In a game that can only be described as a tale of three halves, the Illinois Fighting Illini (3-3, 1-2) trumped the Michigan State Spartans (2-4, 0-3) at Spartan Stadium in overtime, 38-37.
Former Spartan-turned-Fighting Illini Quarterback Katin Houser started off his day strong as he ended the first half throwing 18-of-21, including a 5-yard touchdown to running back Aidan Laughery.
Yet a late injury in the third quarter led to Houser being taken out for the rest of the game.
Losing your starting quarterback
in a tight game is a situation no coach wants to find themselves in. Yet, that doesn’t mean that Bielema didn’t have an answer for this out-of-the-blue problem.
Enter Michael Clayton II.
Clayton, a three-star recruit out of Orlando, Fl., subbed into the game having not played a lick of Big Ten football.
But if you tuned in to the game, you would’ve thought he was a battle-tested veteran.
Clayton delivered big on his first drive under center as he found Dixon for not one, but two 14-yard passes, with the second one being a touchdown pass that put the Illini up 31-17.
Clayton’s sudden debut wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, as a gain of zero on 4th and 1 led to Michigan State starting their offense in Illinois territory and scoring in only a couple of plays.
Kickoff Drama
Yet the most talked about play wasn’t with either Houser or Clayton under center, but a Michigan State kickoff that sent the college football world into a frenzy.
After scoring in the fourth, the Spartans seemed as though they were lining up for a typical kickoff, but instead MSU ran a squib kick and successfully recovered it.
As Spartan Stadium erupted in cheers, the referees reviewed and then reversed the call, stating that the Spartan who recovered the ball was offsides.
This call was reviewed for a second time, and the reworked final verdict was that the ball was recovered out of bounds, leading to MSU having to redo their kickoff.
Illinois Overtime Performance
The offensive unit started things off hot and quick as Michael Clayton would find Hudson Clement for the second touchdown courtesy of the freshman phenom.
But Michigan State was not going down without a fight as they fought their way into the end zone to make it a 38-37 game.
With the game on the line, the Spartans went back into their bag of tricks and pulled out a wildcat play meant to win them the ball game.
As they went to seal the deal, veteran defensive back Xavier Scott stepped in with the tackle to end the game and tarnish Michigan State’s homecoming hopes and dreams.
Check this out:
An alternate angle to what would be the game-winning touchdown!
Trimble making it look easy as he gains a first down.
The man who sealed the game and the head honcho embracing after a hard-fought win.
Stat Stuffers:
Laughery: 70 Rushing Yards, 20 Passing Yards, 1 Receiving Touchdown
Kruetz: 15 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
Clayton: 6-of-8 Passing Attempts, 88 Passing Yards, 2 Touchdowns
Next up on the agenda:
Gies Memorial Stadium’s finest get a week off from Big Ten play, but they’ll have their work cut out for them as they welcome the No. 13 Oregon Ducks to Champaign on Oct. 24.
