IOWA CITY, Iowa – Illinois fell short against No. 16 Iowa, 15-13, at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday night.
Isaiah Williams recorded his 10th 100-yard performance of his career, tallying eight catches for a team-high 105 yards. Williams extended his streak to 36 consecutive games with at least one reception since switching to wide receiver in 2021.
Reggie Love III registered his fourth touchdown of the season, which came in the second quarter. Love notched a team-high 64 rushing yards on 18 carries.
John Paddock, securing his second straight start, finished with 215 passing yards, while Casey Washington hauled in a career-high eight catches.
Caleb Griffin hit two field goals, including a 52-yarder that tied the second-longest kick of his career.
The Fighting Illini made four sacks, which tied their season high. Seth Coleman finished with two, while Kenenna Odeluga and Dylan Rosiek each ended their outings with one sack apiece.
Illinois returns to Memorial Stadium for its Senior Day and regular-season finale against Northwestern. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
NEXT HOME GAME
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
Team Notes
- Illinois remains one win away from bowl eligibility. The Illini are looking to qualify for bowls in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010-11.
- The Illinois defense matched their season-high mark in sacks, with 4.0.
Player Notes
- Isaiah Williams caught eight passes for 105 yards.
- Williams leads the Big Ten in receptions with 76, 14 ahead of Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., who ranks second with 62.
- Williams has at least one catch in all 36 games since he switched from QB prior to the start of the 2021 season, the longest active streak in the Big Ten and tied for the eighth-longest active streak in the nation. Williams is approaching the Illini record of 37 consecutive games with a reception, set by Josh Ferguson (2011-15).
- Williams has at least three catches in 25 straight games.
- Williams is No. 2 in Illinois history in career receptions with 208. In the Illinois record book, Williams trails only College Football Hall of Famer David Williams' 262 receptions (1983-85).
- Williams has 2,247 career receiving yards, seventh all-time in Illinois history.Â
- Passed Arrelious Benn (2,221) in today's contest.
- Williams has 10 100-yard receiving games in his career, fourth-most in program history.
- His 105 yards were the most by an opponent against Iowa this season.
- Casey Washington caught a career-high eight passes for 58 yards.
- Seth Coleman had five tackles, all solo, two sacks and two tackles for a loss in the game.
- His second multi-sack game of the season.
- Coleman's 6.0 sacks are the most by an Illini in a single season since Owen Carney Jr. had 6.5 in the 2021 season.
- Dylan Rosiek recorded a career-high 11.0 tackles, seven solo, and added one tackle for a loss.
- Caleb Griffin's 52-yard field goal in the first quarter was tied for the fourth-longest on the road against a Big Ten opponent in program history.
- Was his third field goal of 50+ yards in his career, fifth-most in program history.
QUOTES
Opening statement:
"Very disappointed. Not being able to pull that off and play like that for just short of four quarters the way we did. I liked our prep over the course of the week and our intensity. I kept preaching to these guys all week and showing different examples that every play is gonna matter.Â
"Obviously, I think that final drive defensively, we had done so many good things, but we had two DPIs on that drive. We gave them too many free yards, and they hit a crease run that we stopped all day. Just one guy here, one guy there, and that's the difference in the ballgame. Then obviously the failure to execute on that last drive. I think there's some things we can do better as coaches to help the players to get better at the line of scrimmage.Â
"I don't want to get lost in negativity. A lot of guys playing their butts off today. I thought our guys went out there and competed. Reggie Love, again, just the workload that he's taken. John, again, did a lot of really good things. The wide-receiver room did some more positive things. Defensively, to rebound and play the way we did for the majority of the game was good.Â
"It's gonna be a gut check this week. Obviously, these guys have done a lot of really good things. I want them to play, get a chance to play in the postseason, but the one thing we have to do is worry about beating Northwestern. Everything else will take care of itself.Â
"We're gonna have a great week of practice, our best week of the year, and get a chance to play on Saturday and see where we can go."
On the team's mentality heading into the regular-season finale:
"It's all about going in and learning from this experience. We still have a lot to play for: to get six wins and go to a bowl game. We know that we won't do that unless we prepare and prep to beat Northwestern. It's all about keeping our routine."
On learning from and putting this game behind them:
"We have to take the L on the chin tonight. Tomorrow, we'll wake up and go learn from this experience. Then, move on, put this game to bed, and move on because there's still a lot to play for."
On how the team will respond after the loss:
"I think we'll come back really motivated and ready to go. I don't think anyone's spirits are down at all. I think we just have to come back and get ready to work. We have a huge one. There are seven days left for us seniors. We're gonna get after it this week and work hard. This isn't gonna discourage us at all. There is a lot left to play for."
On what it means to have earned the opportunity to be the starter:
"It was great. First of all, just praise God for giving me the opportunity. I know none of this would be possible without Him, and my faith is very important to me. I think it just goes to show that we live in such an instant-gratification society. That's the delayed gratification of working hard, being a backup for four years, and then coming here and walking on. It was a really cool week. Obviously, I got the Indiana week where I was the one through the whole week. With Luke coming back, obviously things were up in the air. It was cool. It's been a cool experience. I'm so thankful for my coaches and just praise God for the opportunity."
On learning from and putting this game behind them:
"I think it's like every other week.Taking an L hurts, but you gotta pick yourself back up. You gotta dust yourself off. You gotta look at what could have been done better. We gotta execute, and that's what we're gonna do."
On what it takes to emerge victorious in close games like Saturday's contest:
"Perfection. Everybody's gotta be doing what they need to do, eyes where they need to be. There can't be one little slip-up, or else what just happened, happened."
