The season was still young as the undefeated Illini squad traveled up I-57 to Soldier Field for their toughest matchup of the season up to that point with the USF Bulls.
Illinois led three quarters of this game, as a touchdown from Mike Epstein and four field goals from Chase McLaughlin had Illinois up 19-7 going into the fourth quarter. But that’s when things started to fall apart for the Illini, as USF’s offense finally came alive and put up 18 points in the final quarter to give USF a 25-19 advantage.
Down to their last drive and with 2:24 left on the clock, MJ Rivers and the Illini weren’t going down without a fight.