Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State 2002 (Football)

[bucksfan230]

illinois got screwed on the second call for sure. that was a catch 100 % of the time. this game i why i hate it when osu plays illinois, no matter how much better we look or are ranked coming in to the game, its always a dogfight

[aydog]

THE BLOWHIO TAINT university, where we have 1 Tainted title in the last 40 years that we brag about but nobody respects lmao!

[mully160]

@aydog your an idiot look at all those calls with an unbiased mindset they are good calls, remember back then there was no replay oh and anyone OSU has ever produced is way better then any Illinin clown

[ashwshaw2000]

I'm an IL fan and I was at this game. At the time I thought both calls were bad calls in OT, but now I can't really say that. Even with replay the Walter Young incompletion would be hard to overturn.

This is still the best football game I have ever attended. Walter Young abused Dustin Fox all game, but Michael Jenkins also torched Mike Hall I think it was all game. Notice at the end OSU put Brian Gamble on Young instead of Fox. Funny thing is Fox played great in the Fiesta Bowl.

[ashwshaw2000]

I'm an IL fan and I was at this game. At the time I thought both calls were bad calls in OT, but now I can't really say that. Even with replay the Walter Young incompletion would be hard to overturn.

This is still the best football game I have ever attended. Walter Young abused Dustin Fox all game, but Michael Jenkins also torched our secondary. Notice at the end OSU put Brian Gamble on Young instead of Fox. Funny thing is Fox played great in the Fiesta Bowl.

[ashwshaw2000]

I'm an IL fan and I was at that game. At the time I thought both calls in OT were bad calls, but of course I was drunk out of my mind then. Now seeing the replay the Walter Young catch MIGHT have been a TD, but even w/ replay it would have been hard to overturn that.

Walter Young made Dustin Fox his bitch that night. Too bad our secondary sucked and our DB's never looked back for the ball cuz Michael Jenkins had his best game of the year that night to.

[BillyBong05]

I love how Illinois players celebrate every good play like they just won the national title. I guess that's what happens when you only beat the Bucks once every 30 years. Looking at those 2 OT plays that are hotly debated: the first one was a good call. Fox didn't push him out of bounds, his first foot landed out. The second one, though...I think that was a TD, and had there been replay it would have been counted as such. However, OSU was not going to lose if the game went to 2 or more OTs

[docsdaname2000]

@BillyBong05 that whole "once every 30 years" argument would make a lot more sense if ohio state and illinois hadn't played to a virtual draw the last 20 or so years.

[zabes22]

I'm pretty sure that there was no force out rule in NCAA in 02, so the WR has to get one foot down no matter what, either way it is not a reviewable play. The second one was incomplete, did not gain possession of the ball until he was in mid-air, his foot and knee hit at the same time and his knee was out of bounds, incomplete.

[mully160]

@BillyBong05 he was still bobbling that ball 

[thegoodpig]

Walking out of Illinois Memorial Stadium with about 20,000 other Ohio State fans, with our team 12-0, ranked #1 in the BCS standings...

we were screaming "We Don't Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan!"

One of the best moments I've ever had being a Buckeyes fan. And, I was at the Purdue game earlier in the season [Holy Buckeye] And, I went to the Michigan game the week after and I was in Tempe in January, '03 against Miami, as well...

and this game was my favorite.

[thegoodpig]

I was at this game. I can still remember how livid the Illini Football Radio Network announcers were.

When I saw it live at the stadium and on the scoreboard, I thought he caught it.

When I got home and saw it on Sportscenter, I thought he caught it.

@3:00 of this video, I still think he caught it.

I'm a diehard Bucks fan... I go to most of the road games.

Even if the right call is made, we still would have prevailed in 2OT. I strongly believe that. This was a team of destiny.

[Diehardclevelandfan]

I saw two imcompletions. Go Bucks!!!

[buckeyeboyh5]

I honestly cannot find any controversial call here. I don't know if your talking about his foot clearly being out of bounds or him clearly going out of bounds without possession of the football. Someone please clear this up for me because I honestly think you have no argument.

[codyskidmoree]

i meant it's funny how you have nfl primetime music in this video

[codyskidmoree]

it's how this video has NFL primetime music haha

and ohio state won fairly, stupid bitter illini fans.

[docsdaname2000]

your comment doesn't make sense.

[deadguy35]

If I remember correctly, Gockman just barely missed a 57 yard FG attempt a few minutes before nailing the one that sent Illinois into Overtime.

And to think, he was just the back up FG kicker! He only came in to kick the 40+ yard attempts, while Peter Christofilakos was the main FG kicker.

And look at that group of WRs. Lloyd, Young, Moorehead, and Greg Lewis. All ended up playing in the NFL. Imagine if Illinois just had a competent QB.

[mariokart6444]

good call he was juggling it

[betharl]

Both were good calls, as every (professional) that reviewed them noted after the game. If they had instant replay they would have gone the same way. The 2007 fumble however is a different story, not sure why that was not reviewed. Then there was the whole gambling matter with that officiating crew... Not that the game ended up mattering much for OSU anyway, still won Big 10 outright and went to the NC. We'll be ready for you in Champaign in 2008 (I'll be there). Good luck, you'll need it!

[LucidFaia]

He was clearly bobbling it. Didn't challenge the official on the matter either. He knew he didn't have possession.

[cowboyzsuk81]

ohio st. cockeyes got lucky..that was some BS right there. he totaly pushed the illinois player out of play, and they called the next play incomplete..what the hell..it was complete.

[osgood54]

Good calls yeah right. Look at Tressel's face he knows he got a couple of gifts and should have lost the game. Didn't Ohio State get a pass interference call that helped them win National Championship game against Miami that year? Oh but that blown fumble call against Illinois cost them the 2007 game. No truth is they got outplayed!!!

[IlliniHimey]

Simply put, the Big 10 protected tOSU on this day. I have seen Illinois get fucked countless times, but this one took the cake!

[jets12343]

Really, well I saw that big running play at the very beginning of the Illinois-OSU game this past year where the Illinois player (I cant remember if it was Mendenhall or not) ran like 80 yards but at the end, he clearly fumbled the ball in mid air near the goal line and the ball clearly went into the end zone. But instead of Buckeyes with the ball back, the ref badly missed the call and Illinois got the ball on the Ohio State 2 yard line instead. That changed the whole complexion of that game!

[IlliniHimey]

Well, ass clown, the BIG difference is this: The 2002 play was at the very end of the game. The 2007 play was at the very beginning of the game. If the 'vaunted' OSU defense was worth anything, perhaps they could have stopped Illinois on 3 other TD possessions last year.

Instead, Illinois bitch slapped tOSU on both sides of the ball.

[AlbinoGangstaz]

Lol...It's funny seeing aan illionois fan trying to say their better than the buckeyes because they got lucky one year. As a whole, your team sucks

[Juiceroids]

OSU wasnt #1 during this game and then calls were clean...haters.

[docsdaname2000]

#1 in the BCS rankings. And walter young had possession.

[mully160]

@docsdaname2000 he was bobbling dumbass cant call it a catch when you finally have possession out of bounds

[Daytonkid11]

yeah those both were good calls. especially the first one foot came down out of bounds no question, whether he was pushed or not does not matter because theres no force out in college. second play looked like a good call because he does not have position until his knee hits. only thing that might be debatable is was his knee in. looked out to me. first call definatly right. second call probably right.

[nwallace05]

Those were both good calls. The first one, the guy's first foot came down out of bounds, and Dustin Fox didn't really push him out, he would have landed there anyway. The second one, he was juggling the ball has he went down and fell out of bounds. Good calls...very tough to swallow though I'm sure.

At least the refs for this game didn't have background and gambling issues like the one that was on the crew for the 2007 game.

[fsjsa2007]

the buckeyea won every game in 2002 by a close margin, how they won the title is beyond me, they got lucky with that pass interfernce call!

[CubsBears08]

WE GOT HOSED! Refs should be fired.

[bigballinp03]

goooooooooooooodd...haha gotta love brent

[Kartracer6]

I don't know that call was close. I'd need to see more angles. He looked like he caught it but I can't tell

[thatguy579]

whats the name of this song? its pretty cool. anyone know?

[jewfro116]

its from nfl primetime, im not exactly sure of the name of the song because they dont really have names for it

[Golfer568]

Ohio State was number 1 guarteed headed into the illinois game i was there and i know so thats settled

[72seeker72]

Wow! I had no idea how CLOSE that game was! Two tough calls against the Illini. This week should also be a great game. Go BUCKS!

[RequiemForABuckeye]

Maybe you're talking about just the computer rankings or something but OSU was never ranked #1 in the regular season.

[docsdaname2000]

Thus, why I said the "BCS rankings"...

[RequiemForABuckeye]

The BCS rankings never had tOSU #1. The computer rankings are just a part of the equation. The BCS rankings include a mix of computer polls and human polls.

[Bubaloo37]

Actually, OSU was ranked #1 in the BCS for one week, immediately following the win over Purdue.

[docsdaname2000]

A quote from an article: "Ohio State (11-0) is the new No. 1 team in the B.C.S. ranking released last night, even though the Buckeyes are ranked behind the Hurricanes (9-0) in both polls known as the human element of the B.C.S. system."

[jj1499]

they were ranked #2 going into that game

idiot

[docsdaname2000]

No,they were definently ranked #1 in the BCS rankings.

[RequiemForABuckeye]

No, Miami was. tOSU won the NC game though and finished #1.