Indiana University Athletics
Illinois Slips Past IU
11/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois quarterback Jon Beutjer threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Jones with 30 seconds remaining in the game to lift the Illini to a 26-22 come-from-behind victory over Indiana on Saturday afternoon. The Hoosiers led the entire game before Jones' catch lifted his team to the win.
Matt LoVecchio led the Hoosiers on the day, completing 15-of-17 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown. BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran the ball 24 times for 70 yards and a touchdown, while Jahkeen Gilmore had three receptions for a career-high 95 yards. Sophomore tight end Chris Rudanovic also had a career game, accounting for six receptions and 62 yards - both career bests.
As a team, IU piled up 399 yards of total offense, compared to 344 yards for Illinois. The Hoosiers also dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 36:41, while the Fighting Illini had the ball for only 23:19.
The Illini's ground game proved to be the difference in the contest, as Pierre Thomas rushed for 185 yards on 21 carries and had one touchdown.
The Hoosiers opened the game on fire, scoring on their first three possessions to take control early in the contest. On the first play from scrimmage, LoVecchio threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Gilmore and, after a failed point-after attempt, gave the Hoosiers an early 6-0 lead.
IU would carry the momentum on the defensive side of the ball. The Hoosiers held Illinois to a three-and-out on its first drive and forced a punt. After Lance Bennett's 35-yard punt return gave IU good field position, the Hoosiers moved the ball 45 yards on nine plays in 3:31, capped by a Green-Ellis one-yard touchdown run to give his team a 13-point advantage with 10:04 remaining in the opening stanza.
The third consecutive IU touchdown came on a Roby 31-yard end around; however, the two-point attempt failed, giving the Hoosiers a 19-0 lead. It marked the Indianapolis, Ind., native's team-best seventh touchdown of the season.
Illlinois answered IU's score with a 56-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brad Bower to Kendrick Jones, cutting the Hoosier lead to 19-7. The Hoosiers' defense initially stopped the Illini, but on fourth and 11, the home team ran a 12-yard fake punt, just reaching a first down. Illinois would find paydirt on the very next play.
Bower would strike again on the Illini's next possession, when he found Melvin Bryant for a 16-yard touchdown completion, cutting the lead to 19-14 with 48 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Running back Pierre Thomas was a big part of the drive, carrying the ball three times for 42 yards.
In all, the two teams combined for 310 yards in the opening 15 minutes. Indiana's opening quarter accounted for 180 of its 399-yard offensive output, while Illinois piled up 130 of its 344 total yards for the game.
The score would stay the same until the 2:45 mark of the third quarter, when kicker Bryan Robertson connected on a 37-yard field goal to cap off a time consuming 17-play, 69-yard drive, which ate up 8:28 of the game clock, and gave IU a 22-14 advantage.
The Illini would again answer with a Thomas 44-yard touchdown run to cut the lead once again to two points with 5:21 remaining in regulation. The Hoosiers would keep their slim lead at 22-20 after stopping Illinois on the ensuing two-point attempt to tie the contest.
However, on Indiana's next possession, freshman quarterback Blake Powers, who came in late in the third quarter for Matt LoVecchio, threw an interception, allowing the Illini to take over at the Indiana 30-yard line, setting up the winning score.
Indiana will attempt to earn a win in its final home game of the 2004 season when the Hoosiers play host to Big Ten foe Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 12:10 p.m. EST. It will mark the final home contest for IU's senior football student-athletes.
