Missed Opportunity

It's not every day that a huge underdog has a chance to beat the second-ranked team in the country, but the Illini had that chance on Saturday, hanging in against the Buckeyes before a late 4th quarter TD sealed a 24-13 Illini loss. I'm going to gloss over the fact that the Illini were unable to take advantage of the Buckeyes after knocking Heisman Trophy candidate Terrelle Pryor from the game. Instead, I'm looking at that 4th quarter.

After the Buckeyes kicked a field goal to make the score 17-10, the Illini responded with a 67-yard drive that stalled inside the OSU 15 yard line, and the Illini settled for a field goal, even though they would still need a TD to win, to make it 17-13. I'm not even going to complain about that decision, because it sounds like a second-guess. Besides, if the Illini defense could hold one more time, the offense could get the ball back with a shot to pull off the upset. But here's how things unfolded:

• A 15-yard personal foul penalty on the ensuing kick return gave OSU the ball near midfield.
• After allowing one first down, the Illini stopped the Buckeyes on a third down, which would have given them another possession, but on the play Justin Green lined up offside to give the Buckeyes a first down.
• The Buckeyes went on to score the clinching TD.

The offisde penalty was particularly galling. On the radio call, Kurt Kittner called it a "stupid penalty", especially because Green was lined up right in front of the Illini bench and none of the coaches moved him back. So once again, penalties killed the Illini (nine for 74 yards, including the two crucial ones I mentioned), and the poorly-coached, undisciplined Illini missed their chance to score a major upset. The good news: if the Illini play this way against Penn State (which looked helpless against Iowa last night), this team might be able to overcome itself and win.