Illinois downs Hoosiers, 43-13

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.---A slew of forced turnovers by Illinois (4-3, 2-2) led the Fighting Illini to a 43-13 victory over IU (4-3, 0-3) on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 53,550 at Memorial Stadium.

The turnover theme started early for the Hoosiers.

On the first drive of the game, the Illini defense gave IU quarterback Ben Chappell all he could handle. After two straight incompletions, Chappell was faced with a third-and-10 from the IU 8-yard line.

The good news was that Chappell completed his first pass of the day. The bad news was that it was to the wrong team.

Illinois junior cornerback Davon Wilson stepped in front of Chappell’s pass and intercepted it at the IU 21-yard line. A five-yard return by Wilson set the Illini up in the IU red zone for their first offensive possession of the day.

“On that pick, they played a little different coverage there,” Chappell said. “I just tried to squeeze it in there, but I forced it.”

But a stand by the IU defense prevented the Illini from capitalizing on their starting field position and they were held to a 28-yard field goal by junior kicker Derek Dimke.

The Hoosiers would respond with a 22-yard touchdown pass to IU tight end Ted Bolser. The catch for the redshirt freshman set the school's single season record for touchdowns by a tight end.

But the record-breaking touchdown would not generate any sustained offensive momentum for the Hoosiers.

The Illini made quick work of the IU defense, answering with a 29-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Evan Wilson. The touchdown capped off a five-play, 90-yard drive to give the Illini a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

It was a lead that the Illini would not look back on for the rest of the afternoon.

The turnover bug stung the IU offense again in the second quarter. This time it came at the hands of IU redshirt freshman quarterback Dusty Kiel. On a keeper play out of the Wildcat formation, Kiel coughed up the rock at the IU 23-yard line.

This time, the Illini would capitalize on the short field position.

It took Illinois three plays to reach paydirt, connecting on a 17-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Jarred Fayson. The touchdown from Illinois redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase gave the Illini a 17-7 lead.

On the next IU drive, Chappell led the Hoosiers to the Illinois 36-yard line and faced a third-and-10. Once again, the Illini secondary would end another Hoosier drive.

Illinois sophomore cornerback Patrick Nixon-Youman picked off Chappell’s pass and returned it for a touchdown. The 68-yard return gave the Illini a 24-7 lead with the first half winding down.

“We can’t turn the ball over for touchdowns like that,” Chappell said. “There’s no excuse for that.”

A couple of traded field goals at the end of the second quarter made the score 27-10 going into the half.

In the second IU possession of the second half, the Illini special teams forced their first turnover of the day. Illinois senior Nate Bussey blocked an IU punt and forced a safety.

The Hoosiers would fail to cut into the 29-10 deficit, scoring recording a single field goal in the second half.

Chappell's day ended with 279 yards passing and three interceptions in a game that he said his unit cannot duplicate.

“We didn’t get it done, and that’s on the offense 100 percent,” Chappell said.

The defeat extends the Hoosiers' streak of 13 straight Big Ten road losses, and IU coach Bill Lynch said the team must improve heading into next week’s game against Northwestern.

“Well, this was a game where we made way too many mistakes to win the football game,” Lynch said. “Yet, we just can’t turn the ball over like we did and expect to win a Big Ten football game.”