Western Michigan shakes up Illinois, QB Williams

 

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	21	20
Total Yards	443	365
Passing	328	301
Rushing	115	64
Penalties	3-30	4-30
3rd Down Conversions	1-13	7-15
4th Down Conversions	2-4	0-0
Turnovers	2	1
Possession	26:35	33:25

Air/Ground Leaders
Illinois Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Williams 20/45 328 1 2	Western Michigan Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Hiller 28/40 301 2 0
Illinois Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Williams 12 68 0 19 Dufrene 6 36 0 11	Western Michigan Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG West 18 57 0 12 Winchester 4 19 0 11
Illinois Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Benn 7 111 0 37 Cumberland 3 76 1 61	Western Michigan Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Simmons 11 174 1 27 Ledbetter 5 39 0 19

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				ILL	WMU
	FG	10:48	John Potter 31 Yd	0	3
	TD	02:20	Jason Ford 1 Yd Run (Matt Eller Kick)	7	3
SECOND QUARTER				ILL	WMU
	FG	12:04	John Potter 22 Yd	7	6
	TD	09:06	Robert Arnheim 10 Yd Pass From Tim Hiller (John Potter Kick)	7	13
	TD	04:27	Jamarko Simmons 15 Yd Pass From Tim Hiller (John Potter Kick)	7	20
THIRD QUARTER				ILL	WMU
	FG	04:08	Matt Eller 20 Yd	10	20
FOURTH QUARTER				ILL	WMU
	FG	14:55	John Potter 45 Yd	10	23
	TD	12:30	Jeff Cumberland 5 Yd Pass From Juice Williams (Matt Eller Kick)	17	23

DETROIT -- Tim Hiller threw two touchdowns and John Potter kicked three field goals to help Western Michigan beat Illinois 23-17 on Saturday.

The loss prevented Illinois (5-5, 3-3 Big Ten) from clinching bowl eligibility. The Illini will get two more shots to qualify for a bowl: next week against 11th-ranked Ohio State and on Nov. 22 at No. 24 Northwestern.

Hiller's touchdown passes came after Illinois quarterback Juice Williams was intercepted on consecutive possessions in the second quarter. Hiller completed 28-of-40 passes for 301 yards and surpassed 3,000 passing yards for the second consecutive year.

Western Michigan (8-2, 5-1 Mid-Amercan) already is bowl eligible. However, the Broncos trail No. 167 Ball State and Central Michigan in the MAC West standings and might not qualify for the MAC championship game. The winner of that contest receives an automatic bowl bid.

Williams completed 20-of-45 passes for 328 yards and a touchdown, but he was sacked twice in addition to the two interceptions. On their final possession, he led the Illini from their own 1-yard line to Western Michigan's 18, but a fourth-down pass to Arrelious Benn was incomplete.

The Broncos, hosting a game at Ford Field for the first time, gave up 443 total yards to an Illini offense ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten and 16th in the nation.