I-L-L! 

 

That’s it. That’s the title. What a game, what a comeback, what a win. Coach Lovie Smith has the UIUC campus rocking these last couple weeks, mainly yesterday. 

 

Our Fighting Illini traveled to East Lansing yesterday to take on the Spartans of Michigan State. Illinois was riddled with injuries including, Jake Hansen(did not travel), Bitikou Jr. Ricky Smalling, and Travon Sydney. The linebacker core for the Illini got even weaker when Milo Eifler was kicked out of the game in the first quarter because he threw a punch in the endzone when MSU scored in the first quarter. 

 

Onto halftime we go, the Ilini were down 28 to 10 at half, coming right out of the gate in the third quarter being down 31-10 after a MSU field goal.

 

Then the fourth quarter started. The Illini outscored Sparty 27-3 in the quarter with scores coming from Josh Imatorbhebhe who caught an 83 yard touchdown pass to start it off, Reggie Corbin with a 6 yard run, Sydney Brown with a 76 yard pick six, and in the final seconds of the game, Peters threw a 5 yard pass to Daniel Barker to make the game 37-34. Brining it our final. 

 

With the Illini being down by over 25 and coming back and winning the game, that is the largest comeback victory in school history. This is the first time under Coach Lovie Smith that the Illini have been bowl eligible with a record of 6 and 4 with two games left against Iowa on the road on the 23rd and Northwestern at home on the 30th to cap the Big Ten season. The ride isn’t over yet, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Let’s enjoy the ride.