For 59 minutes, there was doubt.
While Illinois led the No. 22 Sun Devils for the majority of the game, they were never quite able to capitalize on mistakes and put ASU (2-1) away.
But with 61 seconds left in regulation, junior quarterback Brock Osweiler’s fourth down pass went over the outstretched arms of his receiver, Aaron Pflugrad, and the Illini’s (3-0) 17-14 victory was sealed.
"I think we showed people what we have been thinking all summer,” Illini sophomore linebacker Jonathan Brown said. “We showed people that we can play with anybody in the country, and that we can have the best defense in the country. Coming into the season, they had us ranked dead last as a linebacker core, and one of our goals was to go out and prove people wrong."
While Brown and the Illini defense allowed 362 yards of total offense to the Sun Devils, they remained opportunistic.
Illinois forced three Sun Devil turnovers and stepped up when their team needed it most, holding ASU to seven points in three visits to the red zone.
"(The defense) had a great plan,” coach Ron Zook said. “That's a pretty good offense and the guys were where they should be. They were in position to make the plays. The pressure was great ... They kept coming. I'm proud of the way the defense played, I really am."
Although it is third game of the season, it was the first real test for the Illini — a test that Zook feels his team passed.
“The good thing is that we saw some things we have to work on, but I think we'll take this game and grow from it,” Zook said. “(Winning) was something we needed to do, and we were fortunate enough to do it."
However, it was just the third game of the season, and Zook wants his team and their fans to remember conference play has yet to start, and that there is still a lot of football left to be played.
"As I told the football team in (the locker room), this is a great win for us, it's a great win for this season, but we're going to get a bunch more of these,” Zook said. “It isn't the end of the season, it isn't the Big Ten Championship, it's just one that we're going to build on. Enjoy it, and I think it makes everybody understand that maybe Illinois is a little better than people think."
It may be a single non-conference victory early in the season, but the upset of ASU has the potential to springboard a memorable season of Illini football.
Following their victory over the Sun Devils, the Illini are 3-0 for the first time since 2001. They are on their first four-game winning streak since 2007, and beat a team ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2007.
"It feels great,” sophomore quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase said about being 3-0. “Coach (Paul) Petrino was telling us all week that it was going to be a 15-round slug fest and we just kept swinging. Sometimes we were missing and sometimes we were connecting, but we found a way to land the last punch and win the fight."
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
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