Memory Lane: UI 49, Iowa 3 in '93

 

EACH WEEK, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK BACK AT A MEMORABLE MOMENT IN
ILLINI HISTORY, THANKS TO THE WORDS OF LOREN TATE AND THE MEMORIES OF
JIM TURPIN.

Ilinois 49, Iowa 3
Oct. 17, 1993

Headline: Rice sacks Iowa hopes of rally

IOWA CITY - Lou Tepper didn't mention any names at halftime, but sophomore Simeon Rice thought the Illini coach was castigating him.

You see, Illinois didn't have a first-half sack against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, and Rice is the UI's official "sackman."

"I felt he was referring to me," said Rice. "I took it personal."

And Rice, developing rapidly into Illinois' all-time best pass rusher, made the crushing play that turned a 15-3 battle into a 49-3 rout.

"I took off and I got my man on his heels and off balance," said Rice. "I hit the quarterback (Paul Burmeister) and knocked the ball loose with my
hand."

It bounced inside the 2-yard line, where Chad Copher recovered. Iowa spirit, which seemed so alive in a pre-halftime march for a field goal,
was suddenly snuffed. Ty Douthard scored on first down. If that wasn't the knockout blow, Johnny Johnson's 51-yard strike to Jasper Strong a few
minutes later certainly was.

"At halftime, I was very upset," said Tepper. "I felt we let them grab the momentum. And I was very concerned about Hayden Fry's offense because
nobody schemes us better than he does. I really let the guys have it.

"But thanks to Simeon, we seized control in a very dramatic fashion. We Got the mental edge back on our side. That big play fueled what had been
said at halftime and rebuilt our confidence."

TEPPER ADMITTED he never dreamed that the game would be so lopsided. It
reached the point where freshman Damien Piatt, who didn't enter until
midway in the third quarter, gave Illinois only its second 100-yard
rushing performance of the season.

"A lot of our yardage came late, when Iowa was not playing with the same
heart as eariler," added the coach.

In the first half, Illinois threatened to break it open but couldn't quite
do it. On Iowa's first series, Rice deflected a pass high into the air,
and Copher dropped an easy interception deep in the Iowa backfield.

"The ball looked as big as a pumpkin," said Copher. "I should have had it,
but it was spinning like a top and I tried to make a basket catch. It went
right through my arms. Actually, I could have had two touchdowns today
because I could have run that one in and I could have scooped up the other
one on the 2-yard line. But we drill and drill on falling on the ball, and
I did that instinctively."

After Copher's early drop, Illinois got the ball right back on a fumble
recovery by Antwoine Patton, and Johnson hit passes to Shane Fisher for 25
and a diving Jason Dulick for 18, setting up the first of three Ty
Douthard touchdowns.

Thues did Johnson and the offense join the defense and special teams in
the UI's most complete victory in years. Illinois was overwhelmingly
better in all categories, serving as a reminder that if it's possible to
hit bottom suddenly, as Iowa has done, it's just as possible to climb out
of mediocrity when the right forces are at work.

Logical August prognostications called for these young Illini to be
competitive with Big Ten's best teams by midseason, and that's exactly
where they are.

TATE'S TIDBITS:

Field position told a big story Saturday. In Iowa's first eight possessions, the Hawkeyes started from beyond their 20 only once, when
Johnson was intercepted. Illinois received a 32-yard punt return from Gary
Voelker in the second quarter, and had consistently good position even
before Copher's recovery on the Iowa 2 in the third quarter.

Jeff Schwarzentraub's brother, Justin, celebrated his sixth birthday Saturday and was carried from the field by Jeff after the walk-on
quarterback scored his first Illini TD in his first Illini game appearance.

Pink is working. Tepper had coaches wearing "think pink" shirts and caps this past week to prepare for Iowa's pink locker room. Whatever it takes.

No Illini enjoyed the victory more than safety Jeff Arneson, a native Iowan who once wanted to attend Iowa. Said Arneson: "This was my last
hurrah. I had never played in a game where we beat the Hawkeyes, and this
was a special place to do it. We really put it all together today."

 

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