NCAAF Game Recap - Wisconsin at Illinois
Sat Oct 19, 2019 12:00 PM EDT

Tenn
13
Bama
35
F
LSU
36
MissSt
13
F
Clem
45
Lou
10
F
OSU
52
NW
3
F
WVU
14
Okla
52
F
Wisc
23
Ill
24
F
Mich
21
PSU
28
F
Fla
38
SCar
27
F
KY
0
UGA
21
F
Aub
51
Ark
10
F
Oreg
35
Wash
31
F
AzSt
3
Utah
21
F
Boise
25
BYU
28
F
Kans
48
Tex
50
F
Bayl
45
OkSt
27
F
Temp
21
SMU
45
F
MIN
42
Rut
7
F
Tuls
13
Cin
24
F
MIZ
14
Vand
21
F
Purd
20
Iowa
26
F
ULMon
7
App
52
F
SoAl
13
Troy
37
F
ULLaf
37
ArkSt
20
F
UCLA
34
Stan
16
F
Marsh
36
FlAtl
31
F
Pitt
27
Syr
20
F
UNLV
27
Fres
56
F
Kent
38
Ohio
45
F
Hou
24
UConn
17
F
IASt
34
TxTch
24
F
GATec
28
MiaFL
21
F OT
NCSt
24
BC
45
F
C Mi
38
BGSU
20
F
Toled
14
Ball
52
F
NIU
24
MiaOH
27
F
OreSt
21
Cal
17
F
TCU
17
K St
24
F
Nich
0
SamHu
17
F
CoCar
27
GaSo
30
F(2OT)
NM
10
Wyo
23
F
Buff
21
Akr
0
F
JMU
38
W&M
10
F
SoFL
3
Navy
35
F
SMiss
30
LT
45
F
UNC
41
VaTec
43
F(5OT)
Duke
14
UVA
48
F
Ind
34
MD
28
F
SEMO
24
JacSt
21
F
UNCC
14
W Ky
30
F
OD
14
UAB
38
F
MidTN
30
NorTx
33
F
Rice
27
UTSA
31
F
Maine
44
Lib
59
F
WestMI
27
E Mi
34
F
Tul
17
Mem
47
F
ECU
28
UCF
41
F
Colo
10
WaSt
41
F
SDSU
27
SJSU
17
F
Army
21
GASt
28
F
UTEP
17
FLInt
32
F
TxAM
24
Miss
17
F
FlaSt
20
Wake
22
F
Ariz
14
USC
41
F
NEV
10
UtSt
36
F
AF
56
Hawaii
26
F

Oct 19, 2019, 12:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

(6) Wisconsin (6-1)

7

6

7

3

23

Illinois (3-4)

0

7

7

10

24

Illinois stuns No. 6 Wisconsin 24-23 on last-second FG
Sat Oct 19, 2019 6:15 PM

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) The plan was for Wisconsin to roll into a showdown with Ohio State next week unbeaten, with a defense putting up historic numbers and a Heisman Trophy contender at running back.

Illinois had other plans.

James McCourt kicked a 39-yard field as time expired and the Illini pulled off the biggest upset of the college football season, knocking off No. 6 Wisconsin 24-23 on Saturday.

"Our program, we needed to get a signature win. I was just hoping today was the day, and the day came," said Illini coach Lovie Smith, the former Chicago Bears coach who entered the game 11-31 overall and 4-26 in the Big Ten since taking over Illinois in 2016.

"Against the No. 6 team in the country, we played them toe-to-toe," Smith said. "We saw so much fight. We learned an awful lot about ourselves. We're pumped up. One of the best wins we can possibly have at this stage in our program."

Tony Adams picked off a pass by Jack Coan for the Illini (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten), who were 30 1/2-point underdogs, at midfield with 2:33 remaining that set up the winning drive.

Dre Brown's tackle-breaking 13-yard run got Illinois (3-4, 1-3) to the Wisconsin 25 with 34 seconds left and then the Illini set up McCourt to attempt a winner. The junior kicker was down the middle with the field goal to give Smith the most significant victory for Illinois in years.

"No matter if it's an extra point or a game-winner you kind of have to take the approach that every kick is the same because if you take a different approach you might get thrown off or something might be a little different," said McCourt, who missed a 40-yard attempt in the first quarter.

Fans rushed the field when it was over and "Jump Around" - a signature song at Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium - blared through the speakers at Memorial Stadium.

"It was amazing," Adams said. "It was an amazing feeling."

After the first six weeks of the college football season produced few surprises at the top of the rankings, there have now been major upsets in consecutive weeks. Last week it was then-No. 3 Georgia losing at home to South Carolina in double overtime. Wisconsin becomes the second-highest ranked team to lose to an unranked foe this season.

This was even more stunning.

The Badgers had not trailed this season, allowing only 29 points with four shutouts in six games. Illinois lost to Eastern Michigan earlier this season and has not even been bowl eligible since 2014. Instead, the Badgers (6-1, 4-1) blew a nine-point lead in the final 9:46 of the fourth quarter on Saturday.

Illinois beat a ranked team for the first time since 2011 and knocked off a ranked Big Ten team for the first time since 2007, when the Illini beat No. 1 Ohio State in November on their way to a Rose Bowl appearance. The last time Illinois beat a ranked Big Ten team at home was October 2007, a 31-26 victory against No. 5 Wisconsin.

Heisman contender Jonathan Taylor rushed 28 times for 132 yards and one touchdown for Wisconsin, but he also lost a fumble in Illinois territory in the fourth quarter to help fuel the comeback.

"We had two drives late in the game that ended in turnovers," Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said. "It's always hard to win on the road, and that made it even harder. We just have to move on and learn from this."

Coan was 24 of 32 passing for 264 yards and a touchdown, but his second turnover of the season came at a crucial time. He sailed a pass on third-and-5 that Adams grabbed to give the Illinois a short field against the No. 1 defense in the nation.

Illinois had cut Wisconsin's lead to 20-14 late in the third quarter on a 43-yard touchdown run by Reggie Corbin.

Wisconsin had opportunities to pad its lead, but settled for a field goal after a first-and-goal from the 3 and then Taylor fumbled at the Illinois 25.

After the fumble, the Illini ripped off a 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by Brandon Peters' 29-yard pass to Josh Imatorbhebhe to make it 23-21 with 5:53 left.

THE TAKEAWAY

Wisconsin: Put aside the College Football Playoff implications. The Badgers' loss also twists the Big Ten West race, with No. 20 Minnesota, No. 23 Iowa and Wisconsin all yet to play each other.

Illinois: The Illini pulled the stunner despite losing top receiver Ricky Smalling (right leg) early in the game and star defensive end Oluwole Betiku (undisclosed injury) early in the second half. Betiku ranks fourth in the nation in sacks.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Expect the Badgers to take a plunge when the AP Top 25 comes out Sunday.

UP NEXT

Wisconsin: The Badgers head to Ohio State for a game that lost a lot of luster in Champaign.

Illinois: The Illini travel to Purdue, trying to make it two straight in the Big Ten.

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/APTop25CollegeFootballPoll and https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

Wisc Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
J. Coan 32 24 75.0 1 264 35 1 96.4
Ill Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
B. Peters 21 9 42.9 2 174 48 0 104.1

Rushing

Wisc Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
J. Taylor 28 132 4.7 22 1
D. Davis III 1 13 13.0 13 0
Ill Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
R. Corbin 17 83 4.9 43 1
D. Brown 11 70 6.4 22 0

Receiving

Wisc Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
J. Ferguson 5 77 15.4 19 1
Q. Cephus 5 62 12.4 28 0
Ill Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
D. Navarro 1 48 48.0 48 1
J. Imatorbhebhe 2 42 21.0 29 1

Fumbles

Wisc F FL
J. Taylor 1 1
J. Coan 1 1
Ill F FL
J. Imatorbhebhe 1 1
B. Peters 1 0

Returning

Wisc KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
D. Davis III 0 0 0 2 16.5 0 21
Ill KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
J. Holmes 0 0 0 1 5.0 0 5

Punting

Wisc Punt Yds Avg LgPu
A. Lotti 2 84 42.0 43
Ill Punt Yds Avg LgPu
B. Hayes 5 233 46.6 55

Takeaways

Ill Int Yds InTD
T. Adams 1 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

Wisc Ill
Points For 23 24
Total Yards 420 315
Rushing Yards 156 141
Passing Yards 264 174
Passing Completions / Attempts 24/32 9/21
Turnovers 3 1
Interceptions Thrown 1 0
Fumbles - Lost 2/2 2/1
First Downs 22 17
Penalties - Yards 6/60 4/15
Time Of Possession 49:49 11:11
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 9/17 2/10
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 0/1 0/1
Punts - Average Yards 2/42 5/47

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Wisc Ill
Wisc 05:45 TD Jake Ferguson 18 yd pass from Jack Coan (Collin Larsh kick) 7 0
2nd Quarter Wisc Ill
Wisc 02:58 FG Collin Larsh 24 yd FG 10 0
Ill 09:07 TD Donny Navarro 48 yd pass from Brandon Peters (James McCourt kick) 10 7
Wisc 13:13 FG Collin Larsh 44 yd FG 13 7
3rd Quarter Wisc Ill
Wisc 04:29 TD Jonathan Taylor 5 yd run (Collin Larsh kick) 20 7
Ill 14:12 TD Reggie Corbin 43 yd run (James McCourt kick) 20 14
4th Quarter Wisc Ill
Wisc 05:14 FG Collin Larsh 20 yd FG 23 14
Ill 09:07 TD Josh Imatorbhebhe 29 yd pass from Brandon Peters (James McCourt kick) 23 21
Ill 15:00 FG James McCourt 39 yd FG 23 24

Game Information

Stadium: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
Attendance: 37,363
Game Time:
Weather: