Sept. 11, 2004

Recap |  Final Stats |  Quotes

1. On the first play of the game, junior Kendrick Jones had a 46-yard reception (from Jon Beutjer). He then added a 45-yard catch in the third quarter (from Brad Bower). Jones now has four catches of 40+ yards on the season. For the game, Jones had six catches for 110 yards, his second straight game with over 100 yards receiving. Jones had 101 yards last week vs. Florida A&M. The last Illini receiver to have over 100 yards receiving in back-to-back games was Walter Young during the 2002 season (114 yards at Wisconsin on Nov. 9 and 144 yards vs. Ohio State on Nov. 16).

2. Sophomore Franklin Payne's 16-yard TD catch in the second quarter was the first touchdown reception of his career and the fourth catch of his career.

3. In the second quarter, senior linebacker Mike Gawelek recorded his first career interception, picking off a pass deflected by redshirt-freshman defensive lineman Chris Norwell. It marked the Illini's third interception on the year, and fourth forced turnover on the season.

4. Mark Kornfeld earned a reputation as a clutch receiver last year, with 31 of his 44 receptions (70 %) resulting in first downs. His first catch of this year, a 21-yarder today against the Bruins, also converted a first down. On the day, Kornfeld had two catches for 26 yards, both of which resulted in first downs.

5. Redshirt-freshman Brad Bower replaced Jon Beutjer at quarterback in the second half after Beutjer suffered a rib injury. In his first series, Bower led the Illini on a 10-play, 58-yard drive for a touchdown. He then led the Illini to a field goal on his second drive. For the game, Bower had his first career 100-yard game as he was 11 of 15 for 102 yards. Bower ran six times for 39 yards and also totaled three rushing first downs.

6. Illinois' 208 yards rushing gave them back-to-back 200-yard rushing games (296 versus Florida A&M), marking the first time since 2002 that the Illini had consecutive 200-yard games (215 yards versus Purdue on October 12, and 248 yards versus Indiana on October 26).

7. Kelvin Hayden recorded 11 tackles, including five solo tackles, both career highs. Hayden also broke up two passes - a career high - and notched the first sack of his career.

8. Redshirt-freshman Chris Norwell also set new career high with eight tackles, and registered the first pass broken up (PBU) of his career.

UCLA Notes

1. Today's game against Illinois marked the first career start for linebacker Aaron Whittington, defensive lineman Kenneth Lombard, and safety Eric McNeal.

2. Wide receiver Craig Bragg's 41-yard touchdown reception was his 11th career touchdown of 40 yards or more.

3. Bragg set another mark as he moved into third place on the UCLA career receiving yards list. Bragg started the game with 2,449 yards and his three receptions for 73 yards gave him 2,522 yards for his career and pushed him past J.J. Stokes' (1991-1994) old third place mark of 2,469 yards. Next on the list for Bragg is Kevin Jordan's second-place total of 2,548 yards.

4. Quarterback Drew Olson's three touchdown passes in the game were a career best.