Some quick context: I watched the game in the living room of my apartment in the same Illini stocking cap I ran five miles in earlier in the morning. Tasty. Needless to say it is unlikely I will ever watch another game without that Illini stocking cap, and that includes a possible Cappy One Bowl appearance in Orlando on New Year's Day.
Query: will they let me into Pleasure Island wearing a stocking cap? Only a stocking cap?
But I digress. On to the game.
Early on it was a game of Buckeye punch/Illini counterpunch.
Buckeye Punch: Boeckman finds Hartline on the first play from scrimmage for a 65 yarder and then a play later Chris Wells runs 11 yards for the score. 7-0 Bluckeyes.
Illini Counterpunch: Daniel "Danny" Dufrene runs untouched for 80 yards before a sneaky push tackle from behind trips him up a few yards short of the end zone. A play later Juice flips a little pass to Bloomington's own Michael Hoowamanawanui for the score. 7-7.
Buckeye Punch: The other running back named Wells on the Bluckeyes scores on a 19 yard run. 14-7 Buckeyes.
Illini Counterpunch: After a Dere Hicks INT Juice feathers a pass 33 yard over the middle to Jacob Willis who falls into the end zone. 14-14. I'll be honest. Until that point I wasn't sure Juice could "feather" anything, least of all a football. But he did. And I am thankful.
And from there it was just a great game.
The defenses tightened down and players hit hard. Vontae Davis smacked a guy so hard he knocked himself out of the game. Kind of like how in Good Will Hunting Robin Williams said his wife used to fart so loud in her sleep she would wake herself up. What a monster.
The first half closed with Juice hitting Brian Gamble for an 8 yard touchdown and the Illini lead 21-14.
Highlights of the great great second half included:
- the Antonio Steele interception in the end zone after the Buckeyes had driven to first and goal at the Illini 9. The first two plays from goal netted the Buckeyes nothing and then on third down Marcus Thomas batted the ball in the air and Steele made the INT.
- Juice taking over and running 5 times for 33 yards and then lofting a 31 yard TD to Marques Wilkins that stayed up in the air for so long that the DB almost got to it but then ... didn't.
- Juice taking over again after the Buckeyes scored in the 4th Quarter to pull to 28-21. The Buckeyes had the ball again and were driving for the tie when Marcus Thomas snaked an INT (the kid was filling in for the monster that is Vontae Davis and made two huge plays) allowing Juice to get the ball back. Then Juice pulled a little Vince Young impersonation and used a series of handoffs, options and quarterback runs to bleed out the clock.
Game.
The only thing left was for a little scrum at midfield (just a little shovin' among competitors) and then an emotional, watery-eyed interview with the Zooker, Juice and Bonnie Bernstein. Just all around good television.
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