Nightmare revisited: For the second year in a row, Illinois lost a game because its offense yielded points. Last September, the Arizona defense scored two touchdowns and a safety to defeat Illinois 16-14. “It reminded me very much of Arizona,” coach Lou Tepper said. “It was nightmarish.”
Offense hamstrung: The Illini sorely missed starting tailback Ty Douthard, who is out with a hamstring injury. Damien Platt, Kevin Jackson and Robert Holcombe picked up a total of 28 yards in 23 carries, and a dozen of those yards came on one jaunt by Holcombe, a freshman.
Bad decade: The Illini have lost 12 of their last 13 games against Pac-10 foes, a stretch of futility that began in the 1984 Rose Bowl. They’re also 1-2 in season openers under Tepper and 2-5 in September during his tenure.
Record-breaker: Tim Fields’ 71-yard touchdown return of a Johnny Johnson fumble broke a 95-year-old Washington State record.
Fields was a highly touted running back prospect as a Southern California prep, but he bulked up to become a linebacker. He was nearly out of gas by the time he reached the goal line, vaulting into the end zone a step ahead of Johnson.
Who’s playing? Soldier Field was decked out with pennants from the Big 10 schools and dozens of orange and blue Illinois flags. But someone forgot to change the scoreboard in the south end zone, which read “Bears-VISTR.” The Illini score went in the Bears slot.
Speaking of the Bears, they caught a break because the game was played in dry conditions. But the field still appeared choppy by the time the game was over, and there’s still Saturday night’s Notre Dame-Northwestern game to be played there before the Bear opener Sunday.