The last time Illinois went on the road and did something unexpected against an opponent as highly regarded as Michigan State, freshman quarterback Juice Williams was in 6th grade.
Perhaps Saturday’s 23-20 victory over the 26-point favorite Spartans on Jason Reda’s 39-yard field goal with six seconds to play before a stunned homecoming crowd of 71,268 wasn’t quite as big as the 1999 Illini’s shocking six-point upset at ninth-ranked Michigan.
But it sure seemed huge to players who have known nothing but lean years at Illinois.
“For a guy who has seen guys work so hard and not get anything out of it, this is just an amazing thing,” junior linebacker J Leman said. “We got humiliated last year (61-14) by Michigan State at [home]. We came here and won a nail-biter against a darn good team. It just shows how far we have come.”
It was the first road victory for the Illini (2-3, 1-1) since they won at Northwestern in the final game of the 2002 season. Since then they had lost 16 straight away from home. It was their first Big Ten victory of any kind since Nov. 6, 2004.
The Spartans (3-2, 0-1) had won the last nine meetings between the schools. Thus, this was the day they figured to make amends for squandering a 16-point lead last week and losing to Notre Dame. And on their first possession, they seemed to be on the way to redemption when they drove to the Illinois 2-yard line. But then quarterback Drew Stanton fumbled when he was hit by Justin Harrison and David Lindquist recovered for the Illini.
That defensive play set the tone. Led by Leman, the defense kept in check an offense that had averaged 38.5 points in the previous four games. Stanton was sacked four times and failed to pass or run for a TD after racking up eight passing and three running this season.
Illinois’ offense was just as impressive. Pierre Thomas gained 110 yards on 18 carries and Williams ran 17 times for 103 yards and passed for 122 more.
Williams threw a 69-yard pass to Jacob Willis for the Illini’s first touchdown on a broken play in the second quarter. But Demond Williams intercepted him in the third quarter and returned the pass 62 yards to tie the game 10-10. On their next possession, the Illini regained the lead on a trick play, halfback E.B. Halsey throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to Willis. Then, with 38 seconds left in the third quarter, a Reda field goal increased the lead to 20-10.
With 7 minutes to play at the Illinois 14, Stanton left with a shoulder injury after Doug Pilcher hammered him.
Replacement Brian Hoyer’s 13-yard pass to Kellen Davis then set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Jehuu Caulcrick, and a few minutes later, the sophomore’s 20-yard pass to Kerry Reed was the key play in the drive that produced Brett Swenson’s 27-yard field goal that tied the score 20-20 with 2:46 to play.
Starting from the Illinois 20, Williams, Thomas and wide receiver Kyle Hudson then led a drive to the Michigan State 22 that set up Reda’s game-winning field goal.
“So many things were going through my head,” Williams said. “The team is depending on me; try not to fumble; try not to throw another interception. Right now the nerves are pretty much gone. A ton of confidence is going through my body.”
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nmilbert@tribune.com
