2014 in Review // 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide

2014 In Review // 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide

2014 IN REVIEW

#ILLINI // @IlliniFootball // fightingillini.com // 57 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide // 2014 In Review TEAM STATISTICS

2014 All-Big Ten Teams 2014 Schedule/Results DATE oPPONENT W/L SCORE REc attEND Coaches First Team Coaches Second Team Aug. 30 Youngstown State W 28-17 1-0 36,234 QB J.T. Barrett, Ohio State Connor Cook, Michigan St. Sept. 6 Western Kentucky W 42-34 2-0 38,561 RB Tevin Coleman, Indiana David Cobb, Minneosta Sept. 13 at Washington L 19-44 2-1 62,325 RB MELVIN GORDON, Wisconsin Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska Sept. 20 Texas State W 42-35 3-1 41,019 WR Tony Lippett, Michigan State Stefon Diggs, Maryland Sept. 27 @ Nebraska L 14-45 3-2 (0-1) 91,255 WR Kenny Bell, Nebraska Devin Funchess, Michigan Oct. 4 Purdue L 27-38 3-3 (0-2) 45,046 C Jack Allen, Michigan State Austin Blythe, Iowa Oct. 11 at Wisconsin L 28-38 3-4 (0-3) 80,341 G Pat Elfein, Ohio State Travis Jackson, Michigan State Oct. 25 Minnesota W 28-24 4-4 (1-3) 44,437 G Kyle Costigan, Wisconsin Zac Epping, Minneosta Nov. 1 @ #16 Ohio State L 14-55 4-5 (1-4) 106,961 T Brandon Scherff, Iowa Jack Conklin, Michigan State Nov. 15 Iowa L 14-30 4-6 (1-5) 50,373 T Rob Havenstein, Wisconsin Taylor Decker, Ohio State Nov. 22 Penn State W 16-14 5-6 (2-5) 35,172 TE Maxx Williams, Minnesota Jeff Heuerman, Ohio State Nov. 29 at Northwestern W 47-33 6-6 (3-5) 31,137 K Brad Craddock, Maryland Sam Ficken, Penn State

DL Shilique Calhoun, MSU Carl Davis, Iowa 2014 team statistics DL Randy Gregory, Nebraska Louis Trinca-Pasat, Iowa IllinoIS oPPonent DL JOEY BOSA, Ohio State Maliek Collins, Nebraska SCORING ...... 319 ...... 407 DL Anthony Zettel, Penn State Michael Bennett, Ohio State Points Per Game ...... 26.6 ...... 33.9 LB Jake Ryan, Michigan Quinton Alston, Iowa FIRST DOWNS ...... 222 ...... 276 LB Mike Hull, Penn State Taiwan Jones, Michigan State Rushing ...... 78 ...... 146 LB Derek Landisch, Wisconsin Damien Wilson, Minnesota Passing ...... 117 ...... 110 DB William Likely, Maryland Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Minneosta Penalty ...... 27 ...... 20 DB Kurtis Drummond, MSU Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Neb. RUSHING YARDAGE ...... 1405 ...... 2995 DB Trae Waynes, Michigan Sate Ibraheim Campbell, Northwestern Yards gained rushing ...... 1733 ...... 3285 DB Doran Grant, Ohio State Frankie Williams, Purdue Yards lost rushing ...... 328 ...... 290 DB Michael Caputo, Wisconsin* Rushing Attempts ...... 380 ...... 586 DB Darius Hillary, Wisconsin* Average Per Rush ...... 3.7 ...... 5.1 P Peter Mortell, Minnesota Justin DuVernois, Illinois Average Per Game ...... 117.1 ...... 249.6 Illinois Honorable Mention: V’Angelo Bentley, Mike Dudek, Ted Karras, TDs Rushing ...... 15 ...... 28 Mason Monheim, Jihad Ward PASSING YARDAGE ...... 2918 ...... 2577 Comp-Att-Int ...... 259-423-11 . . . .200-342-7 Illinois Sportsmanship Award Honorees: Reilly O’Toole, Mark Murphy Average Per Pass ...... 6.9 ...... 7.5 Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year: Jerry Kill, Minnesota Average Per Catch ...... 11.3 ...... 12.9 Average Per Game ...... 360.2 ...... 464.3 * - Additional honorees due to tie TDs Passing ...... 24 ...... 19 TOTAL OFFENSE ...... 4323 ...... 5572 Media First Team Media Second Team Total Plays ...... 803 ...... 928 QB J.T. BARRETT, Ohio State Connor Cook, Michigan St. Average Per Play ...... 5.4 ...... 6.0 RB Tevin Coleman, Indiana David Cobb, Minneosta Average Per Game ...... 360.2 ...... 464.3 RB Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska KICK RETURNS: #-Yards ...... 37-712 . . . . . 23-553 WR Tony Lippett, Michigan State Mike Dudek, Illinois PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards ...... 21-191 . . . . . 20-163 WR Leonte Carroo, Rutgers DaeSean Hamilton, Penn State INT RETURNS: #-Yards ...... 7-203 . . . . . 11-203 C Jack Allen, Michigan State Dan Voltz, Wisconsin KICK RETURN AVERAGE ...... 19.2 ...... 24.0 G Zac Epping, Minneosta Travis Jackson, Michigan State PUNT RETURN AVERAGE ...... 9.1 ...... 8.1 G Kyle Costigan, Wisconsin Pat Elfein, Ohio State INT RETURN AVERAGE ...... 29.0 ...... 18.5 T Brandon Scherff, Iowa Jack Conklin, Michigan State FUMBLES-LOST ...... 16-9 ...... 20-11 T Rob Havenstein, Wisconsin Taylor Decker, Ohio State PENALTIES-Yards ...... 70-601 . . . . . 64-550 TE Maxx Williams, Minneosta Jeff Heuerman, Ohio State Average Per Game ...... 50.1 ...... 45.8 K Brad Croddock, Maryland Sam Ficken, Penn State PUNTS-Yards ...... 73-3228 . . . . .57-2242 Average Per Punt ...... 44.2 ...... 39.3 DL Shilique Calhoun, MSU Carl Davis, Iowa Net punt average ...... 40.3 ...... 34.2 DL Randy Gregory, Nebraska Drew Ott, Iowa TIME OF POSSESSION/Game ...... 27:06 ...... 32:54 DL JOEY BOSA, Ohio State Andre Monroe, Maryland 3RD-DOWN Conversions ...... 64/171 . . . . . 82/188 DL Anthony Zettel, Penn State Michael Benett, Ohio State 3rd-Down Pct ...... 37% ...... 44% LB Jake Ryan, Michigan Joshua Perry, Ohio State 4TH-DOWN Conversions ...... 4/11 ...... 14/26 LB Damien Wilson, Minnesota Vince Biegel, Wisconsin 4th-Down Pct ...... 36% ...... 54% LB Mike Hull, Penn State Derek Landisch, Wisconsin SACKS BY-Yards ...... 21-130 . . . . . 31-196 DB William Likely, Maryland Nate Gerry, Nebraska MISC YARDS ...... 0 ...... 9 DB Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Minn. Nick Van Hoose, Northwestern TOUCHDOWNS SCORED ...... 43 ...... 51 DB Kurtis Drummond, MSU Doran Grant, Ohio State FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS ...... 7-13 ...... 15-20 DB Trae Waynes, Michigan State Michael Caputo, Wisconsin ON-SIDE KICKS ...... 2-3 ...... 0-3 P Peter Mortell, Minneosta Justin DuVernois, Illinois RED-ZONE SCORES ...... (35-47) 74% . . . (43-48) 90% RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS ...... (28-47) 58% . . . (33-48) 69% Illinois Honorable Mention: Taylor Barton, V’Angelo Bentley, Ted Karras, PAT-ATTEMPTS ...... (38-41) 93% . . (48-48) 100% Mason Monheim ATTENDANCE ...... 290,842 . . . . .372,019 Games/Avg Per Game ...... 7/41,549 . . . . .5/74,404 Graham-George Off. Player of the Year: Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin Neutral Site Games ...... 0/0 Nagurski-Woodson D. Player of the Year: Joey Bosa, Ohio State Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year: J.T. Barrett, Ohio State SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total Dave McClain Coach of the Year: Jerry Kill, Minnesota Illinois 85 57 63 114 0 319 Opponents 88 123 103 93 0 407 * - Additional honorees due to tie CAPS - unanimous selection

58 // fightingillini.com // @IlliniFootball // #ILLINI 2014 In Review // 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing gP att gain Loss Net aVg TD Long Avg/G Punt Returns No YdS aVg td Long Ferguson, Josh 12 139 749 64 685 4.9 8 75 57.1 Bentley, V’Angelo 12 123 10.2 0 40 Young, Donovonn 12 88 372 11 361 4.1 5 21 30.1 Mosely, Darius 7 49 7.0 0 14 O’Toole, Reilly 12 77 364 103 261 3.4 1 28 21.8 Dudek, Mike 1 4 4.0 0 4 Bailey, Aaron 5 32 156 36 120 3.8 1 29 24.0 Total...... 21 191 9.1 0 40 Davis, Jon 12 10 30 2 28 2.8 0 7 2.3 Opponents...... 20 163 8.1 0 28 Dudek, Mike 12 5 30 7 23 4.6 0 27 1.9 Church, Devin 10 9 27 14 13 1.4 0 7 1.3 Interceptions No YdS aVg td Long Team 7 4 0 6 -6 -1.5 0 0 -0.9 Monheim, Mason 2 52 26.0 1 49 Lunt, Wes 7 16 5 85 -80 -5.0 0 5 -11.4 Thomas III, Earnest 1 0 0.0 0 0 Total...... 12 380 1733 328 1405 3.7 15 75 117.1 Spence, Eaton 1 15 15.0 0 15 Opponents...... 12 586 3285 290 2995 5.1 28 72 249.6 Bentley, V’Angelo 1 45 45.0 1 45 Barton, Taylor 1 77 77.0 1 77 Passing gP EFF comp-Att-Int Pct Yds TD Long Avg/G Neal Jr., T.J. 1 14 14.0 0 14 Lunt, Wes 7 143.53 149-233-3 63.9 1729 14 62 247.0 Total...... 7 203 29.0 3 77 O’Toole, Reilly 12 120.85 98-167-7 58.7 1049 9 58 87.4 Opponents...... 11 203 18.5 1 54 Bailey, Aaron 5 100.96 11-22-1 50.0 118 1 24 23.6 Dudek, Mike 12 284.80 1-1-0 100.0 22 0 22 1.8 Kick Returns No YdS aVg td Long Ferguson, Josh 12 0.00 0-0-0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 Bentley, V’Angelo 29 626 21.6 0 67 Total...... 12 132.7 259-423-11 61.2 2918 24 62 243.2 Mosley, Darius 4 43 10.8 0 18 Opponents...... 12 136.01 200-342-7 58.5 2577 19 80 214.8 White, Tyler 2 26 13.0 0 17 LaCosse, Matt 1 6 6.0 0 6 Receiving gP No YdS aVg td Long aVg/G Clary, Tim 1 11 11.0 0 11 Dudek, Mike 12 69 965 14.0 6 56 80.4 Total...... 37 712 19.2 0 67 Ferguson, Josh 12 44 373 8.5 2 42 31.1 Opponents...... 23 553 24.0 1 89 Allison, Geronimo 11 37 256 14.2 5 60 47.8 Young, Donovonn 12 20 94 4.7 0 24 7.8 Fumble Returns No YdS aVg td Long Barr, Martize 11 19 249 13.1 3 30 22.6 Bentley, V’Angelo 2 18 9.0 1 12 Turner, Malik 12 19 172 9.1 1 20 14.3 Ward, Jihad 1 0 0.0 0 0 Hardee, Justin 12 18 230 12.8 1 62 19.2 Fejedelem, Clayton 1 16 16.0 0 16 LaCosse, Matt 12 12 43 3.6 0 8 9.8 Phillips, Carroll 1 3 3.0 0 3 Davis, Jon 12 13 137 10.5 2 25 11.4 Total...... 5 37 7.4 1 16 Church, Devin 10 3 21 7.0 0 20 2.1 Opponents...... 2 147 73.5 2 95 White, Tyler 12 2 17 8.5 1 13 1.4 Murdock, Marchie 4 1 17 17.0 0 17 4.2 FG Sequence Illinois Opponents Total...... 12 259 2918 11.3 24 62 243.2 Youngstown State - (33),(29),(36) Opponents...... 12 200 2577 12.9 19 80 214.8 Western Kentucky 50,34 (41), (19) Washington (25) (20),(25),(51) Texas State (19) 45 Scoring td FGs Kick Rush Rcv PaSS dXP Saf Pts Nebraska - (29),54 Ferguson, Josh 10 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 60 Purdue 30 (20) Reisner, David 0 5-9 22-24 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 37 Wisconsin - 47, (44) Dudek, Mike 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 0 0 36 Minnesota - (44), 40 Young, Donovonn 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 30 Ohio State 47 (44), (26) Allison, Geronimo 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 30 Iowa - 46 Zalewski, Taylor 0 2-4 16-17 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 22 Penn State (28),(25), 50, (36) - Barr, Martize 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 18 Northwestern (33),36,(33) (34) LaCosse, Matt 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 18 -Numbers in (parentheses) indicate field goal was made Bentley, V’Angelo 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 12 Davis, Jon 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 12 Barton, Taylor 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 6 Monheim, Mason 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 6 Hardee, Justin 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 6 White, Tyler 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 6 Bailey, Aaron 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 6 Total...... 43 7-13 38-41 0-0 0 0-2 0 1 319 Opponents...... 51 15-20 48-48 1-1 2 0-0 0 2 407

Field Goals FGM-FGA Pct 01-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-99 Long bLK Zalewski, Taylor 2-4 50.0 0-0 1-1 1-2 1-4 0-1 33 0 Reisner, David 5-9 55.6 1-1 2-2 2-4 0-1 0-1 36 1

Punting No YdS aVg Long tb FC I20 50+ Blk DuVernois, Justin 72 3194 44.4 74 6 16 9 19 0 Frain, Ryan 1 34 34.0 34 0 1 0 0 0 Total...... 73 3228 44.2 74 6 17 19 19 0 Opponents...... 57 2242 39.3 70 5 11 15 6 1

#ILLINI // @IlliniFootball // fightingillini.com // 59 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide // 2014 In Review INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Total oFFENSE g Plays Rush PaSS totaL aVg/G All PurpoSE g Rush Rec PR KOR IR tot aVg. Lunt, Wes 7 249 -80 1729 1649 235.6 Ferguson, Josh 12 685 373 0 37 0 1058 88.2 O’Toole, Reilly 12 244 261 1049 1310 109.2 Dudek, Mike 12 23 965 4 0 0 992 82.7 Ferguson, Josh 12 139 685 0 685 57.1 Bentley, V’Angelo 11 0 0 123 626 45 794 72.2 Young, Donovonn 12 88 361 0 361 30.1 Allison, Geronimo 11 0 526 0 0 0 526 47.8 Young, Donovonn 12 361 94 0 0 0 455 37.9 Bailey, Aaron 5 54 120 118 238 47.6 O’Toole, Reilly 12 261 0 0 0 0 261 21.8 Dudek, Mike 12 6 23 22 45 3.8 Barr, Martize 11 0 249 0 0 0 249 22.6 Davis, Jon 12 10 28 0 28 2.3 Hardee, Justin 12 0 230 0 0 0 230 19.2 Church, Devin 10 9 13 0 13 1.3 Turner, Malik 12 0 172 0 0 0 172 14.3 TEAM 7 4 -6 0 -6 -0.9 Davis, Jon 12 28 137 0 0 0 165 13.8 Total...... 12 803 1405 2918 4323 360.2 LaCosse, Matt 12 0 117 0 6 0 123 10.2 Opponents...... 12 928 2995 2577 5572 464.3 Hardee, Justin 12 0 95 0 0 0 95 7.9 Bailey, Aaron 5 120 0 0 0 0 120 24.0 Mosley, Darius 12 0 0 49 43 0 92 7.7 Kickoffs No YdS aVg tb ob RT Net Ydln Barton, Taylor 11 0 0 0 0 77 77 7.0 Zalewski, Taylor 46 2848 61.9 27 2 Monheim, Mason 12 0 0 0 0 52 52 4.3 Reisner, David 10 590 59.0 5 1 White, Tyler 12 0 17 0 0 0 17 4.2 Frain, David 4 217 54.2 1 1 Church, Devin 10 13 21 0 0 0 34 3.4 Total...... 60 3655 60.9 33 4 24.0 38.0 27 Murdock, Marchie 4 0 17 0 0 0 17 4.2 Opponents...... 74 4344 58.7 34 3 19.2 37.6 27 Spence, Eaton 12 0 0 0 0 15 15 1.2 Neal Jr., T.J. 12 0 0 0 0 14 14 1.2 Clary, Tim 12 0 0 0 11 0 11 0.9 TEAM 7 -6 0 15 0 0 9 1.3 Total...... 12 1405 2918 191 712 203 5429 452.4 Opponents...... 12 2995 2577 163 553 203 6491 540.9

CHARTING THE ILLINI LONGEST DRIVES DRIVES ILLINOIS OPPONENT by # of plays 14 (64 yards, 5:16, missed FG vs. Purdue) 18 (99 yards, 5:58, TD) WKU by # of yards 89 (12 plays, 4:13, TD vs. Iowa) 99 (18 plays, 5:58, TD) WKU Time of Possession 5:39 (9 plays, 35 yards, Punt at Wisconsin) 7:23 (16 plays, 74 yards, FG) Purdue

RED ZONE STATS (inside the 20) ILLINOIS OPPONENT FIELD POSITION ILLINOIS OPPONENT Times inside the 20 47 48 Drives Started 160 162 Total Scores 35 43 Cumulative Starting Yardlines 4,960 4,778 Touchdowns 28 33 Average Starting Field Position 31.0 29.5 Field Goals 7 10 Times Started Inside the 20 28 29 Lost on Downs or Turnovers 7 4 Drives Started in Plus Territory 20 17 Lost on Missed Field Goals 4 0 End of Game or Half 1 1 POINTS AFTER TURNOVERS ILLINOIS oPPONENT Scoring Percentage .745 .896 Turnovers Forced 18 20 Scoring Percentage (TDs only) .596 .688 Total Scores 11 14 Percent of Total Drives .294 .296 Scoring Percentage .611 .700 Points off Turnovers 69 (9 TD, 2 FG) 82 (10 TD, 4 FG)

HIGHEST SCORING QUARTERS 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH OT FINAL 2014 season 14, PUR/WIS/MIN 13, N’western 13, Purdue 21, YSU & WKU -- 47, N’western Beckman Era 14, PUR/WIS/MIN(’14) 22, SIU (’13) 17, C. Southern (’12) 21, YSU & WKU (’14) -- 47, N’western (’14)

60 // fightingillini.com // @IlliniFootball // #ILLINI 2014 In Review // 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide DEFENSIVE STATISTICS

|------Tackles------| |-Sacks-| |-----Pass Def-----| |----Fumbles----| No dEFENSIVE LeadERS gP ut at total For Loss No- Yds Int-YdS bRuP QBH Rcv-Yds FF bLKd Kick SAF 43 Monheim, Mason 12 42 66 108 6.5-16 1.0-4 2-52 2 . 1-0 4 . . 21 Petty, Zane 12 46 58 104 1.5-3 . . 8 . . . . . 38 Barton, Taylor 11 42 54 96 0.5-1 . 1-77 2 . . 2 . . 52 Neal Jr., T.J. 12 27 66 93 5.5-15 . 1-14 3 2 . 1 . . 9T Thomas III, Earnest 12 27 66 93 9.5-39 4.5-25 1-0 . 2 . 1 . . 27 Spence, Eaton 12 27 27 54 1.0-1 - 1-15 6 . 1-0 . . . 44 Teitsma, Austin 12 25 27 52 9.5-23 3.0-12 . 4 . . . . . 20 Fejedelem, Clayton 12 25 23 48 1.0-2 . . 2 . 1-16 - . . 17 Ward, Jihad 12 18 30 38 7.5-44 3.0-30 . . 2 . . . . 2 Bentley, V’Angelo 11 19 25 44 3.5-7 . 1-45 1 . 2-18 . . . 91 Smoot, Dawuane 12 15 14 29 6.0-25 2.5-18 - 2 3 . . . . 90 Woods, DeJazz 12 7 22 29 4.0-14 2.0-11 . - 1 . . . . 24 Mosely, Darius 12 18 10 28 2.0-9 . . 2 . 1-0 . . . 96 Bain, Rob 12 12 14 26 3.0-8 1.0-0 . . 1 1-7 . . . 42 Cooper, Ralph 12 7 18 25 0.5-1 . 1-6 2 1 . . . . 99 Clements, Jarrod 12 10 14 24 6.0-13 2.0-7 . 2 1 1-0 1 . . 14 Finney, Eric 12 4 15 19 1.0-1 . 1 . . . . . 22 Walls, LaKeith 12 10 7 17 1.0-9 1.0-9 ...... 7 Day, Caleb 11 11 4 15 . . . 1 . . . . . 33 Grimes, Zepheniah 12 6 5 11 0.5-1 ...... 1L Little, Jevaris 12 6 3 9 1.0-4 ...... 93 Powell, Teko 3 2 6 8 ...... 95 Howe, Jake 12 1 6 7 ...... 6P Phillips, Carroll 7 4 2 6 1.0-6 1.0-6 . . 2 1-3 . . . 98 Fotu, Joe 7 5 1 6 ...... 58 Nelson, Kenny 5 5 1 6 3.0-12 1.0-8 ...... 37 Kwaaning, Davontay 11 2 3 5 . . . . 1 . . . . 19 Hardee, Justin 12 . 4 4 ...... 8C Cazley, Dillan 12 3 1 4 ...... 10 Bello, B.J. 8 . 3 3 ...... 56 Martin, Michael 12 1 1 2 ...... 6 Ferguson, Josh 12 2 . 2 ...... 74 Heitz, Michael 12 1 . 1 ...... 1Z Zalewski, Taylor 11 1 . 1 ...... 9 Barr, Martize 11 1 . 1 ...... 86 Turner, Malik 12 1 . 1 ...... 3 Davis, Jon 12 1 . 1 ...... 18D Dudek, Mike 12 1 . 1 ...... TM TEAM 7 1 . 1 ...... 1 1 67 DiLauro, Christian 11 1 . 1 ...... 39 Echard, Nathan 11 . 1 1 ...... 97 James III, Paul 4 . 1 1 ...... Total...... 12 443 558 1001 76-255 21-130 7-203 34 16 11-37 11 1 1 Opponents...... 12 434 338 772 89-351 31-196 11-203 37 28 9-147 9 1 2

#ILLINI // @IlliniFootball // fightingillini.com // 61 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide // 2014 In Review Team Game-By-Game Statistics Rushing Passing Passing Total time Team Score First Downs att-Yd-TD C-A-Int-TD Yards offense Punt Fumbles Penalties Poss Illinois 28 14 22-78-0 24-38-0-4 285 363 7-270 3-1 7-55 19:59 vs. Youngstown State 17 19 59-203-1 11-24-0-0 177 380 8-268 0-0 5-25 40:01 ------Illinois 42 28 35-64-2 35-50-1-3 456 520 1-52 4-2 9-69 35:06 vs. Western Kentucky 34 23 30-103-1 28-48-1-2 297 400 4-155 4-2 5-24 24:54 ------Illinois 19 15 26-72-0 20-31-1-2 279 351 7-362 2-2 11-110 25:47 at Washington 44 25 58-245-2 16-22-0-1 219 464 4-140 3-1 8-73 34:13 ------Illinois 42 21 27-219-3 25-39-1-2 266 485 7-310 0-0 4-19 22:19 vs. Texas State 35 26 52-139-1 29-43-1-4 336 475 8-380 1-0 8-63 37:41 ------Illinois 14 16 24-78-1 17-38-3-1 261 339 8-338 0-0 7-53 20:24 at Nebraska 45 35 70-458-5 10-21-1-1 166 624 3-113 2-1 8-70 39:36 ------Illinois 27 26 25-65-2 36-53-1-2 450 515 2-83 1-1 2-20 27:20 vs. Purdue 38 19 45-349-4 15-20-0-1 202 551 4-174 1-0 6-64 32:40 ------Illinois 28 20 39-153-2 14-24-1-2 135 288 7-334 0-0 4-50 27:39 at Wisconsin 38 22 47-401-5 10-18-0-0 97 498 5-192 0-0 4-53 32:21 ------Illinois 28 16 41-123-2 15-23-0-1 140 263 9-438 2-1 4-36 31:25 vs. Minnesota 24 19 41-171-2 12-30-1-1 240 411 6-265 2-2 4-30 28:35 ------Illinois 14 15 42-106-1 13-27-2-1 137 243 4-179 3-2 5-50 29:17 at Ohio State 55 28 44-296-3 20-34-0-4 249 545 1-35 1-1 6-56 30:43 ------Illinois 14 12 25-88-0 17-31-0-2 147 235 8-319 1-0 8-59 24:14 vs. Iowa 30 26 55-304-1 17-24-0-3 283 587 2-63 3-1 1-10 35:46 ------Illinois 16 16 27-68-0 26-42-0-1 215 283 8-330 0-0 3-30 27:09 vs. Penn State 14 15 47-172-1 8-16-0-1 93 265 7-274 1-1 5-34 32:51 ------Illinois 47 23 47-291-2 17-28-1-3 147 438 5-213 0-0 6-50 34:37 at Northwestern 33 19 38-154-2 24-42-3-1 218 372 5-183 2-2 4-48 25:23 ------

Illinois Game-By-Game starters OFFENSIVE STARTERS GAME LT LG C RG RT QB RB WR WR WR tE Youngstown St. S. Cvijanovic Heitz Hill Karras Flavin Lunt Ferguson Allison Barr Hardee Davis W. Kentucky S. Cvijanovic Hill Spencer Karras Heitz Lunt Ferguson Allison LaCosse (TE) Hardee Davis Washington S. Cvijanovic Hill Spencer Karras Heitz Lunt Dudek (WR) Allison Barr Hardee Davis Texas State S. Cvijanovic Hill Spencer Karras Heitz Lunt Ferguson Dudek Turner Hardee Davis Nebraska S. Cvijanovic Hill Spencer Karras Heitz O’Toole Ferguson Allison Dudek Hardee Barr (WR) Purdue S. Cvijanovic Heitz Spencer Karras Flavin Lunt Ferguson Allison Dudek LaCosse (TE) Davis Wisconsin S. Cvijanovic Heitz Spencer Karras DiLauro O’Toole Ferguson Allison Hardee LaCosse (TE) Davis Minnesota S. Cvijanovic Heitz Spencer Karras DiLauro O’Toole Young Allison Hardee Dudek Church (RB) Ohio State S. Cvijanovic Heitz Spencer Karras DiLauro O’Toole Ferguson Allison Hardee Dudek Turner (WR) Iowa A. Schmidt Heitz Hill Spencer DiLauro Lunt Ferguson Allison LaCosse (TE) Dudek Davis Penn State A. Schmidt Heitz Spencer Hill DiLauro Lunt Young Allison Turner Dudek Davis Northwestern A. Schmidt Heitz Hill Spencer DiLauro O’Toole Young Allison Turner Dudek LaCosse Consecutive 3 12 3 11 6 1 2 8 2 5 1 Career 3 43 23 13 6 7 16 11 4 9 15

DEFENSIVE STARTERS GAME dE dt dt LEO WLb mLB STAR CB SS FS cb Youngstown St. Ward Teitsma Powell Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Petty Barton Spence W. Kentucky Ward Teitsma Powell Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Petty Barton Spence Washington Ward Teitsma Powell Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Little Barton Spence Texas State Ward Teitsma Clements Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Petty Barton Spence Nebraska Ward Teitsma Clements Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Petty Barton Spence Purdue Ward Teitsma Bain Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Petty Barton Spence Wisconsin Ward Teitsma Bain Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Petty Barton Spence Minnesota Ward Teitsma Clements Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Petty Barton Spence Ohio State Ward Teitsma Bain Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Petty Barton Spence Iowa Ward Teitsma Bain Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Bentley Petty Barton Spence Penn State Ward Teitsma Bain Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Mosely Petty Barton Spence Northwestern Ward Teitsma Bain Woods Monheim Neal Jr. Thomas III Mosely Petty Fejedelem Spence Consecutive 12 24 4 12 34 12 28 2 9 1 24 Career 12 24 6 12 34 12 33 5 18 1 26

62 // fightingillini.com // @IlliniFootball // #ILLINI 2014 In Review // 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide THE LAST TIME Punt return for TD: Jeremy Maclin (66 yards), Missouri, 9/2/2007 An Illinois Player Had ... Two 65-plus yard TD passes in the same game: Kickoff return for TD: S. Vault (89 yards), Northwestern, 11/29/2014 N. Scheelhaase, 77 & 67 yds to A.J. Jenkins at Indiana, 10/8/11 INT return for TD: Shaq Thompson (36 yards), Washington, 9/13/2014 Rushing 10+ consecutive completions in a game: Blocked Punt for a TD: Ben Kuznia (3 yards), Minnesota, 11/7/2009 250 yards rushing: Nathan Scheelhaase (15) vs. Northwestern, 11/30/2013 Fumble recovery for TD: Shaq Thompson (52 yards), Washington, 330, Mikel Leshoure vs. Northwestern, 11/20/2010 Non-QB with passing TD: Josh Ferguson vs. Penn State, 9/29/12 9/13/2014 200 yards rushing: Scored on a Safety: Louis Trinca-Pasat sack (intentional grounding 330, Mikel Leshoure vs. Northwestern, 11/20/2010 on Wes Lunt), Iowa, 11/15/2014 150 yards rushing: Defense 190, Josh Ferguson vs. Texas State, 9/20/2014 20 Tackles: J Leman (20) vs. Missouri, 9/1/2007 Mike Gow (4) vs. Stanford, 9/21/74 125 yards rushing: 4 interceptions: An Illinois Team Had ... 147, Reilly O’Toole at Northwestern, 11/29/2014 3 interceptions: Eugene Wilson (3) vs. Penn State, 11/10/2001 80 points: 87 vs. Illinois Wesleyan (87-3), 10/5/1912 Trulon Henry (2) vs. Ohio State, 10/2/2010 79 vs. Illinois State (79-6), 9/16/1944 100 yards rushing: 2 interceptions: 70 points: 147, Reilly O’Toole at Northwestern, 11/29/2014 3+ sacks in a game: Whitney Mercilus (3.0) at Indiana, 10/8/2011 60 points: 65 at Michigan (65-67), 11/6/2010 Austin Teitsma (3.5) vs. Texas State, 9/20/2014 50 vs. Miami (Ohio) (50-14), 9/28/2013 Back-to-back 175 yard rushing games: 3+ TFLs in a game: 50 points: Rashard Mendenhall (189 vs. Ball State, 10/27/2007 & 201 3+ PBUs in a game: Eaton Spence (3) vs. Iowa, 11/15/2014 40 points: 47 at Northwestern (47-33), 11/29/2014 at Minnesota, 11/3/2007) Interception by a lineman: 30 points: 47 at Northwestern (47-33), 11/29/2014 Michael Buchanan vs. Western Michigan, 9/1/2012 at Michigan (0-45), 10/13/2012 Three consecutive 100-yard rushing games: 0 points: Mikel Leshoure, 11/6/2010-12/29/2010 (5 games) Interception return for TD: 0 points in 1st half: at Ohio State (14-55), 11/1/2014 Mason Monheim (49 yards) at Northwestern, 11/29/2014 at Nebraska (14-45), 9/27/2014 Five consecutive 100-yard rushing games: 0 points in 2nd half: Mikel Leshoure, 11/6/2010-12/29/2010 (5 games) Two players with interception returns for TD in a game: Did Not Score a Touchdown: vs. Michigan State (3-42), 10/26/13 Pat Nixon-Youman (68 yards) vs. Indiana, 10/23/2010 & 519 vs. Northwestern, 11/20/2010 2 rushers with 175 yards: 400 rushing yards: Rocky Harvey (215), Steve Havard (175) vs. Jonathan Brown (66 yards) vs. Indiana, 10/23/2010 300 rushing yards: 308 at Indiana, 10/8/2011 Middle Tennessee, 9/12/1998 Fumble recovery for TD: 200 rushing yards: 291 at Northwestern, 11/29/2014 V’Angelo Bentley (12 yards) vs. Minnesota, 10/25/2014 68 vs. Penn State, 11/22/2014 2 rushers with 100 yds: Less Than 100 rushing yards: T. Pollard (133), D. Young (100) vs. Western Michigan, 9/24/2011 Scored on a safety: Negative yards net rushing: -27 vs. Arizona, 9/18/1993 at Washington (UW punter fumbled out of end zone), 9/13/2014 80+ yard rushing play: 400 passing yards: 450 vs. Purdue, 10/4/2014 80, Daniel Dufrene at Ohio State, 11/10/2007 Defensive extra point: 300 passing yards: 450 vs. Purdue, 10/4/2014 Kevin Mitchell (75 yards) at Ohio State, 11/5/2005 70+ yard rushing play: Less than 100 passing yards: 96 at Ohio State, 11/3/2012 75, Josh Ferguson vs. Texas State, 9/20/2014 4 TD catches by tight ends: 4 vs. Miami (Ohio), 9/28/2013 Two 40+ runs in one quarter: Total Offense/All-Purpose 700 total net yards: 723 vs. Illinois-Normal, 9/16/44 82 and 47 (1st), Antioneo Harris vs. Purdue, 10/12/2002 500 yds. total offense: 503, Juice Williams vs. Minnesota, 600 total net yards: 612 at Indiana, 11/9/2013 True-freshman rushed for 100-yards in first career game: 10/11/2008 500 total net yards: 515 vs. Purdue, 10/4/2014 E.B. Halsey, 139 yards vs. Missouri, 8/30/2003 400 yds. total offense: 439, Wes Lunt vs. WKU, 9/6/2014 400 total net yards: 438 at Northwestern, 11/29/2014 40 rushing attempts: 300-100 (passing-rushing): 431 (310-121), Juice Williams at Less Than 100 total net yards: 78 at Wisconsin, 10/8/1977 40, Antoineo Harris at Wisconsin, 11/9/2002 Michigan, 10/4/2008 Consecutive games, 500 total net yards: 30 rushing attempts: 300 all-purpose yards: 328, A.J. Jenkins vs. N’western, 10/1/2011 at Michigan (501, 10/4/2008), vs. Minnesota (550, 33, Mikel Leshoure vs. Northwestern, 11/20/2010 200 all-purpose yards: 200, Mike Dudek vs. Purdue, 10/4/2014 10/11/2008), vs. Indiana (563, 10/18/2008) 2 rushers with 2 TDs: 3 Total TDs: Josh Ferguson (3 – 2 rush, 1 rec) vs. Texas St., 9/20/2014 Kicked five field goals: 5 vs. Wisconsin, 10/20/2001 N. Scheelhaase (2) & D Young (2) vs. SDSU, 9/10/2011 A Shutout: Charleston Southern (44-0), 9/15/2012 8 TDs rushing: Howard Griffith (8) vs. Southern Illinois, 9/22/1990 Special Teams 9 or more sacks in a game: 9 at Purdue, 11/3/2001 4 TDs rushing: Antoineo Harris (4) vs. Indiana, 10/27/2002 5 field goals: Doug Higgins vs. Michigan State, 10/20/1990 6 or more sacks in a game: 6 vs. Arizona State, 9/17/2011 3 TDs rushing: Mikel Leshoure (3) vs. Baylor, 12/29/2010 4 field goals: Derek Dimke (4) at Penn State, 10/9/2010 15 or more TFL in a game: 15 vs. San Jose St., 9/21/2002 2 TDs rushing: Josh Ferguson (2) vs. Texas State, 9/20/2014 3 field goals: David Reisner (3) vs. Penn State, 11/22/2014 10 or more TFL in a game: 11 vs. Minnesota, 10/25/2014 2 TDs rushing by a QB: Nathan Scheelhaase (2) vs. SDSU, 9/10/2011 2 field goals: David Reisner (3) vs. Penn State, 11/22/2014 Missed Extra Point Kick: at Northwestern, 11/29/2014 Made 50+ yard field goal: Successful Two-Point Conversion: vs. Ohio State, 11/16/2013 Receiving Taylor Zalewski (54) vs. Purdue, 11/17/2012 2 Successful Two-Point Conversions: at Ohio State (2), 11/3/2012 Forced 5 or more turnovers: 5 at Northwestern, 11/29/2014 200 yards receiving: Blocked a Punt: Team vs. Youngstown State, 8/30/2014 Turned ball over 5 or more times: 6 vs. Louisiana Tech, 9/22/2012 200, Mike Dudek vs. Purdue, 10/4/2014 Blocked Punt for a Touchdown: 10+ Passes Broken Up: 11 vs. Illinois State, 9/12/2009 150 yards receiving: Vontae Davis (2 yards) vs. Missouri, 9/1/2007 Blocked two kicks in same game: 2 at Purdue, 10/4/2003 200, Mike Dudek vs. Purdue, 10/4/2014 Blocked Two Field Goals: Terrell Washington vs. NIU, 9/8/2001 Blocked two punts in the same game: 2 vs. Indiana, 10/23/2010 100 yards receiving: Blocked a Field Goal: V’Angelo Bentley vs. PSU, 9/29/2012 Entire game without punting: vs. Miami (Ohio), 9/28/2013 115, Mike Dudek vs. Penn State, 11/22/2014 Blocked a PAT: Clay Nurse at Fresno State, 12/3/2010 No penalties committed: vs. Arkansas State, 9/3/2011 2 receivers with 100 yards receiving: Punt return for TD: V’Angelo Bentley (67 yards) vs. OSU, 11/16/2013 No turnovers given up: vs. Iowa, 11/15/2014 Ryan Lankford (115) & Josh Ferguson (103) vs. Southern Illinois, Kickoff return for TD: No sacks allowed: vs. Cincinnati, 9/7/2013 8/31/2013 V’Angelo Bentley (100 yards) vs. Southern Illinois, 8/31/2013 A successful on-side kick: vs. Penn State, 11/22/2014 70+ yard pass play: Blocked FG returned for TD: Overtime game: Lost to Penn State, 24-17, in 1OT, 11/2/2013 72, R. Lankford from N. Scheelhaase vs. Washington, 9/14/2013 Travis Williams (66 yards) vs. Illinois St., 9/6/2003 A game with a weather delay: vs. Texas State, 9/20/2014 (1:56 delay) 60+ yard pass play: Two-point conversion: 60, Geronimo Allison from Wes Lunt at Washington, 9/13/2014 N. Scheelhaase pass to Miles Osei vs. Ohio State, 11/16/2013 50+ yard pass play: Two two-point conversions in the same game: An Opposing Team had ... 56, Mike Dudek from Reilly O’Toole at Ohio State, 11/1/2014 2 at Ohio State, 11/3/2012 (Russell pass to LaCosse; Russell rush) 200 yards rushing: 304, Iowa, 11/15/2014 304, Iowa, 11/15/2014 10 or more receptions: 300 yards rushing: 10, Josh Ferguson vs. Purdue, 10/4/2014 An Opposing Player had ... Less Than 100 yards rushing: 66, Southern Illinois, 8/31/2013 -6, Western Michigan, 9/1/2012 2 receivers with 2 TDs: 200 yards rushing: 208, Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska, 9/27/2014 Less Than 50 yards rushing: Will Judson and Chris Duvalt vs. Missouri, 8/30/2008 150 yards rushing: 175, Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin, 10/11/2014 Less Than 20 yards rushing: -6, Western Michigan, 9/1/2012 -6, Western Michigan, 9/1/2012 3 TDs receiving: A.J. Jenkins (3) vs. Northwestern, 10/1/2011 Two 100-yard rushers: Negative yards rushing: Missouri, 9/10/1994 An OL caught a pass: M. Gordon (175) and C. Clement (164), Wisconsin, 10/11/2014 One first down: Jeff Allen, (1 rec., 2 yds) vs. Southern Illinois, 9/11/2010 50+ yard rushing play: Zero first downs: Michigan, 10/27/34 336, Texas State, 9/20/2014 An OL scored a TD: 67, David Cobb, Minnesota, 10/25/2014 300 yards passing: Corey Lewis, fumble recovery in end zone at Indiana, 11/9/2013 Two 40+ TD runs in one quarter: 400 yards passing: 414, Northwestern, 11/30/2013 Carlos Hyde (51, 55 in 4th), Ohio State, 11/16/2013 Less Than 100 yards passing: 93, Wisconsin, 11/22/2014 Passing 400 yards passing: 408, Scott Rislov, San Jose State, 9/21/2002 500 total net yards: 587, Iowa, 11/15/2014 600 total net yards: 624, Nebraska, 9/27/2014 600 yards passing: 621, Dave Wilson at Ohio State, 11/8/1980 300 yards passing: 336, Tyler Jones, Texas State, 9/20/2013 700 total net yards: 705, Michigan State, 9/24/2005 500 yards passing: 621, Dave Wilson at Ohio State, 11/8/1980 80+ yard pass play: Less Than 100 total net yards: 96, South Dakota State, 9/10/2011 400 yards passing: 456, Wes Lunt vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/2014 80, Purdue (Austin Appleby to Danny Anthrop), 10/4/2014 Less Than 250 total net yards: 219, UCLA, 12/31/2011 300 yards passing: 332, Wes Lunt vs. Purdue, 10/4/2014 70+ yard pass play: 40 points: 55, Ohio State (55-14), 11/1/2014 Consecutive 300-yard passing games: 80, Purdue (Austin Appleby to Danny Anthrop), 10/4/2014 50 points: 55, Ohio State (55-14), 11/1/2014 Nathan Scheelhaase at Penn State (321, 11/2/2013) and at 50+ yard pass play: 60 points: 60, Ohio State (60-35), 11/16/2013 Indiana (450, 11/9/2013) 53, Iowa (C.J. Beathard to Jake Duzey), 11/15/2014 70 points: 70, Michigan (70-21), 11/7/1981 Three consecutive 300-yard passing games: 200 yds. in receptions: 246, Roy Roundtree, Michigan, 11/6/2010 A Shutout: Michigan (45-0), 10/13/2012 Jason Verduzco vs East Carolina (352,8/31/1991), at Missouri 150 yds. in receptions: 189, Cody Latimer, Indiana, 11/9/2013 Did Not Score in Game: Charleston Southern (0-44), 9/15/2012 (431, 9/14/1991) and vs. Houston (341, 9/21/1991) 100 yds. in receptions: 110, Jake Duzey, Iowa, 11/15/2014 Did Not Score a Touchdown: Charleston Southern (0-44), 9/15/2012 6 TDs passing: Dave Wilson at Ohio State, 11/8/1980 Two 100-yard receivers: 182, Chirstian Jones & 112, Rashad Law- Scoreless Half: (First) Miami (Ohio) (14-50), 9/28/2013 5 TDs passing: Nathan Scheelhaase (5) vs. Miami (OH), 9/28/2013 rence, Northwestern, 11/30/2013 Missed PAT: Ohio State, 11/16/2013 4 TDs passing: Wes Lunt (4) vs. Youngstown State, 8/30/2014 4 Field Goals: Dan Conroy, Michigan State, 10/16/2010 Successful Two-Point Conversion: Northwestern (2), 11/29/2014 3 TDs passing: Reilly O’Toole (3) at Northwestern, 11/29/2014 Three 50+ yard field goals: Tim Douglas (51, 58, 51), Iowa, 9/26/1998 Def. Scored All Points in Victory: Arizona, 16 points, 9/18/1993 #ILLINI // @IlliniFootball // fightingillini.com // 63 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide // 2014 In Review GAME SUMMARIES

GAME 1 Youngstown State ��17 Illinois ��28 Aug. 30, 2014 Memorial Stadium // Champaign, Ill. // 36,234

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Youngstown State 3 3 3 8 17 Illinois 0 7 0 21 28

Scoring Summary First Quarter YSU: Cejudo 33 yard field goal, 0:00 (10-33, 4:31)

Second Quarter ILL: Davis 8 yard pass from Lunt (Zalewski kick), 13:15 (4-33, 1:45) YSU: Cejudo 29 yard field goal, 0:00 (11-75, 3:52)

Third Quarter YSU: Cejudo 36 yard field goal, 9:18 (12-54, 5:42)

Fourth Quarter ILL: Dudek 8 yard pass from Lunt (Zalewski kick), 13:58 (6-35, 1:16) YSU: Ruiz 2 yard run (Nania rush), 10:57 (7-75, 3:01) ILL: Ferguson 15 yard pass from Lunt (Zalewski kick), 8:50 (6-79, 2:07) ILL: M. Barr 29 yard pass from Lunt (Zalewski kick), 2:33 (10-67, 3:55)

TEAM STATISTICS Category...... YSU...... ILL First Downs ...... 19...... 14 Oklahoma State transfer QB Wes Lunt threw four touchdown passes in his Illinois debut. Rushes-Yards...... 59-203...... 22-78 Passing Yards ...... 177...... 285 Comp-Att-Int...... 11-24-0...... 24-38-0 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - It took a while but new quarterback Wes Lunt delivered a come-from-behind 28-17 win Total Yards...... 380...... 363 Saturday for Illinois over Youngstown State in a season opener. Punts-Avg ...... 8-33.5...... 7-38.6 Kickoff Returns...... 1-27...... 2-87 Penalties-Yards...... 5-25...... 7-55 Lunt threw three late touchdowns for Illinois. The second was a 15-yarder to running back Josh Ferguson that Fumbles-Lost...... 0-0...... 3-1 Sacks By...... 1-7...... 3-17 put Illinois up for good 21-17. Third-down Conv...... 5-19...... 8-15 Time of Possession...... 40:01...... 19:59 Lunt finished the day 24-of-38 for 285 yards and four touchdowns. He used nine different receivers. INDIVIDUAL Leaders Lunt’s highly anticipated debut after his transfer from Oklahoma State started slowly. The Illini had seven first RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): YSU - Ruiz 32-116-1, Nania 12-46, Webb 6-26, Moore 5-6, Stubbs 3-6, Hymes 1-3. ILL - Ferguson 11-42, Young 9-39, Lunt downs by halftime and clung to a 7-6 lead. 1-(-1), Team 1-(-2). PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): YSU - Nania 11-24-0-0-177. ILL - Lunt 24-38-0-4-285. The Penguins took a 17-14 lead with 10:57 left in the game on a 2-yard Brian Ruiz touchdown and a 2-point RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): YSU - Berassa 4-39, Webb 2-56, Stubbs 2-12, A. conversion by quarterback Dante Nania. Williams 1-61, Ruiz 1-6, Adams 1-3. ILL - Turner 4-42, Ferguson 4-37-1, Dudek 3-61-1, Davis 3-24-1, Young 3-9, Allison 2-43, M. Barr 2-40-1, Hardee 2-16, LaCosse 1-13. Ruiz finished with 32 carries for 116 yards and one touchdown. Nania was 11-of-24 for 177 yards. Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): YSU - Smith 8; Childs 6; Nwadiogbu 6, 1.0-1; Thompson 5; D’Alesio 5. ILL - Monheim 14; Barton 13; Petty 10; Teitsma 9, Illinois’ late salvation came on Lunt’s arm and two of those touchdowns. 2.5-7; Bentley 7; Neal Jr. 7; Thomas III 6, 2.0-7; Spence 6; Cooper 6. GAME NOTES The first one required the kind of luck that might not come along too often. • With the win over Youngstown State, the Illini have won 17 consecutive home openers, the fourth-longest streak in the Big Ten as of this afternoon. Head Leading 9-7 with 4:44 left in the third quarter, Youngstown needed less than a yard for a first down at the coach Tim Beckman is now 3-0 in home openers as head coach at Illinois. • Illinois won its first-ever meeting with YSU and is now 14-0 all-time against 50-yard line. The Penguins lined up to punt but punter Joey Cejudo rolled right on what looked like a fake. FCS teams. Apparently seeing no opening, the senior punter tried a low, rugby punt that hit a teammate in the back. The • Illinois scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, equaling the most points scored ball bounced back toward the goal line, rolling out of bounds at the Youngstown 35. in the final quarter in 32 years since putting up 22 points on Oct. 2, 1982, at Minnesota. The Illini now have posted 21 points in the fourth quarter nine times since 1982. The Illini had the break they needed. • The Illini defense stiffened in the red zone, as it limited the Penguins to three field goals and a touchdown in four trips inside the Illinois 20-yard. On the opposite side of the ball, the UI offense found success in the red zone, earning Lunt came out throwing, driving Illinois to the 8. From there he spotted freshman receiver Mikey Dudek running touchdowns on all three trips. wide open in the right rear of the end zone for an easy touchdown, a lead and, finally, some relief. • UI also held the advantage on third-down conversions (8-of-15, 53.3%) compared to YSU (5-of-19, 26.3%). Illinois was up 14-9 with 13:58 to play, but only briefly. • Illinois wore white helmets in a game for the first time in school history. • Sophomore QB Wes Lunt turned in the best Illini quarterback debut in terms of The Penguins struck back with a 61-yard pass from Nania to Andrew Williams. That set up a 2-yard touchdown passing yards (285) and touchdowns (4) in school history. • Lunt spread the wealth throughout the game, as nine different Illini receivers plunge by Ruiz and a 2-point conversion by Nania that gave the Penguins a 17-14 edge. caught a pass and his four TD passes went to four different receivers. • Newcomers to the Illini receiving corps – Geronimo Allison, Mike Dudek, and But Lunt went to work again, driving the Illini down the field before finding Ferguson in the end zone. Up 21-17, Malik Turner – accounted for nine receptions and 146 yards. • Senior DT Austin Teitsma totaled a career-high nine tackles, including a Illinois finally had a lead that would stick. career-best 2.5 TFLs and half a sack. • Sophomore LB Carroll Phillips registered his first career sack in his Illini debut.

64 // fightingillini.com // @IlliniFootball // #ILLINI 2014 In Review // 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide GAME SUMMARIES

GAME 2 Western Kentucky ��34 Illinois ��42 Sept. 6, 2014 Memorial Stadium // Champaign, Ill. // 38,561

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Western Kentucky 3 14 10 7 34 Illinois 7 7 7 21 42

Scoring Summary First Quarter ILL: Ferguson 1 yard run (Zalewski kick), 11:26 (4-32, 0:53) WKU: Schwettman 41 yard field goal, 5:35 (5-16, 1:23)

Second Quarter WKU: Allen 1 yard run (Schwettman kick), 11:12 (18-99, 5:58) WKU: Higbee 16 yard pass from Doughty (Schwettman kick), 4:15 (8-67, 2:44) ILL: Dudek fumble recovery in end zone (Zalewski kick), 0:41 (11-74, 3:34)

Third Quarter ILL: M. Barr 8 yard pass from Lunt (Zalewski kick), 9:36 (11-65, 5:24) WKU: Terry 95 yard fumble recovery (Schwettman kick), 4:09 WKU: Schwettman 19 yard field goal, 2:00 (4-5, 1:09)

Fourth Quarter ILL: Hardee 62 yard pass from Lunt (Zalewski kick), 12:27 (9-88, 4:33) ILL: Barton 77 yard interception return (Zalewski kick), 10:15 ILL: Young 1 yard run (Zalewski kick), 1:43 (5-21, 2:19) WKU: Grant 14 yard pass from Doughty (Schwettman kick), 0:26 (7-75, 1:17) Much to the chagrin of WKU mascot Big Red, Taylor Barton’s 77-yard pick-six helped the Illini to another comeback win. TEAM STATISTICS CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt threw for three touchdowns and Taylor Barton returned an Category...... WKU...... ILL First Downs ...... 23...... 28 interception for a late score to secure a comeback win over Western Kentucky, 42-34. Rushes-Yards...... 30-103...... 35-64 Passing Yards ...... 297...... 456 Comp-Att-Int...... 28-48-1...... 35-50-1 Lunt was 35 of 50 with one interception for the Illini (2-0). Illinois wide receiver Justin Hardee caught six balls Total Yards...... 400...... 520 for 110 yards and one touchdown. Punts-Avg ...... 4-38.8...... 1-52.0 Kickoff Returns...... 2-33...... 5-98 Penalties-Yards...... 5-24...... 9-69 Barton picked off Hilltopper quarterback Brandon Doughty in the fourth quarter for a 77-yard touchdown that Fumbles-Lost...... 4-2...... 4-2 put Illinois up 35-27. Sacks By...... 1-11...... 2-15 Third-down Conv...... 7-16...... 9-13 Time of Possession...... 24:54...... 35:06 The undefeated start for Illinois looks good in the standings, and Lunt had a big day. INDIVIDUAL Leaders Illinois trailed the Hilltoppers 17-7 in the second quarter and, after taking a 21-17 lead in the third quarter, RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): WKU - Allen 24-118-1, Towner 1-7, Wales 1-3, Doughty 3-(-1), Occhipinti 1-(-24). ILL - Young 14-47-1, Ferguson 14-32-1, gave it right back with a big turnover, a 95-yard fumble return by Western Kentucky cornerback Wonderful Terry. Dudek 1-2, Davis 1-2, Team 1-(-2), Lunt 3-(-17). PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): WKU - Doughty 28-48-1-2-297. ILL - Lunt The good news, aside from the win itself? An Illinois defense that hadn’t forced a turnover in two-plus games 35-50-1-3-456. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): WKU - Allen 6-56, Grant 4-58-1, McNeal 4-39, dating to last season had three Saturday. All of them led to points, but none was bigger than Barton’s Dangerfield 3-31, Higbee 3-30-1, Taylor 3-16, German 2-35, Henry 1-20, Norris fourth-quarter interception. 1-11, Towner 1-1. ILL - Allison 8-97, Hardee 6-110-1, Turner 6-56, Dudek 4-55- 1, M. Barr 4-46-1, LaCosse 3-37, Davis 2-34, Ferguson 2-21. Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): WKU - Holt 12, 2.0-6; Singh 11; Terry 9, The Illini were up 28-27 with less than 11 minutes to play, but Western Kentucky had the ball at the Illinois 1.0-4; Williams 8; Thomas 6; Shorter 5, 1.0-11. ILL - Petty 9; Barton 8; Monheim 30-yard line and was moving the ball with ease. 7; Mosely 7; Neal Jr. 7; Bentley 6; Thomas III 6, 1.0-4; Ward 5, 1.5-11. GAME NOTES Doughty looked over the middle and threw deep for a receiver, apparently never seeing Barton. Barton pulled • Illinois completed a fourth quarter comeback against Western Kentucky for down the pick, cut left and was quickly past the last Hilltopper for a 77-yard touchdown return and a 35-27 lead. the second-straight game, marking fourth-quarter comebacks in consecutive The Illini hadn’t returned an interception for a touchdown since September 2012. games for the first time since the 2001 season. • Illinois fought back from a 10-point deficit against WKU (17-7), its first double-digit comeback win since Oct. 2, 2011, vs. Northwestern when the After throwing for more than 500 yards against Bowling Green a week earlier, Doughty grabbed the headlines Illini responded from down 18 points (28-10) to claim a 38-35 victory. coming into the game. But Allen was the hammer Western Kentucky used to pound down the Illini early Saturday. • Illinois had three takeaways (two fumbles, interception) in a game for the first time since Sept. 22, 2012, against Louisiana Tech, when it recovered three fumbles. The Hilltoppers were able to turn a big defensive stand late in the first quarter into a 99-yard touchdown drive • Quarterback Wes Lunt turned in another stellar performance. He threw for a that silenced the Memorial Stadium crowd, stunned Illinois and gave Western Kentucky the lead. career-high 456 yards, which ranks second on the all-time Memorial Stadium passing yardage, just six yards shy of the school record 462 yards set by Juice Williams vs. Minnesota (Oct. 11, 2008). Lunt’s performance stands fourth, After holding Illinois four times inside its own 6-yard line, including the stop on fourth down at the goal line that meanwhile, on the Illini all-time single-game passing yardage list. gave them the ball, the Hilltoppers started pushing their way up field. • Lunt’s 456 yards broke his previous career high of 436 set during his true-freshman season at Oklahoma State, against Arizona on Sept. 8, 2012. Lunt also recorded the longest pass of his career vs. WKU, a 62-yard TD strike Allen carried the ball nine times for 36 yards and caught two passes during the 18-play, 5:58 drive. His last carry to Justin Hardee. was the 1-yard touchdown run that, with the extra point, gave Western Kentucky a 10-7 lead. • True-freshman Mike Dudek became the first Illini newcomer to tally a touchdown reception in each of his first two career games since junior college transfer Kelvin Hayden did so in 2003. A 16-yard touchdown pass from Doughty to Tyler Higbee 7 minutes later gave the Hilltoppers a 17-7 edge with 4:15 left the first half.

#ILLINI // @IlliniFootball // fightingillini.com // 65 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide // 2014 In Review GAME SUMMARIES

GAME 3 Illinois ��19 Washington ��44 Sept. 13, 2014 Husky Stadium // Seattle, Wash. // 62,325

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Illinois 3 9 7 0 19 Washington 21 17 0 6 44

Scoring Summary First Quarter WASH: Callier 3 yard run (Van Winkle kick), 10:16 (12-46, 4:44) ILL: Zalewski 25 yard field goal, 5:47 (11-62, 4:21) WASH: Ross 75 yard pass from Miles (Van Winkle kick), 5:34 (1-75, 0:13) WASH: Thompson 36 yard interception return (Van Winkle kick), 4:11)

Second Quarter WASH: Washington 12 yard run (Van Winkle kick), 14:53 (8-75, 2:39) ILL: Safety, 11:27 WASH: Thompson 52 yard fumble recovery (Van Winkle kick), 10:33 ILL: Allison 60 yard pass from Lunt (Zalewski kick), 1:17 (5-80, 2:08) WASH: Van Winkle 20 yard field goal, 0:00 (8-89, 1:01)

Third Quarter ILL: Allison 27 yard pass from Lunt (Zalewski kick), 7:34 (6-66, 1:30)

Fourth Quarter WASH: Van Winkle 25 yard field goal, 14:54 (9-42, 4:13) WASH: Van Winkle 51 yard field goal, 6:21 (11-43, 6:00) WR Geronimo Allison had a breakout game with 160 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including this #SCTop10 grab. TEAM STATISTICS Category...... ILL...... WASH SEATTLE (AP) - Linebacker Shaq Thompson returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown, picked up a First Downs ...... 15...... 25 fumble and rumbled 52 yards for another score, and Washington routed Illinois 44-19 on Saturday, improving Rushes-Yards...... 26-72...... 58-245 Passing Yards ...... 279...... 219 to 3-0 under Chris Petersen. Comp-Att-Int...... 20-31-1...... 16-22-0 Total Yards...... 351...... 464 Punts-Avg ...... 7-51.7...... 4-35.0 Thompson became the first Washington player in 20 years to score via fumble and interception in the same Kickoff Returns...... 6-157...... 2-69 game. Reggie Reser accomplished the feat in 1994 in a victory over California. Thompson was on the verge of Penalties-Yards...... 11-110...... 8-73 Fumbles-Lost...... 2-2...... 3-1 adding a TD on offense but stumbled on a 13-yard run when it looked like he had a clear path to the end zone. Sacks By...... 1-9...... 6-29 Third-down Conv...... 1-11...... 8-16 Washington quarterback Cyler Miles threw a 75-yard touchdown to John Ross as part of a 21-point blitz that Time of Possession...... 25:47...... 34:13 took less than six minutes of the first half. Dwayne Washington’s 12-yard TD run gave the Huskies a 28-3 lead INDIVIDUAL Leaders on the first play of the second quarter. RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): ILL - Ferguson 11-52, Young 4-20, O’Toole 4-12, Davis 2-6, Church 1-4, Lunt 4-(-22). WASH - Washington 11-58-1, Miles 9-55, Wes Lunt threw for 230 yards for the Fighting Illini (2-1), but was unable to take advantage of Washington’s Callier 10-53-1, Coleman 18-46, Cooper 4-16, Thompson 3-16, Mickens 1-9, Durkee 1-(-1), Ross 1-(-7). depleted secondary. Illinois was trying for just the fifth 3-0 start in the past 25 years. PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): ILL - Lunt 16-26-1-2-230, O’Toole 4-5-0-0-49, Ferguson 0-0-0-0-0. WASH Miles 15-20-0-1-191, Hall 1-1-0-0-28, Mickens 0-1-0-0-0. Washington played without starting cornerbacks Marcus Peters (suspension) and Jermaine Kelly (injury) and it RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): ILL - Allison 6-160-2, Dudek 5-43, Church 2-24, didn’t matter. After two shaky outings in squeaking past Hawaii and FCS power Eastern Washington, the Huskies Ferguson 2-24, Young 2-10, M. Barr 1-15, Hardee 1-5, Davis 1-(-2). WASH - Mickens 5-75, Daniels 3-39, Ross 2-74-1, Cooper 2-7, Coleman 2-(-5), Campbell put together a complete performance. 1-25, Taylor 1-4. Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): ILL - Monheim 10, 1.0-5; Neal Jr. 10, 1.0-7; Thompson was the catalyst. A week after racing 57 yards for a touchdown on offense, Thompson’s two defensive Barton 8; Petty 8; Spence 6, Ward 4, 1.0-9; Cooper 4; Clements 4. WASH - Kikaha 6, 3.5-22; Hudson 5, 2.0-2; King 5, 0.5-1; Thompson 4. TDs were part of a 28-2 scoring run by the Huskies. Thompson stepped in front of Lunt’s pass and ran untouched for his first score, just four plays after Miles and Ross hooked up for their long touchdown. GAME NOTES • Geronimo Allison posted 160 yards and two touchdowns on six catches, mark- Then early in the second quarter, Lunt was stripped by Andrew Hudson as he attempted to move in the pocket. ing his first 100-yard game in an Illini uniform. It is Illinois’ second-straight game with a 100-yard receiver and sixth in its last seven games dating back Washington’s John Timu shielded an Illinois player so Thompson had a clear path to scoop up the loose ball and to 2013. run for his second touchdown and a 35-5 Washington lead. • V’Angelo Bentley equaled the third-most kickoff return yards in a game in school history with 139 on five returns (28.0 ypr). That ties Greg Foster’s performance at Syracuse on Sept. 30, 1978. It was 31 yards shy of tying Mike Miles was 15-of-20 passing for 191 yards and added another 55 yards rushing. If there is a complaint for Bellamy’s school record of 170 yards against Indiana on Nov. 18, 1989. Washington it might be the run game. Collectively, the Huskies finished with 245 yards rushing - most of those • Justin DuVernois had a career day against the Huskies, booting six punts with an average of 52.2 yards per kick. He had three punts over 50 yards and one coming in the fourth quarter - but there was no standout ball carrier. Dwayne Washington had 58 yards rushing downed inside Washington’s 20 yard line. It is a career best for single-game on 11 carries while Jesse Callier ran for 53 yards and had a 3-yard TD run for Washington’s first score. average for the senior and the second time in his career that he has booted three punts over 50, equaling his output from the 2013 Washington game. • The Fighting Illini scored on a safety in the second quarter when Washington The effort was what Petersen was hoping to see after offense struggles in the opening win at Hawaii and the punter Korey Durkee fumbled the ball in the back of his own end zone and it defensive concerns that arose after last week’s narrow victory over Eastern Washington. bounced out of bounds. That marked the first safety for Illinois since Oct. 5, 2013, at Nebraska. Geronimo Allison had six catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns, but was the bulk of the Illini offense. After throwing for 456 yards in last week’s win over Western Kentucky, Lunt was sacked five times and when he did have time missed open receivers. Illinois was 1 of 10 on third downs and committed 11 penalties.

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GAME 4 Texas State ��35 Illinois ��42 Sept. 20, 2014 Memorial Stadium // Champaign, Ill. // 41,019

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Texas State 14 7 7 7 35 Illinois 6 7 12 17 42

Scoring Summary First Quarter ILL: Ferguson 75 yard rush (kick failed), 14:47 (1-75, 0:13) TXST: Ijah 4 yard pass from Jones (Dann kick), 9:16 (8-55, 2:58) TXST: Gaines 11 yard pass from Jones (Dann kick), 3:38 (11-72, 4:18)

Second Quarter TXST: Jones 1 yard run (Dann kick), 2:17 (13-90, 4:42) ILL: Ferguson 2 yard run (Reisner kick), 1:14 (5-75, 1:03)

Third Quarter ILL: Ferguson 33 yard pass from Lunt (pass failed), 12:50 (1-33, 0:11) ILL: Young 3 yard run (pass failed), 9:18 (8-69, 1:54) TXST: Ijah 12 yard pass from Jones (Dann kick), 6:26 (2-13, 0:31)

Fourth Quarter ILL: Dudek 7 yard pass from Lunt (Reisner kick), 7:42 (10-78, 4:06) ILL: Reisner 19 yard field goal, 3:08 (8-72, 2:47) ILL: Bentley 45 yard interception return (Reisner kick), 2:41 TXST: Smith 9 yard pass from Jones (Dann kick), 1:12 (9-75, 1:29) V’Angelo Bentley’s fourth-quarter pick-six sealed a third fourth-quarter comeback win for the Fighting Illini. TEAM STATISTICS CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Illinois combined two touchdowns and 190 yards rushing from Josh Ferguson with the Category...... TXST...... ILL First Downs ...... 26...... 21 kind of desperate, second-half comeback the Illini have relied on all season to escape Texas State on Saturday, Rushes-Yards...... 52-139...... 27-219 42-35. All three Illinois (3-1) wins this season have come after trailing in the second half. Wes Lunt threw for Passing Yards ...... 336...... 266 Comp-Att-Int...... 29-43-1...... 25-39-1 266 yards and two touchdowns for the Illini. Total Yards...... 475...... 485 Punts-Avg ...... 8-47.5...... 7-44.3 Kickoff Returns...... 3-79...... 0-0 The game was delayed for almost two hours by lightning that started in the second quarter. Before the delay the Penalties-Yards...... 8-63...... 4-19 game was almost all Texas State (1-2). And after, the Illini clawed back. Texas State built a 21-6 second-quarter Fumbles-Lost...... 1-0...... 0-0 Sacks By...... 1-4...... 4-28 lead. But the Illini scored 17 fourth-quarter points to put the game away. Third-down Conv...... 10-20...... 4-14 Time of Possession...... 37:41...... 22:19 Texas State didn’t make many mistakes Saturday. But two in the fourth quarter cost the Bobcats dearly. Illinois trailed 28-25 and was faced with a fourth down at the Bobcats 16. Backup kicker David Reisner converted the INDIVIDUAL Leaders RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): TXST - Lowe 26-117, Jones 17-11-1, Franks 7-8, field goal but Texas State’s David Mims knocked him down, giving Illinois an automatic first down. Best 1-5, Team 1-(2). ILL - Ferguson 14-190-2, Young 9-19-1, Davis 3-14, Lunt 1-(-4). Four plays later Lunt hit receiver Mike Dudek on the run in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown and a 32-28 PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): TXST - Jones 29-43-1-4-336. ILL - Lunt 25-39-1-2-266. lead with 7:42 left in the game. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): TXST - Ijah 5-65-2, Carden 4-56, Lowe 4-55, Miller 4-43, Smith 4-39-1, Gaines 3-27-1, Best 2-43, Mercer 2-5, Franks 1-3. ILL - Dudek 7-90-1, Hardee 5-49, Young 4-43, Ferguson 4-43-1, Barr 3-36, LaCosse Even then, Texas State wasn’t done. An Illini field goal made the lead 35-28 but the Bobcats got the ball back 1-3, Turner 1-2. with 3 minutes left. Jones had been on so much of the day, making all the right decisions in the Bobcats’ option Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): TXST - Mayo 11; Jeter-Gilmon 7, 1.0-3; Odiari 5; Shaw 5; Targun 5; Mims 4; Williams 4. ILL - Barton 14, 0.5-1; Petty 8; offense. But on a first down at his own 39, he threw left and found no one but Illini cornerback V’Angelo Bentley. Monheim 8, 2.5-5; Neal Jr. 8, 1.0-1; Thomas III 6, 1.0-1; Smoot 6, 2.0-14; Woods The speedy Bentley covered the 45 yards between him and the end zone in a hurry and Illinois had breathing 5, 1.0-3; Teitsma 5, 3.5-9; Ward 5, 1.0-6; Clements 4, 1.0-1; Walls 4; Spence 4. room at 42-28. GAME NOTES • Illinois mounted its third fourth-quarter comeback win this season, over- With 13:35 left in the second quarter, officials delayed the game, sending teams to their locker rooms fans into coming a 28-25 deficit entering the final stanza to win, 42-35. It equals the the stadium concourses just ahead of a driving rain and lightning storm. Illini’s most fourth-quarter comeback victories in a season since 2001, when UI also had three. Illinois overcame a 9-7 deficit against Youngstown State in its season-opener and won 28-17, then beat Western Kentucky 42-34 after And after the break, the Illini offense woke up. Ferguson finished off a quick Illinois drive with a badly needed trailing 27-21 entering the fourth quarter. 2-yard touchdown that pulled Illinois to within 21-13. • After falling behind 21-6 late in the second quarter, Illinois out-scored the Bobcats 36-14 including a 17-0 spurt in the fourth quarter to take control of the game. After the abbreviated 12-minute halftime, Illinois picked up where it left off. • Illinois recorded two one-play scoring drives in today’s game, marking the first time it has done that since the 67-65 triple-overtime loss at Michigan on Nov. First, the defense forced a three-and-out against a Bobcats offense that had been piling up yards. Then Bentley 6, 2010. Junior running back Josh Ferguson was the catalyst on both drives today, scoring on a 75-yard rush (a backward screen pass) on the Illini’s first gave the Illini terrific field position with a 40-yard punt return to the Texas State 33. play from scrimmage and on a 33-yard screen pass in the third quarter. • Junior running back Josh Ferguson went off against the Bobcats, recording And finally Ferguson barreled all 33 of those yards to the goal line after a short pass from Lunt, diving into the career highs in rushing yards (190), all-purpose yards (233) and total touchdowns (3 - two rushing, one receiving). It marked the fifth 100-yard game of end for a touchdown that pulled the Illini back to within two points, 21-19. his career. The last Illini player to record three total touchdowns in a game was A.J. Jenkins on Oct. 1, 2011, when he caught three touchdown passes in The Illini went for two and failed, but after trailing by 15 - and it could have been more - they were back in the Illinois’ 38-35 win over Northwestern. • The game included a storm/lightning delay that lasted a total of 1:56. Play game. was suspended at 3:55 p.m. and resumed at 5:51 p.m. Halftime also was abbreviated to 12 minutes.

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GAME 5 Illinois ��14 #21 Nebraska ��45 Sept. 27, 2014 Memorial Stadium // Lincoln, Neb. // 91,255

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Illinois 7 7 0 0 14 Nebraska 7 24 7 7 45

Scoring Summary First Quarter NEB: Abdullah 12 yard run (Brown kick), 12:27 (7-75, 2:33) ILL: Ferguson 41 yard run (Reisner kick), 11:24 (3-70, 1:03)

Second Quarter NEB: Abdullah 8 yard run (Brown kick), 13:21 (10-80, 3:50) NEB: Abdullah 2 yard run (Brown kick), 9:52 (3-2, 1:22) NEB: Bell 63 yard pass from Armstrong Jr. (Brown kick), 8:43 (1-63, 0:08) ILL: Allison 58 yard pass from O’Toole (Reisner kick), 7:27 (4-75, 1:16) NEB: Brown 29 yard field goal, 2:48 (11-70, 4:34)

Third Quarter NEB: Cross 4 yard run (Brown kick), 7:56 (11-68, 5:31)

Fourth Quarter NEB: Newby 6 yard run (Brown kick), 4:58 (10-64, 3:48)

TEAM STATISTICS Category...... ILL...... NU Josh Ferguson’s 41-yard touchdown run in the first quarter kept the Illini in the game early. First Downs ...... 16...... 35 Rushes-Yards...... 24-78...... 70-458 Passing Yards ...... 261...... 166 LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Ameer Abdullah ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns, Imani Cross added a career-high Comp-Att-Int...... 17-38-3...... 10-21-1 109 yards and a TD, and No. 21 Nebraska beat Illinois 45-14 on Saturday night. Total Yards...... 339...... 624 Punts-Avg ...... 8-42.2...... 3-37.7 Kickoff Returns...... 1-28...... 1-4 Illinois (3-2, 0-1) started Reilly O’Toole at quarterback in place of Wes Lunt. O’Toole was 17-of-38 for 261 yards Penalties-Yards...... 7-53...... 8-70 Fumbles-Lost...... 0-0...... 2-1 and two touchdowns and was intercepted three times, twice by Daniel Davie. Sacks By...... 2-13...... 4-28 Third-down Conv...... 3-14...... 7-15 Illinois turned a couple big plays into first-half touchdowns. Josh Ferguson left safety Corey Cooper on his heels Time of Possession...... 20:24...... 39-36 with a slick move on a 41-yard run that marked the fourth time in five games that Nebraska has allowed a INDIVIDUAL Leaders touchdown on its first defensive series. Geronimo Allison used his 5-inch height advantage to grab a deep ball RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): ILL - Ferguson 11-61-1, Dudek 1-27, Young over cornerback Josh Mitchell, then turned and ran the rest of the way for a 58-yard TD. 5-17, Davis 1-(-1), O’Toole 6-(-26). NU - Abdullah 22-208-3, Cross 22-109-1, Armstrong Jr. 10-66, Nelson 5-35, Newby 9-34-1, Fyfe 2-6. PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): ILL - O’Toole 17-38-3-1-261. Armstrong Jr. Allison, a junior-college transfer, finished with five receptions and 118 yards - his second-straight game with 10-21-1-1-166, Fyfe 0-0-0-0-0. more than 100 yards receiving. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): ILL - Dudek 6-90, Allison 5-118-1, Ferguson 3-29, Barr 2-17, Young 1-7. NU - Bell 5-105-1, Westerkamp 2-31, Newby 2-21, Moore 1-9. Those two drives accounted for 145 yards. The Illini totaled 161 yards on their other 11 possessions against Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): ILL - Petty 15; Monheim 12; Barton 11; Neal Jr. 10; Ward 6, 1.0-0; Fejedelem 6, 1.0-2; Spence 5; Bentley 5. NU - Ander- Nebraska’s No. 1 defense. son 9, 3.0-13; Gregory 7, 3.0-17; Kalu 7; Gerry 5, 1.0-2; Mitchell 4; Cooper 3.

“The game comes down to not stopping the run and not having enough consistency on the offensive side of the GAME NOTES ball,” Illinois coach Tim Beckman said. • Illinois’ offense continued to rack up big plays, posting seven on the night. The Illini now have 36 on the season, including 32 long scrimmage plays (20-plus yards), which is tied for seventh in the country. It was Abdullah’s third 200-yard rushing game of the season and fourth of his career, second-most in program • The Illini defense notched 11 more tackles for loss against the Huskers, giving history behind 1983 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier’s seven. Illinois back-to-back games with 10-plus TFLs. The Orange and Blue now rank 11th nationally in TFLs, averaging 8.0 per game. • Junior wide receiver Geronimo Allison recorded his second-straight 100-yard Abdullah went over 100 yards nine minutes into the game and scored the Huskers’ first three touchdowns on game with 118 yards and one touchdown on five catches (23.6 ypc). He runs of 12, 8 and 2 yards. Abdullah broke four runs of 20 yards or longer, had three others longer than 10 and posted 160 yards and two TDs on six catches at Washington on Sept. 13 left after his 22nd carry after he went over 200 for the second straight year against the Illini. before missing the Texas State game with an injury. • Senior punter Justin DuVernois booted a career-long 74-yard punt in the first quarter, besting his previous long of 72 against Western Michigan on Sept. 1, Armstrong was 10-of-21 for 166 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. He attempted only three passes 2012. For the game, DuVernois averaged 42.2 yards on eight punts with two through the first quarter and a half, each one incomplete. On the fourth, he hit Kenny Bell in stride on a fly traveling over 50 yards. • Sophomore linebacker T.J. Neal Jr. snagged his first career interception in the pattern for a 63-yard touchdown that made it 28-7. first quarter and returned it 14 yards. Neal finished the game with 10 tackles, an interception, a PBU and a QB hurry. The Fighting Illini forced two Nebraska turnovers early in the game on back-to-back drives. T.J. Neal intercepted an Armstrong pass and Mason Monheim poked a ball out of the hands of Cross that was recovered by Eaton Spence.

Illinois’ offensive line had more than it could handle dealing with defensive end Randy Gregory, who had 2 1/2 sacks and three quarterback hurries - not to mention a bone-jarring block on Malik Turner to help facilitate Nate Gerry’s 53-yard interception return that set up a short scoring drive.

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GAME 6 Purdue ��38 Illinois ��27 Oct. 4, 2014 Memorial Stadium // Champaign, Ill. // 45,046

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Purdue 7 10 14 7 38 Illinois 14 0 13 0 27

Scoring Summary First Quarter ILL: White 13 yard pass from Lunt (Reisner kick), 9:18 (10-88, 3:56) PUR: Mostert 44 yard run (Griggs kick), 7:07 (5-75, 2:11) ILL: Ferguson 2 yard run (Reisner kick), 4:52 (7-67, 2:15)

Second Quarter PUR: Hunt 54 yard run (Griggs kick), 8:58 (3-77, 1:34) PUR: Griggs 20 yard field goal, 0:06 (16-74, 6:54)

Third Quarter PUR: Anthrop 80 yard pass from Appleby (Griggs kick), 9:59 (2-81, 0:51) ILL: Allison 6 yard pass from Lunt (Reisner kick), 6:07 (13-62, 3:52) PUR: Appleby 1 yard run (Griggs kick), 3:51 (6-75, 2:16) ILL: Young 2 yard run (kick failed), 1:39 (6-54, 2:12)

Fourth Quarter PUR: Appleby 1 yard run (Griggs kick), 13:39 (6-75, 3:00)

TEAM STATISTICS Freshman Mike Dudek exploded for 200 yards receiving on eight catches, the fourth-best WR performance in UI history. Category...... PUR...... ILL First Downs ...... 19...... 26 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Purdue gashed Illinois for 349 yards rushing and first-time starting quarterback Austin Rushes-Yards...... 45-349...... 25-65 Passing Yards ...... 202...... 450 Appleby threw for a touchdown and ran for two more to lead Purdue to a 38-27 upset on Saturday at Illinois. Comp-Att-Int...... 15-20-0...... 36-53-1 Total Yards...... 551...... 515 Punts-Avg ...... 4-43.5...... 2-41.5 Appleby was 15-of-20 for 202 yards. He ran for another 76 yards on seven carries. Akeem Hunt carried the ball Kickoff Returns...... 3-42...... 7-88 30 times for 177 yards and a touchdown. Penalties-Yards...... 6-64...... 2-20 Fumbles-Lost...... 1-0...... 1-1 Sacks By...... 3-22...... 0-0 The Boilermakers (3-3, 1-1 Big Ten) took a 24-14 lead on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Appleby to Danny Third-down Conv...... 7-14...... 11-16 Anthrop in the third quarter. Time of Possession...... 32:40...... 27:20

Big plays sank the Illini (3-3, 0-2). Besides the 80-yard touchdown, Purdue had plays of 62, 54 and 53 yards. INDIVIDUAL Leaders RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): PUR - Hunt 30-177-1, Appleby 7-76-2, Green 3-51, Mostert 3-48-1, Team 2-(-3). ILL - Ferguson 15-60-1, Young 5-18-1, Davis Wes Lunt led Illinois with 332 yards and three touchdowns. But he limped off the field with help early in the 1-3, O’Toole 2-1, Lunt 2-(-17). PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): PUR - Appleby 15-20-0-1-202. ILL - Lunt fourth quarter after a big hit and did not return. 27-39-0-2-332, O’Toole 9-14-1-0-118. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): PUR - Hunt 4-22, Anthrop 3-99-1, Sinza 1-25, Hart Anthrop’s touchdown capped a jarring momentum swing early in the third quarter that turned the game for 1-12, Phillips 1-11, Holmes 1-9, Yancey 1-8, Appleby 1-7, Knauf 1-6, Green 1-3. ILL - Ferguson 10-79, Dudek 8-200, Allison 5-31-1, Young 5-16, Barr 3-69, Davis Purdue. Trailing 17-14, Illinois moved deep into Boilermakers territory on a flea-flicker from Lunt to Mike Dudek. 2-21, Hardee 2-21, White 1-13-1. The freshman receiver wrestled the ball away from two defenders as he came down to set Illinois up at the Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): PUR - Williams 12, 1.5-6; L. Feichter 12; Herman 8; Bentley 7; Brown 6, 0.5-; Lewis 6; Richards 5; Robinson 5. ILL - Purdue 12. Monheim 11, 1.0-3; Petty 9; Teitsma 8, 0.5-0; Neal Jr. 7, 1.0-2; Bain 6; Fejedelem 5; Ward 4; Barton 4. But on the next play Lunt threw the ball to Josh Ferguson in the left flat and the back dropped the ball. The play GAME NOTES was initially ruled an incomplete pass but the Boilermakers fell on the ball. Replays showed Ferguson was 2 • Freshman wide receiver Mike Dudek posted the fourth 200-yard receiving yards behind Lunt when he dropped the ball and after a review the play was called a fumble. game in school history, with exactly 200 yards on a career-high eight receptions (25.0 ypc). He recorded the most receiving yards by an Illini this season and highest output since Steve Hull turned in 224 yards at Indiana (Nov. 9, On the next play, Appleby found Anthrop. Illini safety Zane Petty lunged for the ball, missed and fell as Anthrop 2013) last year. Dudek also notched three big plays over 30 yards. glided up the right sideline for a touchdown. • Sophomore quarterback Wes Lunt went over 300 yards passing for the second time in an Illinois uniform, finishing 27-of-39 for 332 yards and two All three Illini wins this season have required second-half comebacks, but on Saturday the Illinois defense touchdowns. • Lunt, who entered the day tied for 12th nationally in pass plays of 30-plus couldn’t get the stop it needed against a Boilermakers offense that came in struggling. yards, added to his total with four big plays, giving him 14 on the season. He hit Dudek for three big plays (30, 47, 47 yards) and Josh Ferguson for one (41 Illinois backup QB Reilly O’Toole, was 9-of-14 for 118 yards and an interception. yards). • Junior running back Josh Ferguson equaled his career-high with 10 receptions, totaling 79 receiving yards to go along with 60 yards on the ground and Early on it looked like Illinois might run away from the Boilermakers. a rushing touchdown. • Sophomore tight end Tyler White caught a touchdown for his first career The Illini led 14-7 on a 13-yard Lunt touchdown to Tyler White and a 2-yard run by Josh Ferguson and midway reception, a 13-yard grab, for Illinois’ first score of the game. • Illinois eclipsed 500 yards of total offense for the second time this season, through the second quarter were driving again. But on a fourth-and-2 play at the Purdue 23 Lunt missed Martize finishing with 515 total yards (450 passing, 65 rushing). It also marked the Barr in the end zone. Illini’s second game with 450 or more passing yards. • The Illini were 11-of-16 on third down and held a 26-19 edge in first downs over Purdue. • Illinois scored on its opening possession for the fifth straight game. Lunt was 5-of-7 for 59 yards and hit five different receivers on that drive.

#ILLINI // @IlliniFootball // fightingillini.com // 69 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide // 2014 In Review GAME SUMMARIES

GAME 7 Illinois ��28 Wisconsin ��38 Oct. 11, 2014 Camp Randall Stadium // Madison, Wis. // 80,341

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Illinois 14 0 0 14 28 Wisconsin 7 17 7 7 38

Scoring Summary First Quarter WIS: Gordon 15 yard run (Gaglianone kick), 12:12 (6-80, 2:48) ILL: LaCosse 8 yard pass from O’Toole (Reisner kick), 6:43 (4-31, 1:38) ILL: Allison 5 yard pass from O’Toole (Reisner kick), 3:08 (5-42, 1:49)

Second Quarter WIS: Gordon 6 yard run (Gaglianone kick), 12:56 (10-75, 5:11) WIS: Gordon 30 yard run (Gaglianone kick), 2:14 (2-64, 0:28) WIS: Gaglianone 44 yard field goal, 0:03 (5-52, 1:13)

Third Quarter WIS: Gordon 1 yard run (Gaglianone kick), 1:08 (9-90, 4:31)

Fourth Quarter WIS: Clement 72 yard run (Gaglianone kick), 14:50 (1-72, 0:10) ILL: Bailey 29 yard run (Reisner kick), 8:43 (1-29, 0:08) ILL: Young 1 yard run (Reisner kick), 2:53 (9-83, 3:02)

TEAM STATISTICS QB Aaron Bailey provided a late spark at Camp Randall, rushing for 75 yards and a TD in the fourth quarter. Category...... ILL...... UW First Downs ...... 20...... 22 Rushes-Yards...... 39-153...... 47-401 MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A fast start and a late surge wasn’t enough for the Fighting Illini in a 38-28 road loss at Passing Yards ...... 135...... 97 Wisconsin on Saturday. Comp-Att-Int...... 14-24-1...... 10-18-0 Total Yards...... 288...... 498 Punts-Avg ...... 7-47.7...... 5-38.4 Melvin Gordon padded his resume for a potential Heisman Trophy candidacy with 175 yards rushing and four Kickoff Returns...... 6-135...... 2-39 Penalties-Yards...... 4-50...... 4-53 touchdowns. The junior eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season in just Wisconsin’s sixth game, a school record. Fumbles-Lost...... 0-0...... 0-0 Sacks By...... 0-0...... 6-39 Wisconsin (4-2, 1-1 Big Ten) started Joel Stave at quarterback, but Gordon did most of the damage against the Third-down Conv...... 5-13...... 4-13 Time of Possession...... 27:39...... 32:21 league’s worst rushing defense. INDIVIDUAL Leaders Illinois (3-4, 0-3) did rally in the fourth quarter with backup Aaron Bailey at quarterback. He led them to two RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): ILL - Bailey 12-75-1, Ferguson 11-33, O’Toole 11- scores to get within 38-28 with about 3 minutes left before Illinois recovered an onside kick. But Bailey threw an 29, Church 2-10, Young 3-6-1. UW - Gordon 27-175-4, Clement 13-164-1, Doe 1-34, Jamerson 1-23, McEvoy 1-12, Erickson 1-(-3), Team 1-(-4). interception with two minutes left to seal Wisconsin’s win. PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): ILL - O’Toole 12-19-0-2-96, Bailey 2-5-1-0-39. UW - Stave 7-14-0-0-73, McEvoy 3-4-0-0-24. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): ILL - Dudek 4-59, Allison 4-20-1, Ferguson 3-30, Gordon’s most impressive run may have come with 1:16 left in the second quarter, when Gordon took a first-down LaCosse 2-23-1, Barr 1-3. UW - Arneson 4-48, Erickson 2-18, Doe 1-16, Fumag- handoff from the Wisconsin 22 but got tripped up as he burst through a hole. But the stumbling Gordon regained ali 1-12, Fredrick 1-3, Gordon 1-0. Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): ILL - Spence 9; Bentley 8, 2.0-4; Petty 6; his balance and ended up with a 46-yard run to the Illinois 32. Rafael Gaglianone hit a 44-yard field goal four Barton 5; Neal Jr. 5. UW - Jacobs 12, 2.0-11; Caputo 8, 1.0-5; Landisch 7, 2.0- plays later for a 24-14 lead going into the half. 12; Biegel 6, 2.5-3; Schobert 6; Jean 5.

Gordon, who finished with 27 carries, is a lethal combination of power and breakaway speed made all the more GAME NOTES • Sophomore quarterback Aaron Bailey made his season debut, rushing 12 dangerous when the Badgers’ beefy offensive line opens up running lanes. times for a team-high 75 yards and one touchdown, and completing 2-of-5 passes for 39 yards. On Saturday, Stave ended up supplanting Tanner McEvoy, who had started the first five weeks. Stave, who • Junior receiver Geronimo Allison caught his team-leading fifth touchdown of reclaimed the starting job he held last season, presents more of a deep-passing threat. McEvoy, a mobile the season in the first quarter, a five-yard pass from Reilly O’Toole. • Senior punter Justin DuVernois had an incredible day, punting seven times quarterback, played just one series. with an average of 47.7 yards per punt and a long of 72. He downed three punts inside the Badger 20 and four boots traveled over 50 yards. The best play call was simple: handoff to Gordon. He had two touchdown runs in the first half before jumping into • Illinois held Wisconsin to only 97 passing yards on the day, marking the fewest by an Illini opponent since Miami (Ohio) had 95 on Sept. 28, 2013. the end zone from a yard out with 1:08 left in the third quarter for his fourth score and a 31-14 lead.

Illinois’ Reilly O’Toole, starting for the injured Wes Lunt, finished 12-of-19 for 96 yards. He connected with Matt LaCosse for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 6:43 left in the first quarter, then found Geronimo Allison for a 5-yard score on Illinois’ next drive to give the Illini a short-lived 14-7 lead.

The Illini offense did show life late, with Bailey running for a 29-yard touchdown run before Donovonn Young’s 1-yard scoring run pulled Illinois within 38-28 with 2:53 left.

Bailey finished with 12 carries for 75 yards, and was 2-of-5 passing for 39 yards.

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GAME 8 Minnesota ��24 Illinois ��28 Oct. 25, 2014 Memorial Stadium // Champaign, Ill. // 44,437

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Minnesota 0 3 21 0 24 Illinois 14 0 7 7 28

Scoring Summary First Quarter ILL: Davis 3 yard pass from O’Toole (Reisner kick), 9:31 (11-75, 5:29) ILL: O’Toole 9 yard run (Reisner kick), 2:39 (7-74, 3:17)

Second Quarter MINN: Santoso 44 yard field goal, 12:53 (10-48, 4:46)

Third Quarter MINN: Fruechte 52 yard pass from Leidner (Santoso kick), 12:58 (1-52, 0:06) ILL: Ferguson 2 yard run (Reisner kick), 8:48 (9-75, 4:10) MINN: Cobb 1 yard run (Santoso kick), 6:02 (6-75, 2:46) MINN: Cobb 13 yard run (Santoso kick), 2:40 (2-80, 0:42)

Fourth Quarter ILL: Bentley 12 yard fumble return (Reisner kick), 6:33

TEAM STATISTICS Category...... MINN...... ILL First Downs ...... 19...... 16 V’Angelo Bentley’s fourth-quarter, go-ahead scoop-and-score disappointed yet another opposing mascot, this time Goldy Gopher. Rushes-Yards...... 41-171...... 41-123 Passing Yards ...... 240...... 140 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Illinois turned to its defense Saturday for a late touchdown and a defensive stand that Comp-Att-Int...... 12-30-1...... 15-23-0 Total Yards...... 411...... 263 delivered a 28-24 win over Minnesota. Punts-Avg ...... 6-44.2...... 9-48.7 Kickoff Returns...... 1-25...... 0-0 Penalties-Yards...... 4-30...... 4-36 Illinois (4-4, 1-3 Big Ten) trailed 24-21 with 6:33 left in the game when linebacker T.J. Neal stripped the ball Fumbles-Lost...... 2-2...... 2-1 from running back David Cobb. Cornerback V’Angelo Bentley grabbed the ball at the Gopher 12 and ran it in for Sacks By...... 3-20...... 4-23 Third-down Conv...... 4-16...... 4-14 a touchdown. Time of Possession...... 28:35...... 31:25

Illinois then held the Gophers (6-2, 3-1) four times at the Illini 26 with less than two minutes to play. INDIVIDUAL Leaders RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): MINN - Cobb 22-118-2, Maye 5-43, Edwards 1-4, After the final whistle, Illinois’ players streamed off the sideline, gathering in front of the band for several Leidner 11-3; Kirkwood 2-3. ILL - O’Toole 17-59-1, Ferguson 15-48-1, Young 3-35, Davis 1-1, Bailey 1-(-1), Dudek 1-(-7), Church 2-(-12). minutes of celebration. The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Illini and gave them just their second PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): MINN - Leidner 12-30-1-1-240. ILL - O’Toole conference win in coach Tim Beckman’s two-and-a-halfs season in Champaign. 14-21-0-1-118, Dudek 1-1-0-0-22, Bailey 0-1-0-0-0. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): MINN - Fruechte 3-105-1, Maye 3-14, Williams 2-33, Cobb 2-7, Jones 1-46, Wolitarsky 1-35. ILL - Dudek 5-41, Ferguson 3-39, Much of the credit belonged to the defense. Cobb finished with 118 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. But Davis 3-36-1, Allison 2-30, Young 1-(-3), Church 1-(-3). Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): MINN - Campbell 11, 2.5-13; Wilson 10, Illinois held him in check for almost three quarters, with 34 yards on his first 16 carries. 3.5-12; Thompson 8; Wells 7; Murray 4; Richardson 4. ILL - Neal Jr. 12, 2.5-5; Monheim 8, 1.0-2; Thomas III 6, 2.5-15; Woods 6, 1.0-3; Petty 5, 0.5-1; Barton 4; The loss ended a four-game win streak for the Gophers and robbed them of what would have been their first 4-0 Smoot 4, 2.0-4; Ward 4; Spence 4; Clements 4, 0.5-3.

Big Ten start since 1967. GAME NOTES • With Minnesota entering the game ranked No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Illinois led 14-0 in the first quarter, scoring on two of its first three drives. Most of the yardage and one of the Poll, Illinois’ win marks its first over an opponent ranked in either the Associ- scores coming from quarterback Reilly O’Toole. ated Press or USA Today coaches poll since a 17-14 victory over No. 22 Arizona State on Sept. 17, 2011. • Trailing 24-21 after three quarters, Illinois mounted its fourth fourth-quarter The senior backup started for Wes Lunt, who is out with a broken leg, and finished 14-of-21 for 188 yards and comeback this season, surpassing the 1992 and 2001 seasons when the a touchdown. He added another 59 yards on 17 carries and a rushing touchdown. Illini had three fourth-quarter comeback wins. Illinois overcame a 9-7 deficit against Youngstown State in its season opener and won 28-17; then beat Western Kentucky 42-34 after trailing 27-21 entering the fourth quarter; O’Toole threw for the first touchdown, hitting tight end Jon Davis from 3 yards with 9:31 left in the first quarter. UI also trailed 28-25 entering the final quarter against Texas State before Just under seven minutes later, O’Toole ran the ball in from 9 yards. winning 42-35. • Illinois had three takeaways (two fumbles, one interception) in a game for the second time this season. Today’s total equals the most takeaways since But at least as important was the start by Illinois’ defense. notching four in the season-opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 1, 2012. • In addition to forcing three turnovers, the Illini defense came up big through- The Illini forced the Gophers off the field without a first down on Minnesota’s first two drives, the first time Illinois out the day, forcing five three-and-outs on the day and holding the Gophers has done that to an opponent since 2012. to just 86 total yards in the first half. UI forced a three-and-out on four of Minnesota’s first five possessions. • While the Gophers ended up with 411 yards of offense, more than half of that Between quarterback Mitch Leidner and Cobb, the Gophers came to life in the third quarter. They put up 21 points total came on just a handful of plays. Minnesota tallied 223 yards on five big on a 52-yard Leidner strike to Isaac Fruechte and a pair of rushing touchdowns by Cobb, from one and 13 yards. plays. Of the remaining 66 plays, the Gophers accounted for 188 yards, an average of just 2.8 yards per play. • With his 12-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown, junior V’Angelo Those 21 unanswered points gave Minnesota its first and only lead, 24-21. Bentley became the first Illinois player in school history to record a kick return, punt return, interception return and fumble return for a touchdown in his career. His game-changing play gave the Illini a 28-24 lead with 6:33 remaining in the fourth quarter, which UI held onto for its fourth win of the season.

#ILLINI // @IlliniFootball // fightingillini.com // 71 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide // 2014 In Review GAME SUMMARIES

GAME 9 Illinois ��14 #13 Ohio State ��55 Nov. 1, 2014 Ohio Stadium // Columbus, Ohio // 106,961

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Illinois 0 0 7 7 14 Ohio State 17 14 17 7 55

Scoring Summary First Quarter OSU: Samuel 23 yard run (Nuemberger kick), 11:25 (3-38, 0:38) OSU: Nuemberger 44 yard field goal, 6:47 (9-48, 2:54) OSU: Smith 32 yard pass from Barrett (Nuemberger kick), 1:30 (9-71, 3:47)

Second Quarter OSU: Samuel 1 yard run (Nuemberger kick), 11:43 (6-24, 2:41) OSU: Smith 8 yard pass from Barrett (Nuemberger kick), 0:20 (2-25, 0:14)

Third Quarter OSU: Wilson 27 yard pass from Jones (Nuemberger kick), 11:56 (8-79, 3:04) OSU: Nuemberger 26 yard field goal, 9:31 (4-5, 1:37) OSU: Marshall 30 yard run (Nuemberger kick), 7:20 (3-51, 0:54) ILL: Young 5 yard run (Reisner kick), 1:48 (11-65, 5:32)

Fourth Quarter OSU: Thomas 19 yard pass from Jones (Nuemberger kick), 14:21 (7-50, 2:20) ILL: LaCosse 7 yard pass from Bailey (Reisner kick), 5:55 (8-44, 2:43)

Mike Dudek broke the Illinois freshman receiving yardage record on this 56-yard catch and run in the first quarter. TEAM STATISTICS Category...... ILL...... OSU First Downs ...... 15...... 28 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Curtis Samuel ran for two touchdowns and J.T. Barrett hit Devin Smith on two scoring Rushes-Yards...... 42-106...... 44-296 passes - all in the first half - and No. 13 Ohio State beat Illinois 55-14 on Saturday night. Passing Yards ...... 137...... 249 Comp-Att-Int...... 13-27-2...... 20-34-0 Total Yards...... 243...... 545 Donovonn Young’s 5-yard run late in the third quarter broke up the shutout for the Illini (4-5, 1-4). Punts-Avg ...... 4-44.8...... 1-35.0 Kickoff Returns...... 5-60...... 3-87 Penalties-Yards...... 5-50...... 6-56 Barrett, nursing a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and wearing a brace, left at halftime with Fumbles-Lost...... 3-2...... 1-1 the Buckeyes up 31-0. He completed 15-of-24 passes for 167 yards. He gave way to Cardale Jones, who lofted a Sacks By...... 1-2...... 3-19 Third-down Conv...... 6-15...... 7-12 picture-perfect 27-yard TD pass to Dontre Wilson and also hit Michael Thomas on a 19-yard scoring pass. Jones Time of Possession...... 29:17...... 30:43 was 5-of-9 for 82 yards passing. INDIVIDUAL Leaders After their first possession of the second half, Illinois quarterbacks Reilly O’Toole and Aaron Bailey had combined RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): ILL – Bailey 16-39, Ferguson 8-34, Young 8-22-1, Church 3-9, O’Toole 7-2. OSU – Elliott 9-69, Samuel 9-63-2, Jones 7-47, for 58 yards passing - and 56 of them came on O’Toole’s completion to Mike Dudek. Marshall 5-42-1, Barrett 7-38, Ball 7-37. PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): ILL – Bailey 9-16-0-1-79, O’Toole 4-11-2-0- 58. OSU – Barrett 15-24-0-2-167, Jones 5-9-0-2-82, Marshall 0-1-0-0-0. Dudek set the school mark for yards receiving by a freshman on the play. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): ILL – Dudek 3-68, Turner 3-27, LaCosse 2-10-1, Ferguson 2-4, Hardee 1-19, Allison 1-5, White 1-4. OSU – Thomas 6-67-1, Bailey, 9-of-16 for 79 yards without an interception, completed a 7-yard TD pass to tight end Matt LaCosse to Wilson 4-42-1, Smith 3-72-2, Spencer 2-22, Marshall 1-18, Greene 1-13, Brown 1-9, Heuerman 1-7, Elliott 1-(-1). close the scoring. O’Toole ended up 4-of-11 for 58 yards with two interceptions. Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): ILL – Monheim 11, 1.0-1; Petty 9, 0.5-1; Barton 9; Day 5; Fejedelem 5; Neal Jr. 5; Thomas III 4. OSU – Perry 7; Powell 5, 1.0-2; Bosa 4, 3.0-12; Miller 4, 3.0-13; McMilan 4; Williams 4, 0.5-0; Holmes The Buckeyes substituted heavily in the second half while a crowd of 106,961 left early as the score mounted. 4, 0.5-1. The game was played in windy conditions with temperatures in the mid-30s. GAME NOTES The 20th consecutive Big Ten regular-season win matched the mark set by Ohio State teams from 2005-07. • Mike Dudek broke the record for receiving yards by an Illinois freshman with his 56-yard catch in the first quarter, and finished the game with 707 yards in 2014, topping Arrelious Benn’s 676 yards from 2007. He needs 10 more Unlike a week ago, when the Buckeyes rolled to a 17-0 halftime lead at Penn State only to struggle before pulling catches to break Benn’s record for receptions by a freshman. out a 31-24 victory in double overtime, this one was a landslide early.

Illinois threw two interceptions - both of which were off receivers’ hands - and also lost a fumble. The Buckeyes failed on two fourth-down runs deep in opposition territory, punted once - and scored on the other five possessions.

O’Toole was intercepted by Darron Lee nine plays after the opening kickoff, with the Buckeyes taking just three plays to cover 38 yards. Samuel -- who got the start in place of leading rusher Elliott - covered the final 23 yards untouched.

Barrett hit Smith on a 32-yard scoring toss to make it 17-0 before Samuel split two tacklers on a 1-yard plunge. Barrett found Smith on an 8-yard score for a 31-0 halftime lead.

The officials also had an off night. They whistled an Ohio State punt dead because the Illini had 12 men on the field, but then it was determined that the refs had miscounted. The Illini had the allotted 11. No flag.

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GAME 10 Iowa ��30 Illinois ��14 Nov. 15, 2014 Memorial Stadium // Champaign, Ill. // 50,373

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Iowa 2 7 7 14 30 Illinois 7 0 0 7 14

Scoring Summary First Quarter IOWA: Trinca-Pasat safety, 4:55 ILL: Dudek 31 yard pass from Lunt (Reisner kick), 2:29 (3-34, 1:13)

Second Quarter IOWA: Hamilton 1 yard pass from Rudock (Koehn kick), 10:56 (5-67, 2:22)

Third Quarter IOWA: Hamilton 6 yard pass from Rudock (Koehn kick), 2:56 (10-71, 4:30)

Fourth Quarter IOWA: Rudock 6 yard run (Koehn kick), 13:41 (7-66, 3:08) IOWA: Powell 19 yard pass from Beathard (Koehn kick), 8:05 (7-86, 3:50) ILL: Dudek 31 yard pass from O’Toole (Reisner kick), 3:52 (12-89, 4:13)

TEAM STATISTICS Category...... IOWA...... ILL First Downs ...... 26...... 12 Rushes-Yards...... 55-304...... 25-88 LB Mason Monheim was all over the field against the Hawkeyes, equaling his career-high with 15 tackles. Passing Yards ...... 283...... 147 Comp-Att-Int...... 17-24-0...... 17-31-0 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Running back Mark Weisman ran for 134 yards and Iowa battered Illinois with 587 Total Yards...... 587...... 235 Punts-Avg ...... 2-31.5...... 8-39.9 yards of offense Saturday in a 30-14 win. The Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-2 Big Ten) ran for a season-high 304 yards. Kickoff Returns...... 2-32...... 3-41 Quarterback Jake Rudock was 14-of-21 for 210 yards and two touchdowns before leaving in the fourth quarter Penalties-Yards...... 1-10...... 8-59 Fumbles-Lost...... 3-1...... 1-0 with the game in hand. Sacks By...... 1-3...... 0-0 Third-down Conv...... 10-15...... 6-16 Early on, Iowa had to scrounge for points. The Hawkeyes took a 2-0 lead on a first-quarter safety and Illinois’ Time of Possession...... 35:46...... 24:14 defense stopped them three times on fourth down to keep the game close. Iowa led 9-7 at the half. But Iowa’s INDIVIDUAL Leaders run game wore Illinois (4-6, 1-5) down and set up 21 second-half points that sealed the game. RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): IOWA – Weisman 23-134, Canzeri 12-68, Rudock 8-39-1, Parker 3-34, Bullock 3-18, Wadley 5-11, Beathard 1-0. ILL – O’Toole 5-29, Ferguson 9-29, Young 5-25, Bailey 1-6, Davis 1-3, Dudek 1-1, Lunt 3-(-5). Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt played for the first time since breaking his left leg Oct. 4 against Purdue. But he PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): IOWA – Rudock 14-21-0-2-210, Beathard finished a quiet 14-of-25 for 102 yards and one touchdown. 3-3-0-1-73. ILL – Lunt 14-25-0-1-102, O’Toole 3-6-0-1-45. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): IOWA – Hamilton 4-20-2, Duzey 3-110, Smith 3-46, Martin-Manley 2-56, Powell 2-25-1, Plewa 2-19, Bullock 1-7. ILL – Dudek 6-80- Midway through the third quarter, it all started to take its toll on an Illinois defense that had given up big yards 2, Ferguson 6-12, Davis 1-15, Turner 1-11, Allison 1-11, Hardee 1-10, Barr 1-8. but managed to keep the game close. Rudock capped an 11-play, 71-yard drive with a short toss to tight end Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): IOWA – Lowdermilk 7; 1.0-5; Meier 7, 0.5-1; Mabin 6, 1.0-1; Lomax 6, 1.0-4; Jewell 5; Alston 5; Ott 4, 1.0-7. ILL – Ray Hamilton, who bulled into the end zone through two defenders for a 6-yard touchdown and a 16-7 lead. Monheim 15; Petty 13, 0.5-1; Barton 12; Neal Jr. 7; Thomas III 6; Bentley 5, 1.0-2; Fejedelem 5; Teitsma 5. From there the dominoes started falling for Iowa and against the Illini. GAME NOTES • Illinois forced three turnovers on downs in today’s game, stopping the Hawkeyes With 13:41 left, Rudock hammered Illinois again, this time rolling to his left and taking the ball in himself for a on fourth down in each of the first three quarters. Mason Monheim stacked up 6-yard touchdown and a 23-7 lead. That was all the Hawkeyes would need. Mark Weisman at the goal line in the first quarter, Iowa tight end Macon Plewa fell one yard short of the marker in the second quarter, and Eaton Spence broke up a short pass in the third quarter to end Iowa drives. Lunt hadn’t played in weeks, and two of Illinois’ starting linemen, left tackle Simon Cvijanovic and right guard • The Fighting Illini took advantage of an Iowa turnover in the first quarter, con- Ted Karras, were out, too. Both were injured in the loss to Ohio State, and Karras is gone for the season. verting a Jihad Ward fumble recovery into a 31-yard touchdown strike from Wes Lunt to Mike Dudek that put Illinois ahead 7-2. The fumble recovery gives Illinois 12 turnovers forced on the season, surpassing the season total from The Illini talked in the week leading up to the game about the need to run the ball to protect Lunt, but as offensive 2013 (11). coordinator Bill Cubit has said all season, the team isn’t built to run. And it showed. The Illini ran the ball 25 • Junior cornerback Eaton Spence notched three passes broken up (PBUs) on the day, marking a career high for the Belle Glades, Florida, native. It also equals times for 88 yards, most of before the game got out of hand. the most by an Illini since 2002 when Alan Ball had four PBUs against Indiana on Oct. 14, 2002. Illini receiver Mike Dudek caught six balls for 80 yards. He scored both of Illinois’ touchdowns, including a beauty late in the first quarter that gave the Illini a 7-2 lead.

Iowa cornerback Demond King rang stride for stride with Dudek down the right sideline but the freshman receiver leaned back to give himself just enough space to haul the ball in in the end zone.

Illinois entered the game knowing it had three shots to get the two wins it needs to get to six and win bowl eligibility.

The loss means the Illini need to beat Penn State at home and Northwestern on the road in the regular-season finale to get there.

#ILLINI // @IlliniFootball // fightingillini.com // 73 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide // 2014 In Review GAME SUMMARIES

GAME 11 Penn State ��14 Illinois ��16 Nov. 22, 2014 Memorial Stadium // Champaign, Ill. // 35,172

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Penn State 7 0 0 7 14 Illinois 0 7 3 6 16

Scoring Summary First Quarter PSU: Godwin 18 yard pass from Hackenberg (Ficken kick), 8:24 (9-52, 4:49)

Second Quarter ILL: LaCosse 1 yard pass from O’Toole (Reisner kick), 0:25 (12-68, 2:27)

Third Quarter ILL: Reisner 28 yard field goal, 12:26 (6-19, 2:34)

Fourth Quarter PSU: Lynch 47 yard run (Ficken kick), 13:37 (8-77, 4:14) ILL: Reisner 25 yard field goal, 8:43 (11-58, 4:54) ILL: Reisner 36 yard field goal, 0:08 (7-54, 1:40)

TEAM STATISTICS Category...... PSU...... ILL First Downs ...... 15...... 16 Rushes-Yards...... 47-172...... 27-68 Passing Yards ...... 93...... 215 David Reisner’s 36-yard game-winning field goal with eight seconds left kept the Illini’s fading bowl hopes alive. Comp-Att-Int...... 8-16-0...... 26-42-0 Total Yards...... 265...... 283 Punts-Avg ...... 7-39.1...... 8-41.2 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Backup quarterback Reilly O’Toole led Illinois on a late drive that set up a game-winning Kickoff Returns...... 1-21...... 1-7 David Reisner field goal, delivering a 16-14 win over Penn State on Saturday. Reisner hit from 36 yards with eight Penalties-Yards...... 5-34...... 3-30 Fumbles-Lost...... 1-1...... 0-0 seconds left on the clock. Minutes earlier he missed a 50-yarder that would have put Illinois on top. Sacks By...... 2-14...... 2-20 Third-down Conv...... 6-15...... 2-16 O’Toole relieved Wes Lunt late in the first half. O’Toole finished 18-of-25 for 157 yards and a touchdown for Time of Possession...... 32:51...... 27:09 Illinois (5-6, 2-5 Big Ten). Mike Dudek had 11 catches for 115 yards for Illinois. INDIVIDUAL Leaders RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): PSU – Lynch 28-137-1, Bars 1-32, Hamilton Christian Hackenberg threw for an 18-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin to put Penn State (6-5, 2-5) up early. 3-14, Chiappialle 3-8, Belton 6-6, Lewis 1-1, Team 2-(-10), Hackenberg 3-(-16). ILL – Young 14-62, Ferguson 5-9, O’Toole 4-8, Church 1-2, Bailey 1-1, Lunt But struggled the rest of the day. He finished 7-of-15 for 72 yards and the touchdown. 2-(-14). PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): PSU – Hackenberg 8-16-0-1-93. ILL – O’Toole Penn State running back Akeel Lynch carried the ball 28 times for 137 yards and a 47-yard touchdown. 18-25-0-1-157, Lunt 8-17-0-0-58. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): PSU – Lynch 2-35, Godwin 1-18-1, James 1-9, Lewis 1-9, Belton 1-9, Gesicki 1-7, Hamilton 1-6. ILL – Dudek 11-115, Ferguson O’Toole has started a handful of games in his four years on campus but most of that time he’s served as a 3-18, LaCosse 3-14-1, Allison 3-11, Turner 2-19, Young 2-12, Murdock 1-17, Davis 1-9. back up. Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): PSU – Hull 10; Allen 9; Wartman 9, 1.0-3; Lucas 6, 0.5-0; Cabinda 5, 0.5-1; Johnson 5, 0.5-1, Amos 4, 0.5-0. ILL – Fe- Lunt, just seven weeks removed from a broken leg, didn’t look quite right in his second game back from the jedelem 8; Barton 8; Neal Jr. 8; Teitsma 7; Petty 6; Thomas III 6; Ward 6, 2.0-16; Monheim 5; Smoot 4. injury. The normally strong-armed quarterback didn’t throw deep much and, when he did, didn’t have the touch that made him one of the country’s most dangerous quarterbacks early this season. GAME NOTES • Illinois’ defense stonewalled Penn State in today’s game, holding the Nittany O’Toole, on the other hand, moved Illinois’ offense down the field fast. And when he hit tight end Matt LaCosse Lions to 265 total yards and only 93 yards through the air. It marks the fewest total yards by an Illini opponent since UI held UCLA to 219 yards in the 2011 on the 1-yard, game-tying touchdown, it erased a half of offensive frustrations. Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, and the fewest passing yards by an Illinois opponent since UI held Minnesota to 78 passing yards on Nov. 10, 2012. Penn State’s 93 passing yards marked its fewest passing yards since being held to 88 yards at While O’Toole and Reisner starred, a stiff 19 mph wind played a supporting role Saturday. It swept Reisner’s Ohio State on Nov. 19, 2011. 50-yard miss wide left. But it also gave Illinois points early in the second half that put the Illini in the lead. • Illinois kept PSU from moving the ball significantly on all except two of its drives, holding the Lions to 138 yards on 46 plays (2.9 yards per play) on its 10 non-scoring drives not counting the kneel-down at the end of the first half. The The kickoff to open the half was knocked down by the wind, falling down at about the Penn State 20. Illinois’ Illini limited PSU to 1-of-2 inside the red zone and held the Lions to only three Clayton Fejedelem recovered at the Nittany Lion 28. Four plays later Reisner kicked a 28-yard field goal and a plays over 20 yards on the day. 10-7 lead. • Illinois saved its best for last, recording 140 yards – just under half of its game total of 283 yards – in the fourth quarter. The Illini also posted eight of their 16 first downs in the final 15 minutes, holding the ball for 9:20 in the fourth. Reisner was 3-4 on field goals Saturday. Illinois had made just two on six attempts all season before Saturday. • Illinois went the entire game without committing a turnover, marking its second-straight game without one. Illinois won the turnover battle (1-0), marking the second-straight week and third time in the last four games that UI has won Tied 7-7 at the half, the Nittany Lions had to be scratching their heads and asking, “How?” the turnover battle. • Kicker David Reisner nailed a game-winning 36-yard field goal with eight sec- Before O’Toole replaced Lunt on the final possession of the first half, Illinois had 45 yards of offense. Penn State onds remaining, marking the first time since 2008 that the Illini have won a had started its first three drives at its own 46 and 48 and the Illinois 49, all of them with a stiff wind at its back. game with a field goal in the last two minutes. Reisner was 3-of-4 on field goals on the day after entering the game just 1-of-3 on the season • Wide receiver Mike Dudek had a career-high 11 receptions for 115 yards (10.5 But the Nittany Lions turned those three short fields into just one score, a Hackenberg strike to Godwin halfway ypc), including a game-high 25-yard catch on Illinois’ final drive. His 11 catch- through the first quarter. es break Illinois’ freshman record for receptions as he now has 62 catches for 902 yards on the season. The 115 yards mark his second career 100-yard game and his fourth with 90-plus yards.

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GAME 12 Illinois ��47 Northwestern ��33 Nov. 29, 2014 Ryan Field // Evanston, Ill. // 31,137

SCORING BY QUARTER Team 1 2 3 4 F Illinois 13 13 7 14 47 Northwestern 0 7 10 16 33

Scoring Summary First Quarter ILL: Turner 10 yard pass from O’Toole (Reisner kick), 1:41 (11-56, 4:39) ILL: Ferguson 1 yard run (kick failed), 0:56 (3-49, 0:37)

Second Quarter ILL: Reisner 33 yard field goal, 12:26 (5-33, 1:59) ILL: Zalewski 33 yard field goal, 5:39 (4-4, 1:57) NU: Vault 89 yard kickoff return (Mitchell kick), 5:24 ILL: Dudek 14 yard pass from O’Toole (Zalewski kick), 0:47 (7-82, 2:07)

Third Quarter NU: Mitchell 34 yard field goal, 12:24 (9-24, 2:29) ILL: Barr 9 yard pass from O’Toole (Zalewski kick), 7:24 (11-75, 5:00) NU: Jackson 5 yard run (Mitchell kick), 3:56 (10-75, 3:28)

Fourth Quarter NU: Jackson 35 yard run (Dickerson pass from Oliver), 14:05 (10-83, 2:47) ILL: Ferguson 46 yard run (Zalewski kick), 12:39 (3-56, 1:26) ILL: Monheim 49 yard interception return (Zalewski kick), 4:58 QB Reilly O’Toole’s 294 total yards (147 pass, 147 rush) helped UI claim the Land of Lincoln rivalry trophy and clinch bowl eligibility. NU: Green 4 yard pass from Oliver (Jones pass from Oliver), 1:28 (16-75, 3:30)

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Reilly O’Toole passed for 147 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for 147 yards, Josh TEAM STATISTICS Category...... ILL...... NU Ferguson had a pair of rushing scores and Illinois took advantage of five Northwestern turnovers for a 47-33 First Downs ...... 23...... 19 victory over its in-state and Big Ten rival on Saturday. Illinois (6-6, 3-5 Big Ten) is bowl eligible for the first Rushes-Yards...... 47-291...... 38-154 Passing Yards ...... 147...... 218 time since 2011. Comp-Att-Int...... 17-28-1...... 24-42-3 Total Yards...... 438...... 372 Punts-Avg ...... 5-42.6...... 5-36.6 Northwestern (5-7, 3-5) was led by freshman running back Justin Jackson, who had 130 yards on 24 carries and Kickoff Returns...... 1-11...... 2-95-1 two touchdowns. The Wildcats, though, couldn’t overcome five turnovers by quarterback Zack Oliver, who was Penalties-Yards...... 6-50...... 4-48 Fumbles-Lost...... 0-0...... 2-2 starting in place of injured Trevor Siemian. Sacks By...... 2-3...... 0-0 Third-down Conv...... 5-14...... 7-17 Oliver finished with 221 yards passing, but much of it came after the outcome had been decided. He had just Time of Possession...... 34:37...... 25:23 9 yards in the first half. INDIVIDUAL Leaders RUSHING (Carries-Yards-TD): ILL – O’Toole 21-147, Ferguson 15-95-2, Young Illinois took a 7-0 lead late in the first as O’Toole found wide receiver Malik Turner alone in the front left corner 9-51, Dudek 1-0, Team 1-(-2). NU – Jackson 24-130-2, Green 8-26, Oliver 6-(-2). of the end zone for a 10-yard scoring pass to cap an 11-play, 56-yard drive. PASSING (Comp-Att-INT-TD-Yds): ILL – O’Toole 17-28-1-3-147. NU – Oliver 23-38-3-1-221, Alviti 1-3-0-0-(-3), Scanlan 0-1-0-0-0. RECEIVING (Rec-Yards-TD): ILL – Dudek 7-63-1, Ferguson 2-37, LaCosse 2-17, On Northwestern’s first play following the kickoff, Oliver threw into double coverage and was picked off by Turner 2-15-1, Barr 2-15-1, Young 2-0. NU – Jones 4-50, McHugh 4-37, Jackson 3-46, Youngblood-Ary 3-29, Dickerson 3-10, Vitale 2-12, Green 2-4-1, Carr 1-21, Earnest Thomas III, giving the Illini the ball at the NU 49. Three plays later, Ferguson punched it in from the one Taylor 1-5, Vault 1-4. for the 13-0 lead (the PAT kick failed) with 56 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. Tackle Leaders (Tackles, TFL-Yds): ILL – Fejedelem 12; Neal Jr. 7; Spence 6; Petty 6; Monheim 5; Teitsma 4, 2.0-5; Ward 4, 1.0-2; Cooper 4. NU – Ariguzo 12, 1.5-6; Hall 11; Campbell 9; Walker 8, 2.0-2; Smith 8, 0.5-1; Lowry 6, 1.0-2. That began a disastrous stretch of four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles) by Oliver on four straight possessions. Illinois, though, could only manage a pair of David Reisner field goals to extend the lead to 19-0. GAME NOTES • Illinois improved to 6-6 on the season with today’s win, clinching bowl eligibili- The Wildcats’ lone highlight of the opening half was an 89-yard kickoff return for the TD by Solomon Vault to trim ty for the first time since 2011 and for the third time in the last five years after winning the 2010 Texas Bowl (over Baylor) and 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl the deficit to 19-7, but Illinois answered with a 7-play, 82-yard drive - capped by a 14-yard pass from O’Toole (over UCLA). to receiver Mike Dudek - for a 26-7 halftime edge. • Illinois re-claimed the “Land of Lincoln” trophy in the sixth battle for the rel- atively new rivalry trophy. The Illini last held the trophy in 2011 with a 38-35 come-from-behind win. With today’s victory, Illinois leads the all-time series O’Toole was intercepted by cornerback Matthew Harris on the first play of the third quarter. But the ensuing drive against Northwestern with a 55-48-5 record. stalled and the Wildcats had to settle for a field goal. The Illini then seemed to reclaim control with an 11-play, • The Illini rushed for a season-high 291 yards, the most since running for 308 yards at Indiana on Oct. 8, 2011. Illinois was led by two plus 90-yard rushing 75-yard drive capped by a 6-yard TD pass from O’Toole to receiver Martize Barr to stretch the lead to 33-10. performances in QB Reilly O’Toole (147) and RB Josh Ferguson (95). • Illinois’ 47 total points scored is the highest total this season and most since Northwestern, though, battled back and trimmed the deficit to 33-25 early in the fourth quarter on a pair of totaling 48 against Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Nov. 20, 2010. Jackson scoring runs (1 yard and 46 yards) and a two-point conversion. • The Orange and Blue forced five turnovers – with three interceptions and two fumbles – good for the their season high in takeaways. The Illini last had five takeaways in a game at Michigan on Nov. 6, 2010. But again the Illini responded and stretched the lead to 40-25 on a 46-yard TD run by Ferguson with 12:39 left. • Mike Dudek continued his stellar freshman season, adding seven receptions for 63 yards and one touchdown. His total of 69 receptions moved him into a tie for fifth the UI season receptions list with Hall of Famer David Williams (69 catch- The Illini completely sealed the win with a 49-yard interception return for a TD by linebacker Mason Monheim for es in 1983). He also moved to ninth in season receiving yardage at 965 yards, a 47-25 edge with just under five minutes to play. passing WR coach Mike Bellamy (927 yards in 1989) and David Williams (958 yards in 1983). With his 14-yard touchdown catch late in the second quarter, Dudek tied David Williams’ freshman TD receptions record of six. Dudek already owns UI freshman marks for receptions and receiving yards.

#ILLINI // @IlliniFootball // fightingillini.com // 75 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Guide // 2014 In Review SUPERLATIVE STATISTICS Team Superlatives CATEGORY ILLINOIS TEAM HIGHS ...... OPPONENT TEAM HIGHS Rushes ...... 47 . . . .at Northwestern, 11/29/14 ...... 70 . . . .at Nebraska, 9/27/14 Yards Rushing ...... 291 . . . .at Northwestern, 11/29/14 ...... 458 . . . .at Nebraska, 9/27/14 Yards Per Rush ...... 8.1 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/20/14 ...... 8.5 . . . .at Wisconsin, 10/11/14 TD Rushes ...... 3 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/20/14 ...... 5 . . . .at Nebraska, 9/27/14; at Wisconsin, 10/11/14 Pass attempts ...... 53 . . . .vs Purdue, 10/4/14 ...... 48 . . . .vs Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 Pass completions ...... 36 . . . .vs Purdue, 10/4/14 ...... 29 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/20/14 Yards Passing ...... 456 . . . .vs Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 336 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/20/14 Yards Per Pass ...... 9.3 . . . .at Washington, 9/13/14 ...... 11.8 . . . .vs Iowa, 11/15/14 TD Passes ...... 4 . . . .vs Youngston State, 8/30/14 ...... 4 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/29/14; at Ohio State, 11/1/14 Total Plays ...... 85 . . . .vs Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 95 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/20/14 Total Offense ...... 520 . . . .vs Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 624 . . . .at Nebraska, 9/27/14 Yards Per Play ...... 7.3 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/20/14 ...... 8.5 . . . .vs Purdue, 10/4/14 Points ...... 47 . . . .at Northwestern, 11/29/14 ...... 55 . . . .at Ohio State, 11/1/14 Sacks By ...... 4 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/20/14; vs. Minnesota, 10/25/14 ...... 6 . . . .at Washington, 9/13/14; at Wisconsin, 10/11/14 First Downs ...... 28 . . . .vs Western Kentcuky, 9/6/14 ...... 35 . . . .at Nebraska, 9/27/14 Penalties ...... 11 . . . .at Washington, 9/1314 ...... 8 . . . .at Washington, 9/13/14; vs. Texas State, 9/20/14; ...... at Nebraska, 9/27/14 Penalty Yards ...... 110 . . . .at Washington, 9/1314 ...... 73 . . . .at Washington, 9/13/14 Turnovers ...... 4 . . . .at Ohio State, 11/1/14 ...... 5 . . . .at Northwestern, 11/29/14 Interceptions By ...... 3 . . . .at Northwestern, 11/29/14 ...... 3 . . . .at Nebraska, 9/27/14 Punts ...... 9 . . . .vs Minnesota, 10/25/14 ...... 8 . . . .vs Youngstown State, 8/30/14 Punting Avg ...... 52.0 . . . .vs Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 47.5 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/20/14 Long Punt ...... 74 . . . .at Nebraska, 9/27/14 ...... 70 . . . .vs Texas State, 9/20/11 Punts inside 20 ...... 4 . . . .vs Minnesota 10/25/14; at Northwestern, 11/29/14 ...... 4 . . . .Arizona State, 9/17/11

INDIVIDUAL Superlatives CATEGORY ILLINOIS INDIVIDUAL HIGHS ...... OPPONENT INDIVIDUAL HIGHS Rushes ...... 21 . . . .Reilly O’Toole at Northwestern, 11/29/14 ...... 32 . . . .Martin Ruiz, Youngstown State, 8/30/14 Yards Rushing ...... 190 . . . .Josh Ferguson vs Texas State, 9/20/14 ...... 208 . . . .Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska, 9/27/14 TD Rushes ...... 2 . . . .Josh Ferguson vs Texas State, 9/20/14; at Northwestern, 11/29/14 . . . . 4 . . . .Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin, 10/11/14 Long Rush ...... 75 . . . .Ferguson, Josh vs Texas State, 9/20/14 ...... 72 . . . .Corey Clement, Wisconsin, 10/11/14 Pass attempts ...... 50 . . . .West Lunt vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 48 . . . .B. Doughty, Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 Pass completions ...... 35 . . . .West Lunt vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 29 . . . .Tyler Jones, Texas State, 9/20/14 Yards Passing ...... 456 . . . .West Lunt vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 336 . . . .Tyler Jones, Texas State, 9/20/14 TD Passes ...... 4 . . . .West Lunt vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 4 . . . .Tyler Jones, Texas State, 9/20/14 Long Pass ...... 62 . . . .West Lunt vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 80 . . . .Austin Appleby, Purdue, 10/4/14 Receptions ...... 11 . . . .Mike Dudek vs Penn State, 11/22/14 ...... 6 . . . .Leon Allen, Western Kentuvcky, 9/6/14 ...... Michael Thomas, Ohio State, 11/1/14 Yards Receiving ...... 200 . . . .Mike Dudek vs Purdue, 10/4/14 ...... 110 . . . .JJake Duzey, Iowa, 11/15/14 TD Receptions ...... 2 . . . .Geronimo Allison at Washington, 9/13/14 ...... 2 . . . .Ben Ijah, Texas State, 9/20/14 ...... Mike Dudek vs. Iowa, 11/15/14 ...... Devin Smith, Ohio State, 11/1/14 ...... Ray Hamilton, Iowa, 11/15/14 Long Reception ...... 62 . . . .Justin Hardee vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 80 . . . .Danny Anthrop, Purdue. 10/4/14 Field Goals ...... 3 . . . .David Reisner vs Penn State, 11/22/14 ...... 3 . . . .Joey Cejudo, Youngstown State, 8/30/14 ...... C. Van Winkle, Washington, 9/13/14 Long Field Goal ...... 36 . . . .David Reisner vs Penn State, 11/22/14 ...... 51 . . . .C. Van Winkle, Washington, 9/13/14 Punts ...... 9 . . . .Justin DuVernois vs Minnesota, 10/25/14 ...... 8 . . . .Will Johnson, Texas State, 9/20/14 Punting Avg ...... 52.0 . . . .Justin DuVernois vs. Western Kentucky, 9/6/14 ...... 47.5 . . . .Will Johnson, Texas State, 9/20/14 Long Punt ...... 74 . . . .Justin DuVernois at Nebraska, 9/27/14 ...... 70 . . . .Will Johnson, Texas State, 9/20/14 Punts inside 20 ...... 4 . . . .Justin DuVernois vs. Minnesota, 10/25/14 ...... 2 . . . .5x-last was C. Kornbrath, Iowa, 11/15/14 ...... Justin DuVernois at Northwestern, 11/29/14 Tackles ...... 15 . . . .Zane Petty at Nebraska, 9/27/14 ...... 12 . . . .5x-last was C. Ariguzo, Northwestern, 11/29/14 ...... Mason Monheim vs. Iowa, 11/15/14 Sacks ...... 2.5 . . . .Earnest Thomas III vs. Minnesota, 10/25/14 ...... 3.0 . . . .Hau’oli Kikaha, Washington, 9/13/14 Tackles For Loss ...... 3.5 . . . .Austin Teitsma vs. Texas State, 9/20/14 ...... 3.5 . . . .Hau’oli Kikaha, Washington, 9/13/14 ...... Damien Wilson, Minnesota, 10/25/14

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