Illinois Clinches a Share of Big Ten Title

Illinois players jumped into the crowd, danced on the field and then made their way to the gold trophy marking their first Big Ten title in more than a decade.

Now they wait to see where that trophy takes them.

The No. 10 Illini earned a share of the conference crown with a 34-28 victory over Northwestern on Thursday at Champaign, Ill.

“We had one goal and that was to win the Big Ten championship,” Coach Ron Turner said. “This team was not going to let anything derail them from that goal.”

The Illini (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) finished with their best regular-season record since the 1983 Rose Bowl team and are in the hunt for a bowl championship series bid.

Illinois will win the Big Ten outright and an automatic BCS bid if Michigan loses to Ohio State on Saturday.

If the Wolverines win, Illinois could still receive an at-large BCS bid, but would likely need some help.

“Do we deserve to be in a BCS game? Yeah, we do,” Turner said. “We’re 10-1 and our only loss is against a top 10 team. There’s no question about it.”

The Illini beat the Wildcats (4-7, 2-6) on a standout performance by senior quarterback Kurt Kittner.

The four-year starter mixed short passes with a handful of long throws to complete 33 of 43 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns. He also had one interception.

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Mississippi St. 36, Mississippi 28--Dontae Walker ran for three touchdowns and Dicenzo Miller had 182 all-purpose yards for Mississippi State (3-7, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) at Starkville, Miss.

The Rebels are 6-4, 3-4.