On paper, the mismatches couldn't have been any more glaring. Illinois hadn't beaten MSU in its last nine tries, had only defeated one in-conference opponent in three years and had a true freshman nicknamed "Juice" taking the snaps from center.
MSU had every reason to come out with guns blazing — what better way to erase the memory of last week's fourth-quarter implosion against Notre Dame than to drop 50 points on a Big Ten doormat?
But what they lacked in talent, history and experience, the Fighting Illini made up for with the intangibles that seem to matter most in college football games.
Intestinal fortitude. Guts. Cajones.
The Fighting Illini responded to each blow an uninspired MSU team landed, notching an improbable 23-20 victory at Spartan Stadium.
Illinois led 20-10 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Spartans — led by sophomore quarterback Brian Hoyer, who stepped in for an injured Drew Stanton — scored on consecutive drives and tied the game at 20.
The Fighting Illini began their final possession with 2:41 remaining on their own 20-yard line. Rather than sitting on the ball and playing for overtime, Illinois head coach Ron Zook had enough faith in his young team to go for the win in regulation.
"I asked (place-kicker Jason) Reda how close we needed to be; then I told (offensive coordinator Mike Locksley), 'Just get me to the 30-yard line,'" Zook said. "We did it just like we do in practice."
Illinois gained 4 yards on its first two downs and faced a crucial third-and-6. Quarterback Isiah "Juice" Williams took the snap out of a shotgun formation, threw a pump fake at the middle of the MSU defense, then scrambled toward the left sideline. Linebacker David Herron Jr. fought through a block and shoved Williams out of bounds, but not before "Juice" stretched the ball past the first-down marker.
It was the only third-down conversion the Illini needed. Williams continued to pick apart the MSU defense, advancing his team to the MSU 22-yard line. Reda nailed a 39-yard field goal with six seconds remaining, giving the Illini a 23-20 lead. Time expired on the ensuing kickoff, ending MSU's 10-year winning streak against the Illini.
Williams ran the two-minute drill to near-perfection, completing all three of his pass attempts for 33 yards and rushing three times for 12 net yards. As he had done all day, Williams exuded more poise and resolve in the final two minutes than the entire MSU roster showed in a three-hour span.
"My team was depending on me to come lead the drive, trying not to fumble the ball, trying not to throw an interception — it was just so much stuff going through my head," Williams said. "But the team and the coaches kept me relaxed and motivated me the whole way."
In fact, the entire day was an exercise in Williams' ability to handle pressure and forget his mistakes.
Williams first showed his cool in the pocket during the second quarter. He fumbled a snap in shotgun formation, but rather than panicking, he picked up the ball and connected with wide receiver Jacob Willis for a 69-yard touchdown.
"That was just one of those things that just happened at the moment," Williams said. "That wasn't planned. Usually, I'm taught to get the ball out of my hands, throw it out of bounds. But I saw an opportunity, and I just took it."
He displayed similar poise in the third quarter. After throwing a poor pass that MSU senior cornerback Demond Williams intercepted and returned for a touchdown, "Juice" answered the bell, leading his team on a 10-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that pushed the score to 17-10.
"Locksley told me to just wipe it out of my mind," Williams said. "Just keep playing, stay positive, stay focused and everything's going to be all right."
At Sept. 25th's press conference, MSU head coach John L. Smith said the game would show what kind of character the Spartans possessed.
But the week of practice that followed lacked intensity, and that laid-back attitude showed itself on the field.
"That's the way we practiced, what you saw out there," Smith said Saturday. "And apparently, I don't have any answer."
After the game, tempers flared when Illinois players attempted to plant a flag on the block "S" at midfield of Spartan Stadium.
"They had the right to do that," sophomore quarterback Brian Hoyer said. "They beat our ass today."
Williams said the Spartans should have seen it coming.
"We're the Fighting Illini," he said, "not the lay-down Illini."
