Defense Collapses as Illinois Tops IU in Overtime 48-45

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Written by: TJ Inman

The Indiana Hoosiers have been in “playoff mode” for a few weeks, knowing they had to win out to make a bowl game. After beating Wisconsin and facing Michigan State and Purdue to close the season, Saturday’s game at Illinois represented another must-win for the Hoosiers.

Backup quarterback John Paddock, a transfer from Ball State, effectively ended IU’s season. Indiana’s defense failed to show up on Saturday in Champaign and was roasted for 662 yards and 48 points in a loss that guarantees Indiana a losing record and puts the future of Tom Allen in increasing doubt.

The game began with both offenses failing to pick up a first down on their first possession. The Illinois Fighting Illini moved the ball well on their second possession, advancing the ball through the air before stalling inside the ten-yard line. They settled for a short field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Indiana had to punt again but got a jumpstart as Isaiah Williams muffed a punt from James Evans. Jared Casey emerged from the bottom of the pile with the ball and the Hoosiers got on the board with a short touchdown run for Trent Howland. The Illini quickly responded as Indiana’s defense blew a coverage on the first play of the drive, allowing Williams to scamper to the eight-yard line and Reggie Love to score one play later. The extra point was missed and the Illini led 9-7. IU’s offense found a groove, mixing the run and pass and scoring on a five-yard slant to Donaven McCulley to retake the lead at 14-9 as the second quarter began. The Illinois offense moved the ball well again but IU’s defense kept them at bay and forced another short field goal to make it 14-12. IU’s offense looked the best it has all season, finding success on the ground and through the air and Donaven McCulley scored his second touchdown of the day on a beautiful pass from Brendan Sorsby to put Indiana ahead 21-12.

The Hoosiers kept momentum as John Paddock fumbled the snap and panicked, lobbing a ball that was impacted by a pass rusher and intercepted by Louis Moore near midfield. Brendan Sorsby bowled over would-be tacklers and found the end zone to make it 27-12. The Hoosiers missed the extra point but still had a 15-point lead. As has so often been the case this season, the Indiana Hoosiers fell apart shortly before halftime. Illinois scored after another blown coverage by IU’s secondary, got the ball back and scored again with 18 seconds left. The score was 27-26 at the half and John Paddock had a remarkable 316 yards passing after 30 minutes of football.

The defenses finally found a tiny bit of success as the second half began, with Indiana losing a fumble and Illinois being forced to punt. Illinois took the lead with another John Paddock touchdown pass, this time to Isaiah Williams to make it 33-27. Brendan Sorsby threw an interception and the Illini capitalized with a Reggie Love touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. They failed on the two-point conversion and led 39-27. Jaylin Lucas had a nice kickoff return that was aided by a facemask penalty on Illinois and Brendan Sorsby got his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon, plowing through defenders at the goal-line. The Hoosiers trailed 39-34 and kicked back to Illinois. IU’s defense continued to get carved up by Paddock and the Illini offense but forced a third and goal at the ten-yard line. The Hoosiers stopped the completed pass short of the goal line and forced another short field goal. Caleb Griffin connected from 21 yards out and led 42-34 with 5:04 remaining. Josh Henderson and Donaven McCulley picked up first downs but IU faced a fourth down that fell incomplete, handing the ball back to Illinois with less than three minutes remaining. Indiana’s defense finally made a key play, stopping Illinois on three downs and forcing a punt.

The Hoosiers had to march 85 yards in 1:37 to save the game. Brendan Sorsby picked up a first down running the ball and got a chunk play over the middle to DeQuece Carter. Sorsby ran the ball again for a first down and then connected with Carter on the exact same play for a touchdown over the middle. With 28 seconds remaining, IU went for two to tie the game. Sorsby lobbed the ball to EJ Williams the Clemson transfer snagged it to knot the game at 42! Illinois did not have any timeouts remaining and took over at the 25-yard line. Lanell Carr sacked John Paddock and forced overtime.

Illinois won the toss and chose to play defense first. The Hoosiers faced a third and seven and Brendan Sorsby was forced up in the pocket and brought down near the line of scrimmage. Chris Freeman connected on the field goal and Illinois’ offense needed a touchdown to win. The Illini had third and six, John Paddock scrambled and threw to a wide open Isaiah Williams for the winning touchdown.

-Key Stats-

  • John Paddock, making his first start with Illinois, tore apart the IU defense. Indiana got no pressure on Paddock and the secondary looked completely lost and unable to track the Illini receivers. Paddock threw for 507 yards, the most for any Big Ten quarterback this season.

  • Illinois gained 662 yards to IU’s 451.

  • The two teams combined for 21 penalties with Illinois accounting for 14 of them.

  • Donaven McCulley was terrific. He had 11 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns. His transition from quarterback to wide receiver has been a booming success and he is unquestionably IU’s top wideout.

-Key Takeaways-

  • With the season on the line and facing a backup quarterback, IU’s secondary failed to show up. Receivers were wide open all afternoon and Indiana had no answers or adjustments that made any difference.

  • Brendan Sorsby continues to show that he can be a quarterback IU can win with. Sorsby was 22-33 for 289 yards along with two rushing touchdowns.

  • Indiana now plays a pair of rivalry games so there are still meaningful games to play. Winning the Old Brass Spittoon and especially the Old Oaken Bucket still mean something. That written, the goal was to make a bowl game and IU has failed.