davis 2 9 4.5 1 Spencer Harris 1 34 34 0 Zach Becker 1 7 7 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Supo Sanni 4 .5 0 0 Eaton Spence 4 0 0 0 Michael Buchanan 4 1.5 0 0 Patrick Nixon Youman 3 0 0 0 Jack Ramsey 3 0 0 0 Earnest Thomas 3 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Taylor Zalewski 1/1 4/4 7 30 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Justin DeVernois 3 118 39.3 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Darius Millines 1 33 33 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Darius Millines 1 10 10 0

[jayenomics]

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 25, 2012
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	USC (39)	4	0	1503
2	2	Arkansas (21)	4	0	1437
3	3	Oregon (1)	4	0	1373
4	4	Oklahoma	3	0	1331
5	5	West Virginia	3	0	1248
6	6	South Carolina	4	0	1186
7	7	Alabama	3	1	1098
8	8	Michigan State	4	0	1069
9	9	LSU	3	1	1018
10	11	Wisconsin	4	0	902
11	12	Michigan	3	1	848
12	14	TCU	3	0	747
13	15	Ohio State	4	0	697
14	16	Nebraska	4	0	649
15	19	Florida State	3	1	625
16	17	Texas	3	0	602
17	10	Clemson	3	1	552
18	20	Georgia Tech	4	0	477
19	22	Stanford	2	1	359
20	23	Washington	3	0	345
21	18	Kansas State	2	2	299
22	24	Virginia Tech	3	1	288
23	NR	Purdue	3	0	200
24	21	Miami	3	1	182
25	NR	SMU	3	0	166

Heisman Watch - Updated: Sep 25, 2012
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Knile Davis	HB	Arkansas		64 Carries 427 Yards 8 Receptions 166 Yards 10 Total TDs
Matt Barkley	QB	USC		64 of 95 963 Yards 13 TDs 1 INT, 37 Carries 112 Yards 2 TDs
Taylor Martinez	QB	Nebraska		59 of 102 957 Yards 9 TDs 2 INTs, 40 Carries 282 Yards 5 TDs
Eddie Lacy	HB	Alabama		60 Carries 409 Yards 13 Receptions 262 Yards 7 Total TDs
Denard Robinson	QB	Michigan		67 of 123 825 Yards 9 TDs 3 INTs, 60 Carries 400 Yards 3 TDs

[jayenomics]

Defense Dominates as Illini Hold off Penn State
Illinois Moves to 5-0 on the Season

For the first time in nearly a month the Fighting Illini had no serious injuries, and their defense stood up to the Penn State passing attack to secure a hard faught 21-16 victory on Saturday afternoon, to move to 5-0 on the season.

Ean Days, the third starting running back of the season for Illinois ran for 148 yards on 21 carries, including a monumental 59 yard touchdown to pull the Illini within 3 in the second quarter.

Days would finish the afternoon with more yards on the ground then the Illini passing attack could muster through the air, but nathan Scheelhaase and company were efficient, completing 12 of 17 for 142 yards with 2 scores, the first time all season they did not through a pick.

"We held on to the ball, our defense played great, and we got the victory in our first conference game." said Coach Weston.

The victory moved Illinois to 5-0 on the season, but with a visit to Camp Randall looming next week, it may just be a matter of time before the first loss of the season is on the board. But five games into the season, the Illini are one win away from bowl eligibility, which would be a great step for a team decimated by injuries on the offensive side of the ball.

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Penn State Nittany Lions at Illinois Fighting Illini
Sep 29, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Penn State Nittany Lions (4-0)	3	7	0	6	16
Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0)	0	14	0	7	21

Team Stats Comparison
	PSU	ILL
Total Offense	443	288
Rushing Yards	105	146
Passing Yards	338	142
First Downs	22	10
Punt Return Yards	14	3
Kick Return Yards	36	21
Total Yards	493	312
Turnovers	0	0
3rd Down Converstion	7-16	3-10
4th Down Conversion	2-6	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-2-0	2-0-0
Penalties	1-6	3-30
Posession Time	11:59	12:38

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		PSU	ILL
0:16	(PSU) Fera, 42 Yard Field Goal	3	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		PSU	ILL
1:05	(PSU) Brown, 12 Yard Pass from Jones	10	0
2:44	(ILL) Days, 59 Yard run	10	7
0:40	(ILL) Millines, 29 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	10	14
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		PSU	ILL
4:01	(ILL) Daniels, 38 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	10	21
0:00	(PSU) Carter, 7 Yard Pass from Jones	16	21

Penn State Nittany Lions PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Paul Jones 21/48 338 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Bill Belton 22 81 3.6 0 Paul Jones 3 17 5.6 0 Michael Zordich 2 10 5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Kyle Carter 6 73 12.1 1 Justin Brown 5 73 14.6 1 Shawney Kersey 4 86 21.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Malcom Willis 7 0 0 0 Gerald Hodges 7 0 0 0 Micheal Mauti 6 0 0 0 Stephon Morris 6 0 0 0 Sean Stanley 4 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Anthony Fera 1/1 1/1 4 42 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Anthony Fera 2 88 44 0

Illinois Fighting Illini PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Nathan Scheelhaase 12/17 142 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Ean Days 21 148 7 1 Devin Church 2 1 .5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Spencer Harris 4 30 7.5 0 Ean Days 3 23 7.6 0 Darius Millines 2 40 20 1 Hayden Daniels 1 38 38 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Terry Hawthorne 6 0 0 0 Jonathan Brown 6 0 0 0 Eaton Spence 4 0 0 0 Akeem Spence 4 0 0 0 Justin Staples 4 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Taylor Zalewski 0/0 3/3 3 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Justin DuVernois 6 258 43 2

[jayenomics]

Illini Overcome 5 First Half Turnovers, Lose in 3rd OT
Dropped 2 Point Conversion Dooms Illinois

Nathan Scheelhaase had just thrown his fourth interception of the first half, and his team was down 21 points. Normally this would be a dismal tale of a blowout defeat, but the Illini clawed there way back, holding Wisconsin to just a field goal for the final 2 and a half quarters, outscoring them 24-7.

And it still wasn't enough. Scheelhaase finished his day early, being knocked out on the final drive in the fourth quarter with a slight concussion, but finished a respectable 15 of 25 for 240 yards with 3 touchdowns, and his 4 interceptions.

On came Miles Osei, who completed a 21 yard pass on 4th and 17 of the first overtime, to set up Ean Days 11 yard touchdown run on the following play. Illinois would take their first lead of the game in OT number two when Osei hit Evan Wilson for his first of two touchdown receptions, but when it all came down to it, Darius Millines, who had caught a 70 yard TD earlier in the game bobbled and lost the ball on the 2 point conversion attempt to force a 4th overtime.

"We fought back, and I'm proud of this team. It's heartbreaking to lose this one, after all of that. But to get to where we did, from where we were early, it says a lot about this team." said Weston.

The schedule gets no easier next week, as the Illini will travel to Ann Arbor to take on the 4-1 Michigan Wolverines.

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Illinois Fighting Illini at Wisconsin Badgers
Oct 6, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
#25 Illinois Fighting Illini (5-0)	0	7	14	10	20	44
#16 Wisconsin Badgers (4-1)	7	14	3	0	22	46

Team Stats Comparison
	ILL	WIS
Total Offense	446	444
Rushing Yards	142	202
Passing Yards	304	242
First Downs	16	21
Punt Return Yards	6	27
Kick Return Yards	110	0
Total Yards	562	471
Turnovers	5	1
3rd Down Converstion	6-13	8-16
4th Down Conversion	1-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-1	1-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-3-0	10-5-1
Penalties	3-29	1-5
Posession Time	11:43	12:42

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		ILL	WIS
0:46	(WIS) Pedersen, 3 Yard Pass from O'Brien	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		ILL	WIS
3:49	(WIS) Pedersen, 4 Yard Pass from O'Brien	0	14
1:44	(WIS) Ball, 2 Yard Run	0	21
0:14	(ILL) Whitlow, 12 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	7	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		ILL	WIS
0:11	(WIS) French, 34 Yard Field Goal	7	24
3:55	(ILL) Millines, 70 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	14	24
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		ILL	WIS
4:06	(ILL) Green, 45 Yard Pass from Scheelhaase	21	24
0:51	(ILL) Zalewski, 41 Yard Field Goal	24	24
OVERTIME SCORING		ILL	WIS
	(WIS) Ball, 1 Yard Run	24	31
	(ILL) Days, 11 Yard Run	31	31
	(ILL) Wilson, 2 Yard Pass from Osei	38	31
	(WIS) Ball, 2 Yard Run	38	38
	(WIS) Ball, 25 Yard Pass from O'Brien	38	46
	(ILL) Wilson, 23 Yard Pass from Osei	44	46

Illinois Fighting Illini PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Nathan Scheelhaase 15/25 240 3 4 Miles Osei 5/11 64 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Ean Days 18 86 4.7 1 Nathan Scheelhaase 6 55 9.1 0 Devin Church 2 6 3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Evan Wilson 7 95 13.2 2 Jeremy Whitlow 4 44 11 1 Darius Millines 2 79 39.5 1 Hayden Daniels 2 20 10 0 Justin Green 1 45 45 1 Fritz Rock 1 11 0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jonathan Brown 8 0 0 0 Justin Staples 8 1 0 0 Ashante Williams 7 1 0 0 Michael Buchanan 7 0 0 0 Terry Hawthorne 6 0 0 0 Akeem Spence 5 1 0 0 Justin Green 3 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Taylor Zalewski 1/1 5/5 8 41 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Justin DuVernois 2 98 49 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Darius Millines 4 91 22.7 0

Wisconsin Badgers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Danny O'Brien 23/36 242 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Montee Ball 36 181 5 3 James White 4 13 3.2 0 Danny O'Brien 4 8 2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jared Abbrederis 8 99 12.3 0 Jacob Pederson 7 70 8.5 2 Montee Ball 3 45 15 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Chris Borland 9 0 0 0 Jeniel Jean 8 1 0 0 Shelton Johnson 6 0 2 0 Dezmen Southward 4 0 1 0 Marcus Cromartie 1 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle French 1/3 5/5 8 35 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Drew Meyer 4 173 43.2 1