One week after beating a Top-25 ranked Arizona St. Sun Devils, the No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini had trouble with the Western Michigan Broncos and needed a late field goal to secure the 23-20 victory. The win improves the Illini to 4-0 before they begin Big 10 play against Northwestern next week.
Illinois held an early 10-3 lead over Western Michigan on a Nathan Scheelhaase touchdown pass to Evan Wilson in the first quarter and a Derek Dimke 39-yard field goal in the second quarter. However, Western Michigan's Alex Carder guided the Broncos to 26-yard and 24-yard field goals by John Potter and then a 35-yard touchdown pass to Chleb Ravenell. The Broncos held the halftime lead, 13-10.
Illinois freshman running back Donovonn Young scored early in the third quarter for a 14-yard touchdown and the 17-13 lead. Derek Dimke followed with a 35-yard field goal toward the end of the quarter. But Alex Carder wasn't going to go down without a fight, as he tied the game at 20 with a seven-yard touchdown pass.
On Illinois' ensuing drive, running back Troy Pollard, who rushed for 133 yards in the game, had a 49-yard run. This eventually led to Dimke's go-ahead field goal with eight minutes left in the game. Western Michigan had two more drives, but failed on both, the last ending with the clock reaching triple zero.
For more on this game, visit our Illinois blog Hail to the Orange. Catch up on Saturday's college football action with a visit to out Week 4 scores and updates StoryStream.
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