In the first half, it was the same old Illini. They scored first but fell down 13-7 by the half as their offense went cold and their momentum frittered away. And when Tate Forcier connected with Roy Roundtree for a 77 yard pass to seemingly put Michigan ahead 20-7, I was ready to lament yet another loss where the Illini fell apart as the game went on. Except on review, Roundtree was down at the 1, Illinois made four straight goalline stops, then quickly rattled off a 6 play, 99 yard drive, highlighted by a 70 yard touchdown run by Mikel LeShoure.
And suddenly, everything was different. I had dismissed Illinois as a team that just didn't have as much talent as I once thought they did. But maybe they were just shell-shocked after a 37-9 opening game loss and didn't have the confidence to win games they were capable of winning. But after that series of plays where instead of being down 20-7, they were up 14-13, they finally realized they could win a game. And the result was far and away the most satisfying game of football Illinois has played since, oh, their 45-20 defeat of Michigan last year in the Big House. Are they really 25 points better than Michigan? Probably not. But for once, all the breaks went the Illini's way and they were ready to capitalize They made huge plays over and over again in the second half, and the 79 yard touchdown run by Jason Ford to put them ahead 38-13 was just icing on the cake. It may be too late to save a bowl berth, but for one glorious second half, it all came together for the Illini and Rich Rodriguez has to be wondering if he will still be patrolling the Michigan sideline this time next year.
