Illinois ends Indiana University Football’s Bowl Hopes in Overtime

The Indiana Hoosiers lost 48-45 in Overtime to the Illinois Fighting Illini Saturday Afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Champaign Illinois. The loss to sends the Hoosiers to 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the Big Ten and officially eliminates them from a bowl game for third straight season.  Indiana will host Michigan State Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm Senior Day and to keep the Old Brass Spittoon for the second year in a row after beating the Spartans in East Lansing last year.

Illinois is 5-5 and 3-4 in the Big 10 and a win at Iowa or home against Northwestern in the next two weeks will put them in a bowl game. John Paddock who transferred from Ball State and replaced the injured Luke Altmyer and in his first start as the Ilini Quarterback was 24-36 for 507 yards and 4 touchdown passes. Reggie Williams who is the Big Ten’s leading receiver had 9 catches for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Pat Bryant had 5 catches for 131 and a touchdown but was injured in the third quarter. Casey Washington had five catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. Reggie Love had 24 carries for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the Illini snap a four-game losing to streak to the Hoosiers that dated back 2012.

Brendan Sorsby was 22-39 passing for 289 yards and three touchdowns along with two rushing touchdowns for 53 yards on 17 carries. Donaven McCulley caught 11 passes for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. DeQuece Carter caught 3 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Trent Howland rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown.  The Hoosiers led 27-12 with 5:44 left before halftime. The Illini scored touchdowns to trail 27-26 going into the locker room after Illinois missed an extra point after a score with 3:19 left in the first quarter.

Illinois scored two more touchdowns but missed a two-point conversion to lead 39-27 seven seconds into the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers scored with 12:25 left when Brendan Sorsby scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to trail by five. Caleb Griffin hit a 21-yard field goal with 5:04 left to make it 42-34. Indiana got the stop it needed and marched down the field and got a 26-yard touchdown pass from Sorsby to DeQuece Carter with 28 seconds to put the Hoosiers within 2 points. Sorsby found EJ Williams for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 42-42 and send the game to overtime.

Indiana got the ball first and Chris Freeman hit a 21-yard field goal to go up 45-42. Illinois needed one play as Paddock found Isaiah Williams on a 21-yard score to win the game. Illinois had 662 yards of total offense and 369 in the first half. The Hoosiers had 451 yards of total offense. Illinois had 14 penalties for 139 yards and the Hoosiers had seven penalties for 80 yards. The game was chippy as late in the fourth quarter Illinois Tahveon Nicholson was ejected for the game for spitting on Indiana’s EJ Williams.

The Hoosiers allowed over 500 yards passing for the first time since November 20, 2004, when the Purdue Boilermakers threw 590 yards on the Hoosiers.  Jacob Magnum-Farrar said after the game “It was a lot of Indiana beating Indiana, I feel like we gave them a lot of stuff “. Magnum-Farrar added that the breakdowns come from miscommunication. “It’s unfortunate that we are still having issues like that, comes down to discipline” Magnum-Farrar said. The Hoosiers still have two trophy games to play for with the Old Oaken Bucket game at Purdue in two weeks and while the Hoosiers will not go to bowl game, they will treat the Purdue game like their bowl game and hopes to bring the Old Oaken Bucket back to Bloomington.

Illini Football | Coach Bielema Press Conference vs. Indiana 11/11/23 – YouTube

Following information credit source: Illinois Athletics

• Illinois leads the all-time series against Indiana 46-25-3.
  • Illinois snapped a four-game losing streak to Indiana, beating the Hoosiers for the first time since 2012.
  • The Illini’s 48 points were the most scored against Indiana since scoring 55 in the 2008 edition of this game, also at Memorial Stadium.
  • The teams’ 93 combiined points were the most in the series history.
• Illinois has won 3+ Big Ten games in each of Bret Bielema’s first three seasons as head coach. It is the first time Illinois has won 3+ Big Ten games in three straight seasons since 1992-94.
• Bret Bielema’s 12 Big Ten wins through his first three seasons at Illinois are tied for the most since John Mackovic won 18 in his first three seasons (1988-90).
  • Bielema is tied for the fourth-most Big Ten wins through three seasons among the Illini’s 13 head coaches in modern history (post-1940).
  • Bielema is 8-1 in his career against Indiana.
• Illinois is one win away from bowl eligibility. If the Illini win one more game this season, they will qualify for bowls in back-to-back years for the first time since 2010-11.
• Illinois scored 48 points in the game, the most since scoring 55 on Nov. 3, 2018, vs. Minnesota.
  • The Illini scored 26 points in the first half. It was the most points scored in the first half of a game since scoring 37 points against Northwestern on Nov. 27, 2021.
• Illinois’ 662 yards of offense is the most by any Big Ten team this season.
  • They are the only Big Ten team to eclipse the 600-yard mark on offense this season.
    • Their 9.3 yards per play is the second-highest single-game average by a Big Ten team this season.
  • The Illini had at least 600 yards of offense in a game for the first time since Nov. 3, 2018, vs. Minnesota.
  • The Illini’s 507 passing yards are the most by a Big Ten team this season.
    • Only team to eclipse the 400-yard mark and the 500-yard mark.
    • Illinois averaged 21.1 yards per catch, the highest mark by a Big Ten team this season.
    • The Illini averaged 14.1 yards per attempt, the second-highest mark by a Big Ten team this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• QB John Paddock completed 24 of 36 passes for 507 yards for four touchdowns and one interception.
  • His 507 yards passing is the second-highest single-game total in program history and is most ever in a game at Memorial Stadium.
    • Joins Dave Wilson (621, 11/8/80 at Ohio State) as the only other quarterback in program history to have at least 500 yards passing.
    • Is the second-most single-game passing yards by an FBS quarterback this season. Only Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders (510, Sept. 2 at TCU) threw for more yards in a game this season.
  • Went 13-for-19 with 316 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the first half.
    • Most passing yards in a half for the program since Nathan Scheelhaase threw for 340 yards in the first half on Aug. 31, 2013, vs. Southern Illinois.
    • Most first-half passing yards by a Big Ten QB since CJ Stroud threw for 393 yards on Nov. 20, 2021, vs. Michigan State.
  • Had the first 400-yard passing game by an Illini QB since Wes Lunt threw for 456 yards on Sept. 6, 2014, vs. Western Kentucky.
    • First 400-yard game against a Big Ten opponent since Juice Williams threw for 462 yards on. Oct. 11, 2008, vs. Minnesota.
  • Sixth Big Ten quarterback this season to throw for at least four touchdowns in a single game.
  • Went 14-for-17 for 347 yards on first-down passing attempts.
  • Paddock’s 499 yards of total offense is the third-highest mark by an FBS player this season.
• WR Isaiah Williams had nine catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
  • Williams leads the Big Ten in receptions with 68, 16 ahead of Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., who ranks second with 52.
  • Williams has at least one catch in all 35 games since he switched from QB prior to the start of the 2021 season, the longest active streak in the Big Ten and tied for the eighth-longest active streak in the nation. Williams is approaching the Illini record of 37 consecutive games with a reception, set by Josh Ferguson (2011-15).
  • Williams has at least three catches in 24 straight games.
  • Williams is No. 2 in Illinois history in career receptions with 200. In the Illinois record book, Williams trails only College Football Hall of Famer David Williams’ 262 receptions (1983-85).
  • Williams has 2,142 career receiving yards, eighth all-time in Illinois history.
  • Williams had his ninth-career 100-yard game, fourth all-time in program history.
  • His 200 receiving yards are the second-most by a Big Ten player this season. He is the 15th FBS player to tally at least 200 yards receiving this season.
    • Williams is the first Illini receiver to have a 200-yard game since Mike Dudek also had 200 yards receiving on Oct. 4, 2014, vs. Purdue.
    • Amassed 203 all-purpose yards, the eighth-most by a Big Ten player this season.
• WR Pat Bryant caught five passes for a career-high 131 yards and one touchdown.
  • His six receiving touchdowns are tied for fourth-most among Big Ten receivers.
• WR Casey Washington caught five passes for 99 yards and one touchdown.
  • Scored his first-career receiving touchdown in the second quarter.
• RB Reggie Love III rushed 24 times for a career-high 140 yards and two touchdowns.
  • First-career 100-yard game.
  • First time in career rushing for two touchdowns.
• DT Jer’Zhan Newton had four tackles, two solo, one tackle for a loss, one sack and one QB hurry.
  • Has 16.0 sacks in his Illini career, the second-most by an Illini DT (since 1983). He trails only Moe Gardner (18.0, 1987-90).