Game Wrap and Reaction: Illinois 48 Indiana 45

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Opponent: Illinois Fighting Illini

Location: Champaign, IL

Why They Played: The Hoosiers and the Illini played a crossover Big Ten game. It was the Hoosiers first game at Illinois since 2017.

What The Game Meant: It has been “Playoff Mode” for the Hoosiers over the last several weeks. Now that they have lost and are out of bowl contention, who knows how this program will respond.

Top Offensive Performers

Brendan Sorsby, QB, Indiana- Sorsby had his best game as a Hoosier and showed what he can bring to the future of this program. He completed 22-of-33 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. He added two more touchdowns on the ground.

Donaven McCulley, WR, Indiana- McCulley was unguardable making 11 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns. When he wasn’t making catches, he was drawing penalties against an overwhelmed Illini defense.

John Paddock, QB, Illinois- The walk-on from Ball State tore apart IU’s secondary to the tune of 507 yards and four touchdowns. He is just the second Illini QB ever to reach the 500-yard mark. 

Illinois Wide Receivers- The quartet of Isaih Williams, Pat Bryant, Casey Washington and Ashton Hollins made 22 catches for 476 yards and four touchdowns. It was like they were playing against air in practice.

Top Defensive Performers

Louis Moore, Safety, Indiana- Moore had 10 tackles, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass on a day the defense was hard to find. 

Clayton Bush, Safety, Illinois- Bush led all defenders with 11 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss.

Special Team Performance

Another inconsistent day led to several miscues on special teams. A blocked extra point on IU’s fourth touchdown proved costly, as did a negated long Jaylin Lucas return. There was inexcusable clock management at the end of the first half that gave Illinois an extra 13 to 16 seconds (they scored a TD with 18 seconds left in the half). Also Jamari Sharpe downed a punt at the 23-yard line instead of letting it roll. IU was also bailed out on a kickoff return touchdown that was negated by a holding penalty.

Key Stat(s)

28-0

After IU took a 27-12 lead with 5:44 left in the second quarter, the Illini went on a 28-0 run that turned the game upside down. Illinois led 39-27 with 14:53 left in the fourth quarter.

Turning Point

There were many, many swings in momentum, but the biggest was on IU’s first drive of the second half when the Hoosiers lost a fumble on the Illinois 39-yard line. IU was up 27-26 at the time and a score there (IU did have the ball at the 18 at one point) gives IU some momentum back. Illinois would score two more touchdowns before IU found the end zone again.

I Knew it Was Over When…

Isaiah Williams waltzed into the end zone in overtime for the game winning touchdown.

Players of the Game

Brendan Sorsby, Indiana

John Paddock, Illinois

What I took away from the game

This game was a tough one to swallow for the Hoosier Nation. If you had told anyone that IU’s offense would score 45 points, they would have told you the Hoosiers would have won.

Exit playoff mode, enter quit watch. The Hoosiers bowl hopes are done and the whole “Playoff Mode” mindset comes to a crashing end.

It was extremely disappointing to see how the game unfolded. The same mistakes over and over. Now, IU battled and nearly pulled off a miracle, but it should not have come to that. You can blame the coaching, the players, the playcalls, the refs, whatever, but the bottom line is IU is sitting at 3-7 and will miss the postseason for the third-straight year.

The program has no public direction right now, as AD Scott Dolson has been in hibernation since the beginning of the 2022 season. Is he trying to negotiate a buyout? Is he trying to lay out a vision for IU football beyond 2023? Maybe, but there have only been rumors.

IU has two games left, both of them trophy games and they still matter to plenty of people, but there are also plenty of folks hoping IU loses out to make a decision more obvious. However, it shouldn’t have to come to the last two games of 2023.

What’s Next

Indiana will finish out the home slate against Michigan State in the Old Brass Spittoon game at noon on BTN. Both teams are 3-7.