CHAMPAIGN, Ill. _ All the ingredients were there for Illinois to make this a wonderful football Saturday: An opponent that was a bottom-feeder in the Big Ten. A sunny 77-degree day. Even a big-time college basketball recruit was on campus.
Should have been all good vibes around Champaign.
But the scene turned grim quickly.
Before the game, there was the news freshman running back Mike Epstein was out with a season-ending foot injury. That made a potential victory seem immediately more difficult.
Then, on their first drive, the Illini moved down to the Rutgers' 29-yard line before penalties forced them back and eventually a field-goal attempt bounced off the uprights.
By the fourth quarter, there were only about 230 hapless fans left in the student section to watch what can be described only as one of the worst losses in Illinois' recent history: 35-24 to Rutgers.
Rutgers had gone two years without a Big Ten victory until traveling to Champaign. It was a moment of glee for second-year coach Chris Ash and Rutgers players, who sprayed water bottles to celebrate in the locker room.
It made Lovie Smith's rebuilding job at Illinois look like he's starting from scratch with blueprints for the Taj Mahal.
"Thank God it only counts as one loss," he said.
Illinois (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) did so few things well that when a reporter asked Smith about positives on defense, he interrupted saying, "Let me know which one that was."
Despite securing three fumble recoveries, the defense let Rutgers tear through it. The Scarlet Knights (2-4, 1-2) had averaged only 92.5 rushing yards in its two Big Ten losses, but Illinois' missed tackles and lack of pressure allowed them to rush for 274 yards and five touchdowns .
Rutgers racked up 376 total yards of offense.
"That's tiring," said defensive end James Crawford, who recovered two fumbles and registered a sack. "When you can't get them to third down and force them to pass, they're really running however they want and that's tiring on the defense."
Illinois, which has lost four straight, couldn't get much going on offense either.
Ra'Von Bonner rushed for a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter to pull the Illini within 14-10 but they fell behind 28-17 at the end of the third quarter. They couldn't score again until the fourth quarter, when Jeff George Jr. threw two touchdown passes.
"We weren't really able to move the ball," said George, who finished 20 of 38 passing for 308 yards with two interceptions. "We kept stalling out."
Players had sensed the team was turning a corner after some improvement in last week's loss at Iowa. They said the week of practice was intense. They expected to win.
Instead, they were flat and left the game with more questions.
"The intensity and the fire we didn't show, especially early on ... that's what hurts the most," George said. "I feel like there's a negative culture of trying to find a way to lose and we just have to try to change that. It's frustrating especially when you have a game you think you're going to go into and get a win. You have to put on a better performance in front of your home fans. It's disappointing."
