Williams, Illini bury Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Walking slowly and wearily, orange helmet in hand, the last Illinois player on the Michigan Stadium turf turned right and headed up the fabled tunnel.

"Juice! Juice!" chirped dozens of boys and young men. "Can I have your skullcap? Can I have your skullcap? Juice!"

Having already handed Michigan its hat in unprecedented fashion, Williams decided it was the least he could do to flip his navy blue skullcap into the stands.

A young man dressed in Wolverines garb, who hadn't begged Illinois' junior quarterback for anything, caught the souvenir.

"Yes!" he yelped.

Yes, indeed, one final score on a Saturday afternoon loaded with them for Illinois.

Not only did Williams rack up the most total yards in the 81-year history of Michigan Stadium (431), he led Illinois to its highest point total in this bitter and lopsided 110-year-old rivalry.

Williams threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for 2 more as the Illini reeled off 28 straight points to turn an early deficit into a 45-20 Big Ten thrashing before a crushed homecoming crowd of 109,750.

Considering this was just Illinois' fifth win over Michigan in the last 50 seasons, nobody involved with the program cared whatsoever that this was their first game against an unranked Wolverines team since 1987.

Even 1994 Butkus Award winner Dana Howard, hanging out and whooping it up on the Illinois sideline, kept hollering for his alma mater to pile it on.

"It's a great feeling," Williams said. "Anytime you beat a top program with a lot of tradition like Michigan, it's a great feeling. It's something that you'll never forget.

"We were able to bounce back after last week's loss up at Penn State. It was a loss that gave you a gut-sick feeling - and we hated it."

So, Juice, considering you also became the first player in Illini history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game, did this happen to be the most complete game you've played?

"I'm pretty sure on film I've got some MAs (missed assignments)," Williams said with a big smile. "Was it perfect? It was a good game."

It was a game in which virtually everyone on the roster for Illinois (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) grew up.

Michigan (2-3, 1-1), fresh from a huge rally the previous Saturday that shocked No. 9 Wisconsin, shredded Illinois' kick coverage and defense to take a 14-3 lead late in the first quarter.

But then Illinois' big-play capabilities took over on both sides of the ball.

On the first play from scrimmage after Michigan went up 14-3, Williams hit Arrelious Benn for a 46-yard gain on a play-action pass to set up a 6-yard Williams scoring run.

After the defense forced the first of seven consecutive Michigan punts, Williams lobbed a screen pass into the left flat for running back Dan Dufrene.

Blessed with two good blocks, Dufrene flew down the sideline past two tacklers with a good angle for a 57-yard score and a 17-14 halftime lead.

Then, on the fourth play of the third quarter, Williams tossed a bomb down the left sideline to junior Jeff Cumberland.

Though safety Charles Stewart flashed in front of the Columbus, Ohio, native as the ball arrived, Cumberland snagged it and turned upfield for a 77-yard score - the longest touchdown pass for Illinois since 1985.

That was one of the plays that told offensive coordinator Mike Locksley his prized pupil is really coming along.

Williams (and Cumberland) sniffed out Michigan's Cover-2 defense and reacted accordingly.

"That was a true progression read," Locksley said. "Juice was able to come off the field, tell me exactly what he saw and why he went there.

"That's the process we want to continue to see out of him. Based on the coverage, (Cumberland) was one of the first three options.

"Middle field open? He's going to key the boundary safety. The boundary safety stayed on the hash (mark), so he made a great throw down the sideline."

Williams, along with true freshmen Jason Ford and Mikel LeShoure, added fourth-quarter touchdown plunges to give Illinois the most points by a Big Ten opponent in Michigan Stadium since 1961.

"Obviously, it's a big, big win," said Illinois coach Ron Zook. "But we have to keep it in perspective."

Or not. This was a day when Juice belonged next to Red Grange in the Illini pantheon.

Why? There's just one other instance in which Illinois defeated Michigan by so many points:

The day the "Galloping Ghost" rushed for 5 touchdowns and threw for a sixth in a 39-14 win in 1924.