Correction: Juice Williams passes, runs and leads Illini to victory
Considered the face of the Illinois football program, Illinois sophomore quarterback Juice Williams wore a big smile moments after leading Illinois to a stunning 28-21 victory over No. 1 Ohio State Saturday in a Big Ten Conference football game in Ohio Stadium.
Williams threw for a career-high four touchdowns, then carried the Illini with his legs during a fourth-quarter drive that milked the game's final 8 minutes 9 seconds from the clock. With the nation watching, Williams became a true dual-threat quarterback, while leading Illinois to its first victory over a top-ranked team since 1956.
"That's the maturation of a young quarterback,'' Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said. "He's still only a true sophomore with nine starts last year and 11 this year. We have to keep bringing him along and have patience.
"He came out and lived up to expectations today.''
Illinois (8-3 overall, 5-2 in the Big Ten) will finish in a second-place tie in the conference with a victory against Northwestern next Saturday (time and TV TBA) at Memorial Stadium. The Illini could be one victory away from a New Year's Day bowl game in Florida.
Sure, Williams can run the ball. On three third downs in the final drive, he ran for first downs. He also had a quarterback sneak on a gutsy fourth-down call in Illinois territory. He ended with 70 yards rushing.
Against the nation's top-rated defense, the 6-foot-2, 233-pound Williams showed he was more than just a powerful runner in Illinois' spread option. That's been known since last season, when he assumed the starting job in the fourth game. By improving his passing accuracy, Williams took a giant step toward stardom.
"Juice has grown,'' said Illini coach Ron Zook. "He will be a better quarterback next year than this year. That's the exciting thing.''
Perhaps Illinois should get some promotional ideas together for a Heisman Trophy campaign in a year or two.
"It's fun to see this team take off offensively and be able to throw the ball around in the passing game, not just being one-dimensional with the running game,'' Williams said.
Williams was 12-for-22 passing for 140 yards. He has six touchdown passes in the last two games. Against the Buckeyes, Williams completed touchdown passes of 3, 33, 8 and 31 yards to four different receivers. He didn't throw an interception on a day when the offense didn't lose a turnover. Williams became the first Illini quarterback to throw for four touchdowns in four seasons.
Entering the game, Ohio State (10-1, 6-1) had allowed five touchdown passes all season.
"Juice played a good game,'' Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "He found the people that he needed to, especially on those touchdowns. He's always a threat as a runner.''
The change in Williams came within the last couple weeks, Williams and his coaches said, after the Illini began going full-time with Williams rather than sharing the snaps with redshirt freshman backup Eddie McGee.
When Williams threw for two touchdowns the previous week against Minnesota, the Gophers had the worst pass defense in the nation. But Williams' passes were accurate.
"We were going to stick with Juice regardless,'' Locksley said. "He threw the ball well against Minnesota. A lot of people said, 'That's Minnesota.' To hit open guys in stride, that's making strides. During the last three weeks, you can see the light flickering on with our passing game. We're making plays.''
The improvement in the passing came when Williams told himself to relax, block out the criticism and play with confidence.
"Playing quarterback is about confidence and eliminating the negativity,'' Williams said. "I had a knack for being hard on myself. When things don't go right, I can't panic. I have to go out there confidently and make plays. I felt that change after the Iowa (loss). I talked to myself. I told myself to forget about everything else.''
Forget about Williams being a one-dimensional quarterback.
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more Illini coverage, read Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com <http://www.sj-r.com> and www.pjstar.com <http://www.pjstar.com> .