CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Mike White’s only touchdown pass Saturday night went to the wrong team. And it was a play that helped bury the quarterback’s Western Kentucky squad.

White saw an interception returned for a touchdown late in the second half by Illinois linebacker Julian Jones. The pick-six increased the Fighting Illini’s halftime lead from 6-0 to 13-0.

The Hilltoppers eventually lost 20-7 at Memorial Stadium.

White, the Preseason Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, spoke to media afterward and broke down the play that resulted in Illinois’ first touchdown.

The defensive TD occurred with WKU facing a second-and-12 from its own 2-yard line. Fewer than two minutes remained on the second quarter clock.

“We decided to take a shot,” the redshirt senior White said. “By the time I was out of my drop I was in the back of the end zone and I didn’t really know what to do.

“I tried to get it out of bounds and I couldn’t plant my feet and turn my hips enough. Bad football play.”

White aimed toward the sideline but couldn’t step into the throw and it went over the middle of the field. Jones was waiting, and the ball hit him right in the chest.

Jones strolled in for the score from 10 yards out with 1:21 left in the half, sending the Illinois students and band seated behind that end zone into a frenzy.

The decision to throw the ball in that situation can be partly attributed to WKU’s struggles running the ball. The Toppers mounted a paltry six yards Saturday night on 16 carries.

“We wanted to be aggressive and take a shot down the field,” coach Mike Sanford said. “They got pressure on Mike and Mike tried to throw the ball away.

“Mike’s got to learn from that decision. That’s a huge swing in that game and Mike would be the first to admit that if that decision isn’t made and he’s able to get the ball out of his hand to throw it out of bounds, we’ll be in a position where it’s 13-7 at the end of the ball game.”

White turned the ball over again less than a minute later. Two White completions to wide receiver Nacarius Fant and a sequence of Illinois penalties gave WKU the ball at the Fighting Illini 12-yard line with just over a minute left in the second quarter.

White dropped back to pass but faced immediate backside pressure from Bobby Roundtree. The defensive lineman knocked the ball out of White’s hands and it was recovered by Illinois’ Jamal Milan.

Officials ruled the play an incomplete pass but then a video review changed the call to a fumble.

“I don’t quite understand the ruling on the one that was reviewed,” Sanford said. “… I don’t understand if the hand is going forward then what the fumble is. It makes no sense.”

Illinois calls out Hilltoppers with tweet

WKU didn’t lack confidence going into Saturday’s game.

At the Hilltoppers’ first news availability of the week, tight end Deon Yelder said Monday that WKU didn’t feel like an underdog facing the Big Ten Conference squad.

“It’s a regular game for us,” the redshirt senior said Monday. “I don’t feel like we’re the underdog to them. I feel like we can go in there and beat them. We’re probably most likely going to beat them.”

Fast forward five days, and it was Illinois that walked off the field Saturday as a winner.

The team’s official program Twitter account, @IlliniFootball, didn’t waste any time having some fun with Yelder’s words.

“’We’re probably most likely going to beat them.’ – Someone from WKU, 9/4/2017,” the program tweeted immediately after the game. The tweet included a picture of Topper mascot Big Red covering its mouth.

WKU’s words were apparently a sticking point with Illinois players and coaches this week. The Champaign News-Gazette reported Saturday that Fighting Illini offensive coordinator Garrick McGee addressed those comments at a Friday luncheon.

“They talk a lot,” McGee said. “We have all their quotes all over the building.”

3 WKU players miss game with injuries

The Hilltoppers played Saturday without defensive ends Carson Jordan and Derik Overstreet and wide receiver Cameron Echols-Luper.

Jordan and Overstreet both sustained injuries Sept. 2 in the season opening win against Eastern Kentucky, while Echols-Luper got injured this week in practice, Sanford said.

The junior Jordan and senior Overstreet combined for six tackles in the opener against the Colonels. DeAngelo Malone and Heath Wiggins started in their places Saturday at Illinois.

Echols-Luper, a grad transfer from Arkansas State, hasn’t posted any stats this year.

Notes

Sanford is 1-1 in his first year at WKU and overall in his head coaching career. White is 12-4 as the Hilltoppers’ starting quarterback. … WKU is now 0-2 all-time against Illinois and 0-7 against teams currently in the Big Ten Conference. … The Toppers have posted a record of just 5-16 over their last 21 road openers. … WKU’s 10-game win streak came to an end. The Hilltoppers entered the night as one of just three FBS teams with active winning streaks of 8-plus games along with Oklahoma and USC. … Announced attendance at Memorial Stadium was 41,923. Among those in attendance was former WKU defensive coordinator Nick Holt, who’s now in the same position at Purdue. He was there supporting his son, Tops linebacker Ben Holt.