Postgame Notes: Illinois 35, #9 Michigan 29
10/23/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Brady Goes Over 4,000 Yards Passing
Senior quarterback Tom Brady (San Mateo, Calif./Serra HS) completed 23-of-38 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns against Illinois. Brady connected with Marquise Walker (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger HS) on a six-yard score in the first quarter and with Marcus Knight (Sylacauga, Ala./Comer HS) for a 31-yard TD. The two TDs pushed Brady's career total to 23, tied with Bob Chappuis (1942-47) for the eighth-highest total by a Wolverine. Brady's 307 yards give him 4,162 yards for his career, making him only the seventh Wolverine to surpass the 4,000-yard mark. It was Brady's second 300-yard passing game behind his school-record 375-yard performance set at Ohio State last season.
Touchdown Thomas
Junior tailback Anthony Thomas (Winnfield, La./Winnfield HS) carried the ball 21 times for 128 yards and two touchdows against Illinois, his third 100-yard game of the season and ninth of his career. His TD runs -- a 25-yarder late the first half and a one-yard dive early in the third quarter -- give Thomas 29 career scores in his 31 career games. He also caught two passes for 15 yards.
More Tight Ends
Tight end Bill Seymour (Granger, Ind./Penn HS) made his first career start in the Illinois game and hauled in his first career reception, a 13-yard catch and run, on the game's first play from scrimmage. Fellow tight end Bennie Joppu (Wayzata, Minn./Minnetonka HS), also making his first career start, made his first career reception with a nine-yard catch in the second quarter.
Air Walker
Sophomore wideout Marquise Walker (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger HS) collected his first career touchdown with a six-yard reception on second-and-goal with 1:43 left in the first quarter. Walker ended the game with three receptions for 33 yards.
Knight Moves
Senior wideout Marcus Knight made seven receptions for 134 yards, his third consecutive 100-yard game. Knight scored on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the second quarter to mark his third straight game with a TD reception. Earlier in the quarter, Knight made his 70th career reception, an 11-yard catch to convert a third-and-five situation. For the season, he has 26 receptions for 570 yards.
Kittner Matches High with Four TD Tosses
Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner tied a career high with four touchdown passes in the game to bring his season total to 16, one of the top 10 single-season totals in school history. He now has 17 career TD passes, 10th on Illinois' career touchdown list.
Cook Has Career Day
Illinois sophomore fullback Jameel Cook scored his first career touchdown on a six-yard pass from Kurt Kittner. Cook ended the day with career highs in receptions (6) and receiving yardage (32).
Rocky Delivers Knockout Punch
Illinois sophomore tailback Rocky Harvey scored twice in the fourth quarter, a 59-yard pass reception to give the Illini the lead and a 54-yard run for the final Illinois score in the game. He ended the contest with 17 carries for 106 yards and two receptions for 61 yards.
Miscellaneous ...
This was Illinois' second win in its last three trips to Michigan Stadium ... Illinois, which once trailed 27-7, overcame a 20-point deficit, the third largest come-from-behind victory ever by a Michigan opponent. The Wolverines have twice lost 21 point leads ... Illinois had 10 snaps inside the Michigan 20-yard line on its third touchdown ... Redshirt freshman Cato June (Washington, D.C./Anacostia HS) had his first career fumble recovery with 6:13 left in the first half ... Freshman B.J. Askew (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain HS) made his first career reception late in the first half ... Michigan has its first missed extra point attempt of the season when Illinois blocked the kick following the Wolverines' third touchdown of the game.
