Oct. 28--The missed opportunities Illinois will remember against Wisconsin came in the red zone, when the Illini failed to convert third-down passes.
"Third downs were kind of our downfall," interim coach Bill Cubit said on Tuesday's Big Ten coaches teleconference.
Illinois was just 3 of 12 on third downs, including a failure on all five attempts on third-and-short. All three conversions were on passes.
The Illini failed both third-down rush attempts, and they did not convert a single third down in the second half.
Cubit said of four dropped passes, three were on third downs.
Penn State, Illinois' opponent on Saturday, limits opponents to a 33.9 conversion percentage on third downs.
Injury update: Tight end Tyler White is likely finished for the season after he suffered an ACL tear in last weekend's loss to Wisconsin.
"He fought hard to get back," Cubit said of the junior, who had ACL tears two other times. "We're going to miss him because of the type of player he is and the type of person he is."
Running back Josh Ferguson is "very, very doubtful" after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury suffered Oct. 3 against Nebraska. Wide receiver Marchie Murdock is making progress and is expected to return against Penn State.
sryan@tribpub.com
