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Iowa upsets Illinois in defensive struggle

Oct 13, 2007 - 10:18 PM IOWA CITY, Iowa (Ticker) -- After having a long touchdown called back because of a penalty, Eddie McGee put Illinois in position to pull out a dramatic victory. Iowa defensive end Brett Greenwood ended those hopes.

Greenwood intercepted McGee in the end zone with 1:12 remaining Saturday as Iowa held off the 18th-ranked Fighting Illini, 10-6, in a Big Ten Conference contest.

Iowa (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) snapped its eight-game skid in conference play and posted its first Big Ten win since defeating Illinois last season.

"I'm very, very pleased for our players," Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said. "I can't say enough about our seniors."

It was Iowa's first win over a ranked opponent since a 20-10 victory over No. 19 Wisconsin on November 12, 2005.

"Today we just wanted to come in and shut down Illinois as much as we could and give ourselves the best opportunity to win," Iowa defensive tackle Mitch King said. "The losing streak, I didn't even think about. I just think getting a W is huge for this program."

Replacing an ineffective Juice Williams in the fourth quarter, McGee appeared to give Illinois (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) the lead with an 83-yard TD pass to a wide-open Joe Morgan.

But the play was brought back because of an illegal receiver down field.

The Hawkeyes scored the game's only touchdown on Jake Christensen's 20-yard strike to Brandon Myers with six seconds remaining in the third period. The score gave Iowa a 10-6 lead.

Nicknamed "The Closer" by Williams, McGee was poised to close out another win for the Fighting Illini, who were seeking their first 4-0 start in the Big Ten since 1990.

After Illinois started its final possession on its 29 with 2:28 remaining, McGee completed passes of 28 and 24 yards to Arrelious Benn as the Illini reached the Iowa 12.

But with the Illini on the verge of a go-ahead score, McGee made a critical mistake. On 2nd-and-9, he badly missed his receiver, throwing the ball right into the hands of Greenwood in the middle of the end zone.

"He tried to force it in there," Illinois coach Ron Zook said of the interception. "He led him too far."

The loss snapped Illinois' five-game winning streak and prevented the Illini from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2001.

Iowa held Illinois to a pair of field goals by Jason Reda, shutting down the Big Ten's top rushing offense. The Illini came in averaging 30.2 points per game.

"The first half, the defense hardly had to be on the field," King said. "When you can come out with fresh legs on every down, and you're offense is clicking, it really gets everybody in good spirits."

Illinois was held to just 137 yards on the ground, while Williams rushed for only 41 yards on 10 carries.

Perhaps caught looking ahead to next week's contest against Michigan, Illinois was sluggish in the first half, managing only 111 yards of total offense.

But a bend-but-don't-break defense kept the Illini in the game, as Iowa managed only a field goal despite crossing midfield on all four of its first-half possessions.

"We improved during the course of the week," Ferentz said. "We moved the ball today, and that was a very positive step."

Iowa's Daniel Murray kicked a 28-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the half to tie the defensive struggle, 3-3.

On its first possession of the second half, Illinois nearly matched its first-half total, marching 78 yards. But the drive stalled after a 1st-and-goal at the 2, and the Illini settled for Reda's 23-yard field goal with 8:59 remaining in the third quarter.

Iowa had a chance to extend its lead, but Christensen fumbled the snap at the Illinois 11 with 8:51 left in the fourth quarter. Chris Norwell recovered the fumble, keeping the Illini in the game.

Christensen completed 17-of-25 passes for 182 yards, while Albert Young paced Iowa on the ground with 99 yards on 25 carries.

"It's has been a while for us (getting a win)," Young said. "It was good to see smiles all around."