EVANSTON, Ill. - A late rally by the Fighting Illini was spurred by a spectacular touchdown grab by Ricky Smalling midway through the fourth quarter. But AJ Bush Jr was intercepted on Illinois' next possession to and Northwestern escaped with a 24-16 win in Evanston on Saturday.
Smalling hauled in his fifth touchdown of the season on a juggling catch on third and seven midway through the fourth quarter.
Bush there for a career-high 223 yards and ran for 56 more.
Chase McLaughlin connected on a trifecta of field goals from 21, 29 and 26 yards.
Illinois ends its season 4-8 (2-7).
ILLINOIS POSTGAMEÂ NOTES
TEAM NOTES
• Illinois leads the all-time series against Northwestern 55-52-5.
• Illinois ran for 154 yards on 32 carries (4.8 yards/carry), finishing the season with 2,916 rushing yards. Illinois improved to 243 rushing yards per game after averaging 105.6 rushing yards per game in 2017, the biggest improvement in the nation.
• Illinois averaged 243.0 rushing yards per game in 2018, the fifth most in a single season in Illini history.
• Illini defense allowed 371 total yards against Northwestern, the fewest allowed by Illinois in Big Ten play and the second-fewest this season (361 vs. Western Illinois.)Â
• Illinois started the same five offensive linemen for all 12 games this season (OT Vederian Lowe, OG Kendrick Green, C Doug Kramer, OG Nick Allegretti, OT Alex Palczewski).
• Illinois started two true freshmen, both in the defensive secondary (SS Sydney Brown, NB Delano Ware).
• Illinois' true freshmen combined for 32 starts, the fourth most in a season in Illinois history. Last year, Illinois set the program record with 86 cumulative true freshmen starts.
• Illinois' true freshmen combined for 25 starts on defense, tied for the second most in a season in Illinois history. Last year, Illinois set the program record with 34 cumulative true freshmen starts on defense.
• Illinois captains: OL Nick Allegretti, LB Dele Harding, LB Del'Shawn Phillips.Â
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Senior QB AJ Bush Jr. threw for a career-high 281 yards on 23-of-39 passing, and added 56 yards on the ground for 337 yards to total offense.
• Bush Jr.'s season rushing total of 733 yards is the third-most by a QB in Illini history (868 by Nathan Scheelhaase in 2010 & 755 by Juice Williams in 2007).Â
• Junior RB Reggie Corbin ran 13 times for 78 yards to total 1,085 rushing yards this season, the 10th most by an Illini. He averaged 8.5 yards per carry for the season. He entered the game leading the nation with 8.8 YPC.Â
• Sophomore DE Bobby Roundtree had six tackles (three solo) and 0.5 TFLs. Roundtree finishes the season with 66 tackles, 12.5 TFLs and 7.5 sacks.
• Senior K Chase McLaughlin had three field goals (31, 29, 26 yards) and added an extra point to bring his season scoring total 96 points, the seventh most in program history.Â
• McLaughlin finishes his Illinois career with 211 points, the sixth most in Illinois history.
• McLaughlin's three field goals brought his season total to 20, tied for the fourth most in a single season in Illinois history.
• Sophomore SS Michael Marchese had a career-high 11 tackles. His previous high was five (vs. USF, 9/15/18).
• Senior WR Sam Mays hauled in four catches for a career-high 69 yards.Â
• Freshman SS Sydney Brown started for the 10th time this season, tied for the second most by a true freshman defensive back in Illinois history (11 Vontae Davis 2006, 10 Nate Hobbs 2017).
• Freshman CB Delano Ware started for the eighth time this season, tied for the fifth most by a true freshman defensive back in Illinois history (11 Vontae Davis 2006, 10 Nate Hobbs 2017, 9 Sydney Brown 2018, 9 Craig Swoope 1982, 8 Jartavius Martin 2018).
• Senior OL Nick Allegretti started for the 36th straight game.
• Sophomore OL Alex Palczewski started for the 23rd straight game.
