The early moments of the third quarter at Memorial Stadium on Saturday had that all-too-common feeling of "here we go again"  that Illini fans have experiencing too many times this season.

Missed opportunities.  A struggling offense that could never seem to put up more than 7 points in a half. Michigan cashing in its opportunities.

Then in one moment it all changed....and in the third quarter on Halloween in Champaign....we finally saw the Illini team we all expected to see when the season began under the dome in St.Louis against Missouri back in early September.

And wouldnt you know...with the Illini trailing 13-7 early in the third quarter in late October.....it was a young man from EAST St. Louis that turned the game around . 

With one strike of a match. 

Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier had just completed a long pass play over the middle near mid-field to redshirt-freshman Roy Roundtree.  Roundtree took off for the north endzone at Memorial Stadium and appeared to have an easy route to a Wolverine touchdown to give Michigan a 20-7 lead.  From behind... freshman cornerback Terry Hawthorne used his sprinter-type speed to run the Michigan receiver down from behind...... and force his knee down at the 1-yard line and knock the ball out of his hands... and  make the Wolverines earn their touchdown from just outside the Illini goal line. 

The match was lit.. 

After an initial touchdown call by the officials....a review of the play showed that Roundtree's knee was down and Michigan was instead 1st and goal at the Illini one-yard line after a 76-yard completion.   As it it turned out...that one yard turned out to be the "longest yard" for Michigan as the Illini defense....apparently inspired by Hawthorne's effort...stiffened and stuffed the Wolverines on 4 straight running plays . 

The flame was small...but at least it had started.

By this time the Illini crowd was reacting to the defensive effort and so was Juice Williams and Co.....as they worked their way out of the shadow of their own goalpost and moved out to their own 30-yard line after a key reception by seldom-used (and fill-in tight end) Jeff Cumberland. Then running back MIkel Leshoure broke free for a 70-yard run to the endzone... and after Matt Eller's extra point...the Illini were sudently and amazingly in front 14-13.

The flame suddently got bigger.

The defense...inspired by Leshoure's run ...stops Michigan on a 3-and -out.  Juice Williams and the Illini use the huge swing in emotional  momentum to their advantage  and eventually  put 2 more 3rd quarter scores on the board....inlcuding the first collegiate touchdown catch by third-string tight end London Davis.... as well as a short  touchdown run by Juice Williams.

The Illini momentum was now a big time blaze as the defense and offense kept feeding off of each other's momentum and by the time Jason Ford raced 79-yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter....the little spark provided by Terry Hawthorne' defensive play early in the second half  had grown into a huge brush fire that devoured the Wolverines in a 38-13 blowout.

The win was the first for an Illini team over Michigan at Memorial Stadium since Ronald Reagan was president (1983) ....and was the first time the Illinois had recorded wins in back-to-back seasons against the Wolverines since Dwight Eisenhower was president (1957-58). They have now outscored Michigan 83-33 in the last 2 meetings..  but more importantly...when they needed a win in the worst way... when Barak Obama was president (2009)...they got it.

The big question now will be if the Illini can keep the emotional "fire" going when they head up to chilly Minneapolis next Saturday to battle Tim Brewster's Gophers at  the Gopher's new on-campus home.

But as we learned on the last day of October in Champaign...it only takes a spark... to get a fire going.