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Illinois Head Coach Tim Beckman

Opening statement

"I'll just start out with a couple remarks about the resiliency of this football team and the type of want that they have throughout that football game. I told them in the locker room, 'please don't do that anymore, I'm getting old and my heart is getting bad.' The kids fought and I'm proud of the way they fought. I don't think they ever questioned the opportunity to win this football game. Again, that comes from the players and it comes from the player's belief in the system that we are doing offensively, defensively and on special teams. We've got a ways to go, there's no question. There are things during that football game that did not turn out the way we wanted them too, but, the 'W' is a 'W' and we're going to learn from it and we're going to continue to make this program better."

On his thoughts when Taylor Barton got his hands on the ball (during the pick-six)

"It was great to see. He's a young man who has put in a lot of work throughout the summer. He is a film studier, like no other. He's in there evaluating what he does, evaluating what his opponent does, so it was great to see it pay off for Taylor. I know he was excited to be able to pick it and run for six.

On Illini's offensive performance today

"I think that as we progress, I still don't feel offensively that we are clicking in all cylinders yet, but we're still able to put some points on the board. I'm going to challenge him, as I always will, if it's fourth and inches; we're going to go for it. I'm not going to kick a field goal. You go for it, you run the play, and you put it in the end zone. We are going to continue to do that until we get that done."

On the plan of attack against Western Kentucky's offense

"We knew they were going to move fast paced, we knew that they were very skilled at the wide receiver position and their quarterback is a good football player. We felt we needed to pressure them and we did that with our front four. The communication, you don't realize when you are playing with that fast of a football team, how important your linebackers are in making sure the defensive line has the correct call and that the secondary is relaying it to the D-line. The maturity of the defense, to be able to pressure a little bit, and play a little bit of man. They hit the run on us early in the football game and our players responded by stopping that power."

On the team surviving tough plays

"On the sidelines, there are some great seniors, some great players that stood up and said, 'Hey we still have this game, we still can do what we need to do.' It was one of those things that happened. They responded and that's exactly what you want to see as a football coach. I'm sure Bill (Cubit) feels the same way and I'm sure Tim (Banks) feels the same way, that they responded and that got us a win."

QB Wes Lunt

On comeback win:

"It's awesome to see about the team. I think it shows what type of guys we have on the team. Just going through adversity, that's kind of how our workouts have been. In winter and summer, the (strength and conditioning) coaches create situations where we had to overcome (obstacles), so I think it's showing up on the field."

On Justin Hardee:

"(He) came alive today for sure, which is great to see. He deserves everything he gets, he works his tail off and I'm happy for him. He's very athletic, runs good routes and he's a guy you can count on."

On mistakes he made in today's game:

"(I'm) just happy to get the win. A couple of those turnovers, like the fumbled snap, that's something that (center) Joe (Spencer) and I need to get right. Along with a close one with (Josh) Ferguson, we almost lost that one. We need to work on the fundamentals and get ready for Washington."

FS Taylor Barton

On the defense making plays:

"It's exciting for us. It's something that we've been waiting on. We're creating our own plays now and it's something we get better at each day. We're improving from last year and it's a closer-knit group now, so that's why we're making plays. We're playing better, playing together and playing as one defense."

On his interception return for a touchdown:

"It's something we've practiced. My guy goes away, I become the free player and I just read the quarterback. Coach Banks put me in that situation several times in practice - actually earlier, I messed it up in practice, but it came true in the game, so that was good. It's a good feeling. There were other things that went into it, like the pass rush and all that, but it was a good time in the game to make a play like that."

WR Geronimo Allison

On his chemistry with Wes Lunt:

"I think we have been clicking very well. We work on and off the field, watching film together, out there at practice and after practice, and I think we click very well. Our other receivers are on the same page, also. We go out there with a mindset that we're confident and we can make every play, and that's our goal for right now."

On big catches:

"Coach Beckman and Coach Cubit put me in the right position, I just have to hold my end of the bargain and go out there and make plays. When the ball is coming fast I just have to get my head around it, locate it and just trust myself."

Western Kentucky Head Coach Jeff Brohm

Opening statement:

"It's unfortunate we didn't find a way to win this game. I thought our guys did play hard, I thought we came out ready to play. We battled but in the second half, they got some momentum going and took the first drive down and scored, which put them in control. Then they were able to throw the football on us. Illinois was able to protect, throw the ball and control it. We didn't have the ball much in the second half. When we did get it back, unfortunately, we turned it over. We turned it over twice, which hurt us, once for a touchdown. And those are just things we have to fix. Those are the things that hurt us last year: when you talk about turnovers, especially for touchdowns. When you can't get off the field for third downs, those are things that hurt us last year, too. We need to go back to the drawing board and correct those things, but I did think our guys played hard."

On losing a tight game in the fourth quarter:

"Without question, we let one get away. We were right there in the ballgame, played well in the first half, played hard. They got the ball in the second half, took it down and scored. They were able to throw the ball and protect the quarterback, so we weren't able to get much pressure on him. Their quarterback threw for way too many yards. Our defense got us two turnovers and we could've put a dagger in them if we scored when we intercepted the ball, and we couldn't do it. Scoring there would've really put us in the driver seat. We didn't take advantage of opportunities and that hurt us."

On sideline infractions:

"Well, not to blame anyone but we had a few coaches up too far. That's a rule they're stressing; you have to be back off the white (section of the sideline). Our guys weren't on the field but they were on the white so that's on me, we've got to get our guys back. We can't have that happen anymore."

On losing momentum after Wonderful Terry's interception return for a touchdown:

"Well, it was a great play by Wonderful Terry. (It) got us some momentum. Then we even picked off another one and had us in position to score and we needed to score in that situation. We tried to run the ball in on two plays, didn't get much and then we tried to throw the ball in and had a miscommunication. If we could've scored then, I think it would've been a different ballgame. But we didn't, and those are the things you learn from but I think it was a great play by Wonderful Terry."

RB Leon Allen

On the feeling on the sideline when Wonderful Terry returned a fumble for a touchdown:

"That was a great feeling. Wonderful made a good play that gave us momentum and we went out there and executed on the play after that."

On if this game gave the team confidence:

"It gives us more confidence. I don't think 11-1 sounds too bad. We just got to know that we made some mistakes in this game. We need to make our corrections for next week and take it one game at a time."

On his ball possession in the second half:

"I just do my part. If it's time for me to get the ball a lot, I'll get the ball a lot."

LB Nick Holt

On the second half:

"Things started to wear down. We expected them to come out and run the ball more than they did. Those short little passes were pretty covered and we'd rally up and make the tackle most of the time, but then sometimes we'd get them in third-and-12 and they would get the first down. That's really frustrating to get them in third down so many times and let them get that first down by a yard. That's frustrating."

On if WKU let this game get away from them:

"Yes. That was huge. With Prince [Charles]'s interception, we thought the momentum clearly swung our way. We feel like this one did get away from us and that Illinois is a great team. It was a hard fought game, but we got to finish in the fourth quarter. I don't think we showed some spurts of finishing but we have to play a full second half."

On if Illinois was more physical than Bowling Green State last week:

"[Illinois] was physical in a different way. We expected them to run it down our throats but they kind of did the opposite. They're trying to get the ball to the edges with some really good receivers. When they did try to run the ball, we stuffed it pretty good. I think we were just as physical as them."

CB Wonderful Terry

On his fumble return for a touchdown:

"I just went in and tried to make a play. I'll do anything to help my team out. I put my hand in there and noticed the ball was in my hand and I took it the other way. I really was surprised because I was going for the PBU but I recognized that the ball was in my hand so I said let me take it six. He had it in his hands and I was going for the strip, but when I went in for the strip it was in my hands and I said let me make a big play on the ball."

On if they let Illinois get away:

"They play a better game than we did. We just need to keep fighting for the next one."