Ok, this was a Big Ten game where two evenly matched team played hard..and reasonably well; no turnovers, few penalties.
So, from this fan’s perspective, the game was fun to watch..save the final result.
But as far as the game went: Rutgers outplayed us for most of the game. The Illini did tie the the game 7-7 off a nice touchdown pass; best of the season:
Rutgers took the lead 10-7 after a drive but the Illini countered with a drive followed by a very nice ..touchdown pass to the tight end..
And so it was 14-10 Illini at the half. I told my buddy that I had no idea as to who would win the football game.
Defenses ruled in the 3’rd quarter (Rutgers missed a field goal into the wind) and in the 4’th, Rutgers excellent punting paid off. The Illini were pinned deep. Rutgers ran some nifty quarterback keeps and hit some passes to take a 17-14 lead and another running dominated drive ended in a short field goal; it was 20-14 with just over 3 minutes to play.
The Illini managed to rally but the running plays consumed time…and it was just over 1:3x to go with 3’rd down and 2. An up the middle run gained 1.5 yards. But on 4’th down, a toss sweep was stuffed in the backfield and Rutgers took over, converted a 3’rd down on a spectacular quarterback keep and ran out the clock.
Navy 20 Tulsa 17
The night before, I caught this one on TV. And Navy came away with a hard fought 20-17 win over the Golden Hurricane…and had some huge plays.
- Navy made a 46 yard field goal.
- On this play, the Navy defensive back did not give up. He denied the Tulsa WR a touchdown..and it turns out Navy held Tulsa to a field goal on that possession.
Navy also got a lucky…ok, maybe “make your own luck” interception which denied Tulsa the touchdown
So, Navy played hard but had some luck.
Shorter:
Final shot: Rutgers field goal drive to seal the win.
Shorter
Life of an old goat 