Sept. 27, 2007
Penn State 28
#15 Illinois 33
Nov. 10, 2001 // Memorial Stadium // Champaign, Ill.
The Fighting Illini entered the ninth game of the season against Penn State in first place in the Big Ten Conference, ranked 15th in the Associated Press Top-25 and as the No. 12 team in the BCS rankings, their first appearance on the list in school history. The Illini needed a late fourth quarter drive in front of a sellout crowd of 70,094 fans at Memorial Stadium to steal the thrilling victory over the Nittany Lions, 33-28.
Penn State jumped out to a 21-7 first-half lead before the Illini defense, behind Eugene Wilson's three interceptions and five pass break-ups and Jerry Schumacher's 13 tackles, held the Nittany Lion offense scoreless in second half.
Feeding off the momentum of the defense, the Illini offense came out on fire in the second half, scoring 20 unanswered points to take the lead, 27-21, with just under four minutes to play in regulation. However, Penn State took the momentum right back from the Illini as Larry Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to put the underdog Nittany Lions back on top, 28-27. With 3:29 remaining and Illinois' Big Ten title hopes on the line, it was time for quarterback Kurt Kittner to lead the Illini offense 80 yards for the come-from-behind victory.
Facing third-and-10 at the Illinois 20-yard line, Kittner found Brandon Lloyd for a 30-yard completion to put the Illini at midfield. Four consecutive runs by Carey Davis brought the Illini down to the Penn State 13-yard line with 1:22 remaining. On the very next play, Rocky Harvey took a Kittner hand-off straight up the gut 13 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
"The hole was huge," Harvey said after the game. "I was kind of surprised, but that's my front line. I had to hurdle a guy because they had knocked him on his butt, but that was about it. This is our house and we had to protect it."
Penn State's final drive to pull off the upset was short-lived, as Christian Morton picked off a Matt Seneca third-down pass to seal the victory for the Orange and Blue and keep the hosts atop the Big Ten standings.
Harvey led the Illini offense with two second-half scores, while Kurt Kittner threw for 195 yards and a touchdown in the game. The defense, led by Wilson and Schumacher, held Penn State to 61 total yards in the second half and forced three second-half turnovers. The victory put the Illini at 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten.
Illinois would go on to win its final two games of the season, at Ohio State and at home against Northwestern, to win the outright Big Ten championship and earn a berth in a BCS bowl game for the first time in school history, facing LSU in the Sugar Bowl.
Quarterback Kurt Kittner looks back on the game fondly.
"The 2001 Penn State game in Memorial Stadium is one of the best games I ever played in," Kittner said. "It was a night game in front of a sell-out crowd, and we came from behind late in the fourth quarter for the victory. The combination of the night game, crowd noise, overall atmosphere and the late, heroic win is what makes the game forever one of my favorites. To me, it sums up what Illinois football is all about."
