Walk-Off Win: Illinois Takes Down Indiana in Overtime Behind Historic Offensive Explosion

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – John Paddock found Isaiah Williams for a game-winning 21-yard touchdown in overtime as Illinois took down Indiana, 48-45, at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Fighting Illini recorded 662 total yards of offense in the win, including over 500 yards through the air, their most since 1980.

Paddock, making his first start with the Orange and Blue, put together one of the greatest passing performances in program history, totaling 507 passing yards and four touchdowns while completing 24 of his 36 pass attempts. Those 507 yards set a Memorial Stadium record and are the second-most in a single game in program history.

Williams marked 200 career receptions and surpassed 2,000 career receiving yards with nine catches and a career-high 200 yards, his ninth game with over 100 yards and the most yards an Illini receiver has recorded in a game since 2014.

Pat Bryant also put together his most productive game of his career, finishing with five catches for 131 yards and a score, his sixth touchdown of the season.

Casey Washington hauled in the first receiving score of his college career, ending his day with five catches for 99 yards and a score.

Reggie Love III made his return from injury and found the end zone twice, tallying 140 yards, a career best, on 24 carries.

The Illini scored every time they entered the red zone, finding the end zone six times. 

After both teams were forced to punt on their respective opening drives, the Illini began the scoring on their second possession of the game. Consecutive carries from Kaden Feagin gave the Orange and Blue their first first down of the contest before a 33-yard completion to Bryant moved the offense into Hoosier territory. A 23-yard pass to Feagin moved Illinois into the red zone before Caleb Griffin hit a 24-yard field goal to put the Illini in front, 3-0, six minutes into the game.

Indiana took a brief 7-3 advantage, but Illinois did not trail for long. A 67-yard strike to Williams, the team's longest pass of the season thus far, on the first play of the drive set up an 8-yard Reggie Love III rushing touchdown, his second score of the season. Needing just two plays to find the end zone, the Illini fell behind for only 35 seconds to take a 9-7 lead.

The Hoosiers responded with a touchdown of their own to put the visitors back in front, though the Illini cut into their deficit on their next drive via Griffin's second field goal of the half, this time from 27 yards out. 

Indiana then scored 14 straight points to put the visiting team ahead, 27-12, with just over six minutes to play in the opening half, but Illinois closed the frame on a strong note.

Consecutive completions to Bryant for 19 and 38 yards put the Illini inside Indiana territory before Paddock found Washington in the end zone for the fifth-year wide receiver's first receiving touchdown of his career. The team's second touchdown of the half cut the hosts' deficit to 27-19 with three minutes to play in the half.

The Illini defense made two sacks on the following defensive drive, one apiece from Jer'Zhan Newton and Gabe Jacas, to force a punt and bring the Illini offense back on the field with 92 seconds remaining in the opening half.

Back-to-back strikes to Williams saw the Illini pick up a crucial first down to move the chains. Paddock then found Washington for completions of 23 and 19 yards to move into the red zone before Bryant hauled in his sixth receiving score of the season from 13 yards out. The Illini's third touchdown of the opening 30 minutes of play cut the Illinois deficit to 27-26 with 18 seconds to play.

The Illini took that same scoreline into the break. Illinois registered 369 total yards of offense in the opening half, including Paddock's 316 yards through the air. Three different receivers registered over 75 yards through the first two quarters, including a career-high 131 yards on five catches for Bryant.

On Indiana's first drive of the second half, Newton recovered his third fumble of his career, though the Illinois offense could not capitalize on the takeaway. 

After forcing a Hoosier punt, the Illini offense found the end zone for a fourth time. Once Illinois got into Indiana territory, Paddock found Williams for a 42-yard touchdown, marking the third different receiver to find the end zone. The score put the Orange and Blue back in front, 33-27, with over five minutes to play in the contest.

With Indiana inside Illinois territory on its next possession, Mac Resetich came up with the first interception of his college career. The turnover marked the defense's second takeaway of the third quarter.

The Illini offense took over at their own 19-yard line and immediately went to work. A 15-yard rush from Love opened the drive before a 21-yard completion to Washington moved the chains to midfield. Converting a fourth down, the Illini found the end zone on the next play, a 37-yard rushing score to extend the Illinois lead to 39-27. The touchdown marked Love's first multi-touchdown game of his career, putting the Orange and Blue ahead by two possessions on the first play of the fourth quarter.

After the Hoosiers cut their deficit to five with 12 minutes to play, the Illini moved into Hoosier territory on completions of 20 and 21 yards. Ultimately getting inside the Indiana 5, Griffin extended the Illini advantage to eight points on his third field goal of the game.

Indiana scored a late touchdown to force overtime, and the Hoosiers took the lead, 45-42, after starting with the ball in the overtime period. Facing a third-and-6, the Illini need at least a field goal to keep the game going. Instead, Paddock found Williams for a 21-yard touchdown, securing the Illini overtime victory.

Illinois (5-5, 3-4 B1G) travels to Iowa next Saturday for its final road game of the regular season. Kickoff from Kinnick Stadium is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT on FS1.

Highlights

Press Conference

Team Notes

• Illinois leads the all-time series against Indiana, 46-25-3.
  • Illinois snapped a four-game losing streak to Indiana, beating the Hoosiers for the first time since 2012.
  • The Illini's 48 points were the most scored against Indiana since scoring 55 in the 2008 edition of this game, also at Memorial Stadium.
  • The teams' 93 combined points were the most in the series history. 
• Illinois has won 3+ Big Ten games in each of Bret Bielema's first three seasons as head coach. It is the first time Illinois has won 3+ Big Ten games in three straight seasons since 1992-94. 
• Bret Bielema's 12 Big Ten wins through his first three seasons at Illinois are tied for the most since John Mackovic won 18 in his first three seasons (1988-90).
  • Bielema is tied for the fourth-most Big Ten wins through three seasons among the Illini's 13 head coaches in modern history (post-1940).
  • Bielema is 8-1 in his career against Indiana.
• Illinois is one win away from bowl eligibility. If the Illini win one more game this season, they will qualify for bowls in back-to-back years for the first time since 2010-11.
• Illinois scored 48 points in the game, the most since scoring 55 on Nov. 3, 2018, vs. Minnesota.
  • The Illini scored 26 points in the first half. It was the most points scored in the first half of a game since scoring 37 points against Northwestern on Nov. 27, 2021.
• Illinois' 662 yards of offense is the most by any Big Ten team this season.
  • They are the only Big Ten team to eclipse the 600-yard mark on offense this season.
    • Their 9.3 yards per play is the second-highest single-game average by a Big Ten team this season.
  • The Illini had at least 600 yards of offense in a game for the first time since Nov. 3, 2018, vs. Minnesota.
  • The Illini's 507 passing yards are the most by a Big Ten team this season.
    • Only team to eclipse the 400-yard mark and the 500-yard mark.
    • Illinois averaged 21.1 yards per catch, the highest mark by a Big Ten team this season.
    • The Illini averaged 14.1 yards per attempt, the second-highest mark by a Big Ten team this season.

Individual Notes

• QB John Paddock completed 24 of 36 passes for 507 yards for four touchdowns and one interception.
  • His 507 yards passing is the second-highest single-game total in program history and is most ever in a game at Memorial Stadium.
    • Joins Dave Wilson (621, 11/8/80 at Ohio State) as the only other quarterback in program history to have at least 500 yards passing.
    • Is the second-most single-game passing yards by an FBS quarterback this season. Only Colorado's Shedeur Sanders (510, Sept. 2 at TCU) threw for more yards in a game this season.
  • Went 13-for-19 with 316 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the first half.
    • Most passing yards in a half for the program since Nathan Scheelhaase threw for 340 yards in the first half on Aug. 31, 2013, vs. Southern Illinois.
    • Most first-half passing yards by a Big Ten QB since CJ Stroud threw for 393 yards on Nov. 20, 2021, vs. Michigan State.
  • Had the first 400-yard passing game by an Illini QB since Wes Lunt threw for 456 yards on Sept. 6, 2014, vs. Western Kentucky.
    • First 400-yard game against a Big Ten opponent since Juice Williams threw for 462 yards on. Oct. 11, 2008, vs. Minnesota.
  • Sixth Big Ten quarterback this season to throw for at least four touchdowns in a single game.
  • Went 14-for-17 for 347 yards on first-down passing attempts.
  • Paddock's 499 yards of total offense is the third-highest mark by an FBS player this season.
• WR Isaiah Williams had nine catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
  • Williams leads the Big Ten in receptions with 68, 16 ahead of Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., who ranks second with 52.
  • Williams has at least one catch in all 35 games since he switched from QB prior to the start of the 2021 season, the longest active streak in the Big Ten and tied for the eighth-longest active streak in the nation. Williams is approaching the Illini record of 37 consecutive games with a reception, set by Josh Ferguson (2011-15).
  • Williams has at least three catches in 24 straight games.
  • Williams is No. 2 in Illinois history in career receptions with 200. In the Illinois record book, Williams trails only College Football Hall of Famer David Williams' 262 receptions (1983-85).
  • Williams has 2,142 career receiving yards, eighth all-time in Illinois history. 
  • Williams had his ninth-career 100-yard game, fourth all-time in program history.
  • His 200 receiving yards are the second-most by a Big Ten player this season. He is the 15th FBS player to tally at least 200 yards receiving this season.
    • Williams is the first Illini receiver to have a 200-yard game since Mike Dudek also had 200 yards receiving on Oct. 4, 2014, vs. Purdue.
    • Amassed 203 all-purpose yards, the eighth-most by a Big Ten player this season.
• WR Pat Bryant caught five passes for a career-high 131 yards and one touchdown.
  • His six receiving touchdowns are tied for fourth-most among Big Ten receivers.
• WR Casey Washington caught five passes for 99 yards and one touchdown.
  • Scored his first-career receiving touchdown in the second quarter.
• RB Reggie Love III rushed 24 times for a career-high 140 yards and two touchdowns.
  • First-career 100-yard game.
  • First time in career rushing for two touchdowns.
• DT Jer'Zhan Newton had four tackles, two solo, one tackle for a loss, one sack and one QB hurry.
  • Has 16.0 sacks in his Illini career, the second-most by an Illini DT (since 1983). He trails only Moe Gardner (18.0, 1987-90).

Quotes

Head coach Bret Bielema 

Opening Statement:

"Obviously excited to get out of here with a win against Indiana in a hard-fought game. I showed the guys last night that they made some changes on their coaching staff coming out of their bye week. They had their first game against Michigan. They were up early on them and came back against Penn State to make that a fourth-quarter game, then they got a win over Wisconsin last week. I knew we were going to have a test on our hands, and our guys kept battling back. I give a lot of credit to our guys who made plays at the end with what needed to happen.

"Defense was a tale of two halves and kind of at the end fell apart, but we lost some key personnel and some guys stepped up in overtime with that third-down stop to force a field goal. I tell you, John Paddock, I'm blown away that he had the most passing yards in Memorial Stadium history for an Illinois QB. That's a great indicator. I've always said this long before today: The greatest quarterbacks are the guys who can make many plays under pressure.

"That last play kind of broke down, and they brought some pressure. He flushed out of the pocket, Isaiah adjusted and went cross country on that route over to the boundary. To be able to see them convert that for the game-winning touchdown was just awesome. We did a lot of really good things today: Casey Washington got his first touchdown at home today. I can't believe that. He's been lights out. He's been an unwritten MVP, in my opinion, all year offensively. He's made big play after big play. Zy Crisler came back after rolling his ankle. Kaden Feagin went back in after getting banged up. I don't exactly know where he is. A lot of guys persevered. It's the end of the year in the Big Ten, so we'll see where we are." 

On John Paddock:

"Since January, he's been the same guy every day. He's very diligent in his process. He works and plays with a lot of commotion getting guys fired up in the locker room and sidelines. Last week in practice every day, you'll hear him say things that had a little more depth to it, and players really respond to him. He's dynamic, knows his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses."

On the offense: 

"One thing I thought Barry did very well today was adjust with the game. We were using Kaden early. He looked good running, and when Reggie came in, we had to have a perspective that he wasn't going to be able to bang it out. I thought that last series of the half, Barry did a nice job of adjusting the play call. He really took control of the day."

On chunk plays: 

"On Monday, we come together, and I go around the room to ask our coordinators what they think. Each coach will talk about their matchups because I am a big matchup guy. Geo (George McDonald) going into that game, thought our guys could win against their DBs in the back end, and he preached to them all week about that. I love it when coaches have a feel for their players. When Isaiah muffed that punt, Geo told him, 'Stay the course. You're going to be disappointed in that play,' then next play he's streaking into the end zone. Geo did a great job of getting them into the nice matchup. Barry did a nice job of designing the play concept, and obviously the players executed." 

On getting back-to-back wins:

"We haven't been able to do that since last year with the Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota stretch. We aren't mathematically eliminated. I gave our guys a schedule two weeks ago to check off every day to take advantage of it and see where we are on Saturdays. This is two back-to-back successful Saturdays. I am excited to go to Iowa next week. Last year, I caught COVID, so I was watching from an Airbnb. Definitely excited to make this trip."

John Paddock

On registering the second-most passing yards in a game in program history: 

"I am excited. I could have thrown for two yards, to be frank with you, and if we win, I would have been happy. That is serious. That's from the heart, and I mean that. That's my number one priority. I am a big believer that the quarterback position is evaluated by one number. That is either a win or a loss in that column." 

On the game-winning touchdown: 

"There wasn't much I liked front side, so I just kind of got flushed out. One, I just knew exactly what he was going to do, right when he put his foot in the ground. He had the right idea, and that was just as much him. He was wide open. That was just as much on him as me getting outside the pocket. It was kind of a reactionary thing." 

On giving credit: 

"I think first of all, credit goes to the coaches for believing in me, and then really buying into the process. Going back to winter workout, spring ball, they've just done a fantastic job of leading me and helping me understand what my role is, my situation, and when that opportunity presents itself, I have to be ready. I just took that to heart every day, and obviously a culmination of six years of college football. Coming down to my last couple of games here, and I have seen a lot of the way games go, played with a lot of guys, and I have seen a lot of coverages and defenses. This is just a culmination of letting rip." 

Jer'Zhan Newton

On how Paddock's offense helped the defense:

"Seeing our offense score or even just getting down there in field-goal range, getting a field goal, shows us a glimpse of how the game is going to go or how it could go. Even when things are going bad, I feel like John still had that swag we try to bring on defense every day. To see our quarterback come in with that swag, being on the same page, it turned us up."

On facing double teams every play:

"I always say I know that if i get double-teamed, somebody will come up. I think Gabe got a sack. It just creates one-on-one opportunities for everybody else. I feel like if they win their one-on-one battles, I'll stop getting double-teamed."

On what's been different on the final defensive drives of the past two games:

"Just putting our foot down, knowing the game on the line, and we can do something to impact the game, we can win the game basically with a defensive stand, so just putting our foot down, knowing what's on the line, and getting a stop."

Reggie Love III

On his career-high rushing day: 

"Credit to the o-line, tight ends, receivers. They did a great job blocking. Coach Lunney had great calls. Coach Ward prepped us through the week. The training staff got me back healthy and got my confidence back to go out there and play ball."

On Casey Washington scoring:

"The crazy thing is I give Casey crap every week about not having a touchdown. Well, now he has a touchdown. I tell him that it's my fault he has a touchdown. I fumbled, and he scored. To see Casey get in the end zone, it was great. Great guy, he prepares well, and I was excited to see him have that moment." 

Casey Washington

On his first-career touchdown:

"It feels great, but more importantly, we got the win. It's great to be out there with my brothers. As you get older, you gain perspective, and you appreciate playing with your teammates more. Getting a touchdown is just the cherry on top, but we've got more work to do."

On John Paddock's on-field presence:

"If you get to know John off the field and as a person, you know what he's going to bring to the field. Any guy with that kind of confidence and presence, regardless of whatever he's doing in life, he's going to have success. The way he approaches things, his intensity and the way he's intentional makes him special."

On the team's resilience:

"When you take a group of guys who've been through some adversity, both in and out of football, and you put them in the same room and give them an opportunity and have a battle for one common goal, I think you should expect something special. We can look back and say we should be in a different place, but this is where we're at and we're here for a reason. I wouldn't want to be with anyone else."

Isaiah Williams

On how he feels after the win: 

"First and foremost, I want to give praise to Jesus. When you look back at that game and the positions that I was in, there's nothing but God. For me, it just feels surreal. Last week, I had a play that set us back when I fumbled, and then this week, the same thing on the punt. It always feels good to go through some adversity and be able to bounce back. Of course, I don't want to go through that because I don't want to hurt my team in any way or put our defense in a bad situation, but being able to overcome that personally, it feels great."

On John Paddock's performance:

"He brings juice. He's just a dude. The swagger and confidence he plays with is unmatched. Nothing bothers him. I remember coming off the field after the first possession. We had a tough possession. He looked at Coach Lunney and said, 'Alright, I'm good now. Let's go.' Nothing fazes him. At any moment, you know we have a chance because he is going to play free. He is going to give us the best chance to make plays every single time he's on the field."

On how it feels to have back-to-back game-winning touchdowns:

"It feels great knowing my team can count on me in those situations. Paddock has the trust in me to throw the ball to me and allow me to make a play. It feels great. I had to just come up for my team because, in the last two games, I made plays that let my team down and put my defense in tough situations. It was great being able to bounce back from that, and they still have the trust in me to come to me."

On his achievement of recording 200 receptions and 2,000 career receiving yards:

"I never thought any of this would happen. Even at the beginning of the season, I really didn't even know I was that close to 2,000 yards or 200 catches. I didn't know any of this. Of course, I had goals when it came to this season. I wanted to do big things this season, but learning now that I'm breaking records and getting on boards all-time, it feels great. Honestly, I had no idea about any of that. When I switched, I felt like that was my best opportunity to play. I trusted Coach B, trusted the offense, and it has worked out."