Illinois Overruns Northwestern 48-27 In Wrigleyville Classic, Mikel Leshoure Has Record Day

The Illini ran away from Northwestern, 48-27, almost entirely because Mikel Leshoure played as well as any running back ever has. With 330 yards on 32 carries, Mikel Leshoure set a school record for rushing yards in a game. The Illini total rushing offense on the day exceeded 500 total yards between four ball carriers. In an effort that is no doubt reminiscent of the college games that took place at Wrigley in the 1930’s, the game was decided by big offensive linemen and strong running backs.

For the Illini, the win over Northwestern makes them bowl eligible for the first time since 2007, and brings them out from under a cloud of disappointment after losing in back to back weeks in close games against Michigan and Minnesota.

Northwestern played very well in the game, especially first time starter Evan Watkins, who after early turnovers settled down and had a very productive second half, going 10 for 19 for 135 total yards. Another freshman, running back Mike Trumpy, had his own career day gaining over 100 yards on 12 carries.

This is a tough loss for Northwestern given how much build up there was for this game, and the amount of yards given up on the ground is sure to alarm Wildcats fans. Coach Fitzgerald certainly has to be happy with the way that his young QB and running back performed, and certainly have plenty of potential for upcoming seasons.

When all was said and done, the special rules and brick walls that had so many worried before the game began mattered very little, with the dreaded East end zone only entered once on an interception return. However, given the controversy, this will probably be the last college football game we will ever see at Wrigley.

After such an up and down first half, things seemed to have calmed down on the north side. The one scoring drive of the quarter was a 61 yard Illini drive that culminated in a Nathan Scheelhaase to A.J. Jenkins touchdown pass.

Leshoure continues to lead the way with 230 rushing yards on 25 carries, and has been complimented by fellow back Jason Ford who has 54 yards on nine carries for himself. The Illini have been known to be susceptible to late game comebacks from teams with strong passing attacks, so this is still anyone’s game.

Two Northwestern drives have stalled and resulted in punts, as the Wildcats managed to amass only about 45 yards in the quarter compared to the Illini 92.

If the Wildcats continue to fall behind they may have to rely heavily on the arm of inexperienced red shirt QB Evan Watkins, who has held up reasonably well in his first start, throwing for nearly 100 yards.

While the Illini jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, Northwestern stormed back in the second, tying the game at 24, before a late half field goal pulled the Illini back ahead by 3 . Northwestern red shirt quarterback has bounced back from his early turn over problems to rack up 72 yards and manage the Wildcat offense to a successful scoring drive.

The Illini offense, for its part, rolled up 303 rushing yards in the first half, led by Mikel Leshoure’s 18 carries for over 200 yards. Even so, key interceptions thrown by Eddie McGee and Nathan Scheelhaase have prevented the Illini from pulling further ahead.

The Wildcats rush offense has not exactly been dormant though, as Mark Trumpy ran for nearly 100 yards on eight carries, and for two touchdowns. The momentum seems to be swinging in the direction of Northwestern as the game has gone along, after falling behind 21-7, the Wildcat defense has only allowed two field goals while racking up 17 points of their own.

The sun is setting on Wrigley, and if the second half is anywhere near exciting as the first half, we are in for a very high scoring game with an exciting finish.

In a quarter that has seen over three hundred rushing yards, a receiver catching a ball while flat on his back, and a wide receiver pass that resulted in a pick six, the Wrigleyville classic has thus far lived up to its hype.

While only one end zone is being used for offense, the fans of the east end zone were treated to a Northwestern interception touchdown return, as Brian Peters blatantly disregarded this sign.

Photo credit @bubbaprog

Perhaps out of fear for his safety, Peters was tackled by his own teammates before he could run into the padded brick wall.

The stars of the first quarter are the offenses, specifically Illini running back Mikel Leshoure who had over a hundred yards and two touchdowns, and Northwestern running back Mike Trumpy, who had an 80 yard touchdown scamper.

Passing yards have been hard to come by for both teams, with more interceptions than receptions from the quarterbacks.

At the end of one quarter, the Illini lead 21 to 14, with both teams trying to get their defenses in order after such a high scoring first quarter.

It only took three plays and seventeen seconds, but that was all Illini running back Mikel Leshoure needed to grab the first touch down in a college football game at Wrigley Field since 1938.

Leshoure ran 66 yards on three carries for the score. Northwestern red shirt freshman Evan Watkins, in his first collegiate series as a starter was sacked for a loss of six yards and a lost fumble.

Following another quick Illini drive, Leshoure squirted ahead for a 1 yard touchdown run to put the Illini ahead 14-0.

As of yet, the only effect the special rules have had on the game is the need for Northwestern to shield its offensive signals from the nearby Fighting Illini coaching staff, who share the same sideline.

This game has serious implications for both teams as the Illini look to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2007, and Northwestern looking to improve their resume and possibly move to New Year’s Day bowl.

In 1923, Northwestern faced Illinois at Wrigley Field and defeated the Illini 29-0. It's the last time the Wildcats faced the Fighting Illini at the home of the Cubs -- before the park even had an upper deck.

It's not just that which will be different for the players on Saturday. The Big Ten, after signing off on the field design, surprised everyone on Friday by announcing that all offensive plays will be run toward the west end zone. Critics complain that it's not "real football", but the players will certainly be playing just as hard even with all their plays facing west. Ticket buyers on the east side of the field, some of whom paid a face value of $150, have a right to be upset.

Nevertheless, there will be a party and bowl game atmosphere around Wrigleyville all day Saturday. For the Wildcats and Illini once they reach the field for the 2:30 p.m. kickoff, it'll be all business. The two teams have played each other for more than a century -- Illinois leads the all-time series 52-46-5 -- but lately this game has been all purple. Except for Illinois' stunning 2007 season, the Wildcats have won every meeting in the last seven years. Since Pat Fitzgerald started at Northwestern as a player, the 'Cats are 10-5 over the Illini. That's a far cry from the 1971-85 period when Illinois dominated the series, winning 12 and losing only two... the 15th of those games was a 0-0 tie in 1978, a game thought by some to be the worst college football game ever played.

That was the final tie game of the series; with overtime rules there can be no more ties in college football (just ask the Illini about that after their excruciating 67-65 loss to Michigan two weeks ago).

SB Nation Chicago contributing editor Hilary Lee, our Big Ten expert, takes over the rest of this post with her game preview:

Northwestern and Illinois come into this game with the same thing on their minds: a bowl game. For Northwestern, already bowl eligible at seven wins, thoughts are directed at picking up an eighth or ninth victory in order to climb the Big Ten pecking order and avoid the designation of a "rebuilding year." For Illinois, it's all about actually getting to a bowl game -- something that has become far less of a certainty since the Illini's upswing stalled in losses to Michigan and Minnesota.

By all accounts, Illinois needs this game more... since a victory to end the season against a six-win Fresno State team on the road next weekend is anything but a certainty. That motivation will be what will carry them over the top, according to some observers. On the other side, the players on Northwestern's side will be motivated to win one for injured leader Dan Persa, whose ruptured his Achilles tendon after throwing the winning touchdown pass against Iowa last weekend. Both teams will be led by redshirt freshman quarterbacks, though Illinois' QB Nathan Scheelhaase has the benefit of having started in ten more games than Northwestern's Evan Watkins.

Still... Dan Persa's injury has thrown the actual dynamics of this game into chaos. Evan Watkins, the new Northwestern quarterback, is everything that Persa isn't -- a tall, large, pocket passer with a powerful arm. In fact, Scheelhaase resembles Persa more than Watkins does. Further complicating matters is the Illini defense. After giving up just 134 points in their first eight games, the Illini defense has mysteriously disappeared -- giving up 105 points in just their last two against Michigan and Minnesota. Though the narrow Michigan loss put up more eye-popping numbers, the Minnesota game might be what to look at if you want a preview of this afternoon's game. Minnesota's Adam Weber and Evan Watkins are a similar type of quarterback, and the Illini defensive front wasn't getting much pressure at all on Weber in that game; he responded by putting up 225 yards and two touchdowns. If Illinois lets Watkins have that kind of time to throw as well, it won't matter if he's inexperienced or new. Give any pocket passer that much time and he'll make something of it.

On the orange and blue side of the ball, success on Saturday will come down to whether Mikel Leshoure can make something of his time with the ball. Northwestern has been uneven against the running game this year -- largely shutting down Michigan State's attack for three quarters, while being absolutely gashed by Iowa's Adam Robinson during one. It's anyone's guess as to which Wildcat team will show up.

Despite all of the murkiness, I'm going to go with recent history in predicting this game. The team with the better record heading into the game has won 11 years in a row now, and I don't like messing with history. Since Northwestern owns the better record, I'm picking them. 'Cats over Illini, let's say.... 31-20.

Stay with SB Nation Chicago for in-game updates from Joe Kutsunis.

Earlier today the Big Ten released several rule changes for tomorrow’s Wrigleyville Classic between the Northwestern Wildcats and Illinois Fighting Illini at Wrigley Field.

This afternoon, Cubs president Crane Kenney released a statement regarding these rule changes, stating, in part: "The Chicago Cubs are surprised by the Big Ten’s last-minute statement regarding changes for tomorrow’s Northwestern-Illinois football game at Wrigley Field. … since the concept of this game was first discussed more than a year ago, and all parties have gone to complete lengths to ensure student-athlete safety for this contest. The essential item in our negotiations to host the football game at Wrigley Field was obtaining approval of both universities and the Big Ten for the field dimensions as related to player safety issues. … Last week, a Big Ten official performed an on-site visit at Wrigley Field, participated in a field walk-thru and raised no issue with the field dimensions, painted lines and boundaries previously approved by the Big Ten. … This game would not have been scheduled if it did not pass the strict and meticulous standards of everyone involved, a process that began more than a year ago. … We have reached out to the Big Ten to further discuss the playing field."

Presuming that last sentence is true and the Cubs and the Big Ten are having further discussions, it is possible that the rules might be changed back and regular college football rules could be in force for Saturday’s game. If anything further changes, we will post information here as soon as it’s available.