Illini Run Past Wildcats, 48-27, in Allstate Wrigleyville Classic

Saturday, November 20

Chicago, Ill.

2:30 PM

Northwestern

7-4 , 3-4

Illinois (at Wrigley Field)

6-5 , 4-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Illinois

Northwestern

Mike Trumpy celebrates his 80-yard touchdown run at the Allstate Wrigleyville Classic.

Illini Run Past Wildcats, 48-27, in Allstate Wrigleyville Classic

11/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

Nov. 20, 2010

Illinois 48, Northwestern 27
Allstate Wrigleyville Classic
Site: Wrigley Field • Chicago, Ill.
Records: Northwestern (7-4, 3-4 Big Ten), Illinois (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten)
Up Next: at Wisconsin • 2:30 p.m. • Saturday, Nov. 27 • ABC (ESPN Mirror)

CHICAGO -- With the eyes of the entire nation watching, Northwestern and Illinois staged a contest that will be remembered for years to come at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. But a career day for the Illini's Mikel Leshoure proved to be the difference as the Wildcats fall 48-27 at the Allstate Wrigleyville Classic.

Illinois dominated on the ground, racking up 519 yards rushing on the day. Leshoure tallied 330 of those yards on 33 carries and a pair of touchdowns, including a pair of rushes of 60 yards or more. His effort was the most yards by an FBS player this season and also set an Illinois single-game record.

Evan Watkins completed 10 of 20 passes for 135 yards in his first career start, completing passes to six different receivers. Tony Jones tallied 51 yards on a pair of receptions with Sidney Stewart adding 32 yards on two catches and Jeremy Ebert compiling 27 yards on two receptions.

Mike Trumpy notched his second 100-yard rushing performance of the season, totaling 129 yards on 13 carries and scoring both of Northwestern's offensive touchdowns. Adonis Smith also added 20 yards on three carries for the Wildcats.

Playing in a bowl-like atmosphere, Illinois came out of the gates quickly, going 66 yards on three plays on its first possession, getting on top 7-0 before the sold-out Wrigley Field crowd could get settled in its seats. Northwestern then committed the first of its three first-quarter turnovers, fumbling at the Illini 30-yard line. Illinois would take advantage, scoring six players later to take a 14-0 lead with less than five minutes gone in the opening quarter.

Northwestern then committed its second turnover in as many possessions on the ensuing drive, as a Wildcat fumble gave the Illini the ball in good field position at the 39-yard line.

But Northwestern then found the spark it was looking for as Brian Peters intercepted a pass from Eddie McGee, returning it 59 yards to the east end zone to bring the Wildcats to within seven at 14-7 with just over six minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

But the wild first quarter wasn't over, as Illinois swung momentum right back in its favor, covering 73 yards in three plays, including a 70-yard rush by Leshoure, to take a 21-7 advantage. Momentum then once again swung Northwestern's way as Trumpy capped the quarter, breaking a career-best 80-yard touchdown run as the Wildcats trimmed the lead to 21-14 after one.

Both teams slowed the pace in the second quarter as three field goals was all the scoring that was generated. Stefan Demos converted a 31-yarder to tie the game at 24 following an Illinois field goal, but a 39-yarder by the Illini as time expired gave Illinois the 27-24 halftime lead.

Illinois then went back to its potent rushing attack in the third quarter, possessing the ball for over 11 minutes. The Illini used a 14-play, 61-yard drive that burned nearly seven minutes off the clock to position themselves in the driver's seat, capping the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Scheelhaase to A.J. Jenkins to give Illinois the 34-24 advantage after three.

Another long scoring drive in the fourth quarter ended with a two-yard touchdown run and gave Illinois the commanding 41-24 lead. The Wildcats tried to put together a dramatic comeback under the lights at Wrigley, as a 25-yard field goal by Demos cut the deficit to two touchdowns at 41-27 with 7:43 remaining. But Illinois thwarted the comeback attempt, putting together a 13-play, 73-yard drive, capped with one final touchdown to seal the 48-24 win.

Defensively, Peters had a career day for Northwestern, tallying 18 tackles and a pair of interceptions, including the pick-six into the east end zone in front of the Wildcat student section. Quentin Davie added 11 tackles for NU with Vince Brown tallying nine on the afternoon.

Northwestern now prepares for its final game of the regular season, heading to Madison, Wis., to take on the seventh-ranked Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 27. Kickoff time is now set for 2:30 p.m. CT with ABC televising regionally (ESPN mirror).

NOTE: The two teams ran all their offensive plays toward the west end zone after the Big Ten ruled on Friday that the east end zone was unsafe for the student-athletes.