Oct. 5, 2007
Fans went on-line during the past week at fightingillini.com and CoachRonZook.com to vote for their top Illini football win over Wisconsin. Here are the results...
50.6%
ILLINOIS 42, Wisconsin 35
Oct. 20, 2001 // Champaign, Ill.
Illinois used a fourth quarter touchdown pass from Kurt Kittner to a leaping Brandon Lloyd to come away with a 42-35 Homecoming victory over Wisconsin on Oct. 20, 2001. The Badgers came back from a 1st half deficit to take the lead on the Illinois before two fourth quarter touchdown passes sealed the win for the Illini.
Illinois trailed 7-6 after the first quarter, but broke the game open in the second as Kittner threw two TD passes, a 22-yarder to Rocky Harvey and a 34-yard strike to Aaron Moorehead, and John Gockman hit a 48-yard field goal to put the Illini up 22-7 at halftime.
The Illini still led 28-14 after three quarters of play, but the Badgers came back to score three touchdowns in the first 2:12 of the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of costly Illinois turnovers, an interception by Kittner and a fumble by Christian Morton on a kickoff after a UW score, to take a 35-28 lead.
The Illini came right back with a lighting-quick 50-yard, 42-second scoring drive, capped by a 14-yard TD pass from Kittner to Brian Hodges, to tie the score at 35-35 with 12:06 to play.
A quick three-and-out by the Illini defense gave Kittner and the offense the chance to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter. On third and 11 at the Wisconsin 22-yard line, Kittner found
Brandon Lloyd in the corner endzone to take a seven-point lead with just over six minutes left to play. Another three and out by the defense and a steady dose of
Antoineo Harris rushes ran the clock out on the Badgers to give the Illini a 42-35 victory.
With four touchdown passes, Kurt Kittner became the all-time career touchdown passes leader at Illinois. Kittner connected on 24 of 45 passes for 401 yards that included four touchdowns to four different receivers. Lloyd and Moorehead each eclipsed 100 yards receiving with 129 and 111, respectively, and each hauled in a TD. The kicking duo of Peter Christofilakos and John Gockman combined for five field goals to tie the school record. Illinois went on to win the outright Big Ten title with a 7-1 conference record and finished 10-2 on the season after playing LSU in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, the school's first appearance in a BCS Bowl game.
 | 20.3%
Illinois 29, Wisconsin 28
Oct. 23, 1982 // Madison, Wis.
Mike Bass (pictured) kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Badgers 29-28 in Madison. Bass had five field goals for the game, tying a Big Ten single game record at the time. Tony Eason had 479 yards passing and drove down the field in the final minute after Wisconsin had taken a 28-26 lead with 52 seconds left. Illinois finished the year 7-5 and played Alabama in the Liberty Bowl.
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 | 8.7%
Illinois 13, Wisconsin 12
Oct. 31, 1992 // Madison, Wis.
Illinois trailed the Badgers 12-0 going into the fourth quarter in Madison, but the Illini rallied in the final two minutes of the game to defeat the Badgers 13-12. Jason Verduzco (pictured) threw the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver John Wright with 1:25 left to play to give Illinois the victory. The Illini finished the year 6-5-1 and faced Hawaii in the Holiday Bowl.
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 | 8.4%
#19 Illinois 27, Wisconsin 15
Oct. 8, 1983 // Madison, Wis.
Thomas Rooks (pictured) rushed for 2 touchdowns as the Illini came back from a 9-3 halftime deficit by scoring 24 second half points. The win came in front of over 78,000 fans in Madison and kept Illinois' undefeated Big Ten season intact. This key win helped pave the way for Illinois' 9-0 finish in the league on way to the 1984 Rose Bowl game against UCLA.
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 | 7.1%
Illinois 9, #7 Wisconsin 6
Nov. 14, 1959 // Madison, Wis.
Instead of going for the tie, Illinois rolled the dice in the final seconds and it paid off when fullback Bill Brown (pictured) plunged into the end zone just as the game clock expired to give the Illini the 9-6 upset over No. 7 Wisconsin. Brown gained 106 yards for the game in front of the 56,028 in attendance in Madison. The Illini finished 5-3-1 and tied for third in the Big Ten.
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 | 5.0%
Illinois 10, Wisconsin 0
Nov. 10, 1923 // Champaign, Ill.
Red Grange (pictured) scored the lone touchdown for the Illini despite being kneed in the head during the first half. Illinois tallied four other shutouts during the year in which they went 8-0 and won the National Championship.
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