CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — With one shot at winning a game they thought they had put away much earlier, Illinois turned its fate over to a freshman kicker Saturday night.
With 24 seconds left and the ball at the Iowa 29, the hopes of more than 60,000 Illinois fans - not to mention the outcome of a game the Illini badly needed as they grope for six wins and bowl eligibility - fell on the shoulders and right foot of Matt Eller.
As it turns out, that wasn’t a problem.
Eller split the uprights in the south end of Memorial Stadium, giving the Illini (5-4, 3-3) a 27-24 win, and sucking the air out of an Iowa comeback that minutes earlier tied the game at 24.
“I asked (Eller), ‘How long you been waiting for this moment?’ He kind of laughed at me,” Illinois coach Ron Zook said. “I didn’t really have any concern about it. He has the leg to do that.”
“It was close to perfect conditions to make the kick,” Eller added, “and coach just told me to keep my head. This is what you dream about as a little kid, so I just wanted to go out there and have fun.”
Some people have funny ideas about fun.
If Eller missed, you had to like the odds for Iowa (5-4, 2-3) in the likely overtime.
The Hawkeyes’ comeback, from a 24-9 deficit early in the fourth quarter, had a feeling of inevitability about it. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi led Iowa on a pair of touchdown drives and a two-point conversion that had Illinois fans fearing the worst.
TV cameras caught more than one person in orange sitting long-faced, some with mouths open, as they watched what had looked like a win turn ugly.
But with Iowa down by 15 early in the fourth quarter, Stanzi moved the Hawkeyes deep into Illinois territory on three fast passes, then hit Andy Brodell for a 29-yard touchdown that cut the deficit to 24-16.
Minutes later, Stanzi moved Iowa downfield again, this time turning to running back Shonn Greene, who ran the ball in from five yards. Stanzi threw to tight end Allen Reisner for two points and the tie.
“It was a great comeback by our guys,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.
“If there is a positive,” he added, “it’s how our guys responded.”
Before the fourth quarter, the game belonged to Illinois’ defense.
The Illini sacked Stanzi six times, and intercepted him twice. The sophomore quarterback was 11-for-30 for 191 yards and one TD.
Illinois scored a touchdown on one of those sacks, when defensive back Dere Hicks blizted Stanzi, hitting his arm as he pulled back to pass. Hicks forced a fumble, scooped up the ball and ran in from seven yards to make the score 24-9.
“When I saw the ball come out my first thought was to just jump on it,” Hicks said, “but when I saw that I had time to pick it up I mainly focused on securing it and taking it in.”
The Illini also handled Greene better than any other team this season.
The 23-year-old sophomore, a year removed from junior college and part-time work at a furniture store, entered the game averaging 144.3 yards a game with 10 TDs, and had at least 109 yards in every previous game. He finished Saturday with 103 and the single touchdown.
“They did a great job covering,” Greene said. “They had a lot of guys in the box and they were able to slow me down.”
Illinois badly needed the big hits and big plays by its defense.
Quarterback Juice Williams was erratic and the Illini running game was nearly invisible.
Williams completed 22 of 37 passes for 272 yards, including a 50-yard strike to Fred Sykes.
Williams carried 12 times for 30 yards and Illinois finished with just 56 yards rushing.
Daniel Dufrene, the Illini’s leading rusher coming into the game with 593 yards, dressed for the game but watched from the sideline. Zook said the junior from Florida wasn’t with the team much during the week due to unspecified personal reasons.
But Williams found his stride after Stanzi engineered the fourth-quarter tie.
With 2:46 left to play, Illinois had the ball at its own 20 when Williams started moving them upfield.
He completed passes to five different receivers over the next 11 plays, moving to the Iowa 29 before handing the reins to Eller.
“We go over two minute drills everyday in practice,” Williams said. “We came out composed and made the plays to keep the ball moving and get first downs and set up Matt for a chance to win.”
Illinois has three more shots at the sixth and perhaps seventh wins it will need for a shot at a second-consecutive bowl - at Western Michigan next week, at home against No. 13 Ohio State, and at Northwestern.
Iowa is in a similar situation, with games left against No. 3 Penn State, Purdue and at No. 20 Minnesota.
