Clayton debuts, leads Illinois to win in overtime thriller against Michigan State
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In a game that can only be described as a tale of three halves, the Illinois Fighting Illini (3-3, 1-2) trumped the Michigan State Spartans (2-4, 0-3) at Spartan Stadium in overtime, 38-37.
Former Spartan-turned-Fighting Illini Quarterback Katin Houser started off his day strong as he ended the first half throwing 18-of-21, including a 5-yard touchdown to running back Aidan Laughery.
By the start of the second half, it seemed as though the veteran quarterback had lost a step or two.
Houser went 2-for-6 in his short stint during the second half, including throwing his fourth interception of the year late in the third quarter.
It was during the interception that Houser was tackled hard and was subsequently taken out for the remainder of the game.
“I don’t have a lot of information on Katin,” said Head Coach Bret Bielema following the road win. “I know something broke in his hand, and he’ll be out for a considerable amount of time.”
Losing your starting quarterback in a tight game is a situation no coach wants to be put in. Yet, that doesn’t mean that Bielema didn’t have an answer for this out-of-the-blue problem.
Enter Michael Clayton II.
Clayton, a three-star recruit out of Orlando, Fl., was brought into the game having not played a lick of Big Ten football.
But if you tuned in to the game, you would’ve thought he was a battle-tested veteran.
Clayton delivered big on his first drive under center, finding Dixon for not one, but two 14-yard passes, with the second a touchdown that put the Illini up 31-17.
“I know they [Clayton and Houser] lived together for about a month,” Bielema said. “I said to Michael [Clayton], ‘This guy’s been through a lot, and he’s played a lot of football; the more you can absorb from him, the better.’”
Clayton’s sudden debut wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, as a gain of zero on 4th and 1 led to Michigan State starting their offense in Illinois territory and scoring in only a couple of plays.
Kickoff Drama
Yet the most talked about play wasn’t with either Houser or Clayton under center, but a Michigan State kickoff that sent the college football world into a frenzy.
After scoring in the fourth, the Spartans seemed as though they were lining up for a typical kickoff, but instead MSU ran a squib kick and successfully recovered it.
As Spartan Stadium erupted in cheers, the referees reviewed and then reversed the call, stating that the Spartan who recovered the ball was offsides.
This call was reviewed for a second time, and the reworked final verdict was that the ball was recovered out of bounds, leading to MSU having to redo their kickoff.
“I’ve never seen a review go, then come back and review it again,” Bielema said in regard to the onside kick situation.
Illinois Overtime Performance
The offensive unit started things off hot and quick as Michael Clayton would find Hudson Clement for the second touchdown courtesy of the freshman phenom.
“It’s a one-of-one feeling; right now I’m on cloud nine, but I just know I can’t get too big in this moment,” Clayton said after his first collegiate win for the Illini.
But Michigan State was not going down without a fight as they fought their way into the end zone to make it a 38-37 game.
With the game on the line, the Spartans went back into their bag of tricks and pulled out a wildcat play meant to win them the ball game.
As they went to seal the deal, veteran defensive back Xavier Scott stepped in with the tackle to end the game and tarnish Michigan State’s homecoming hopes and dreams.
“Sometimes, everybody just needs one play,” Said Bielema on the final play of the game. “Xavier Scott made a super high-IQ play. Xavier saw that thing coming the whole way and blew it up.”
Check this out:
An alternate angle to what would be the game-winning touchdown!
Trimble making it look easy as he gains a first down.
The man who sealed the game and the head honcho embracing after a hard-fought win.
Stat Stuffers:
Laughery: 70 Rushing Yards, 20 Passing Yards, 1 Receiving Touchdown
Kruetz: 15 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
Clayton: 6-of-8 Passing Attempts, 88 Passing Yards, 2 Touchdowns
Next up on the agenda:
Gies Memorial Stadium’s finest get a week off from Big Ten play, but they’ll have their work cut out for them as they welcome the No. 13 Oregon Ducks to Champaign on Oct. 24.
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