No. 11 Illinois Wins, 63-14, on Its Way to Citrus Bowl

Jeff George passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, leading 11th-ranked Illinois to a 63-14 victory over winless Northwestern and a berth in the Jan. 1 Citrus Bowl.

Illinois, which finished second in the Big Ten with a 7-1 record and 9-2 overall, will face Virginia in the Citrus Bowl. Northwestern finished 0-11 for its first winless season since 1981.

The Illini turned three interceptions into touchdowns and scored on their last six possessions in the first half for a 42-7 lead.

George, who completed 15 of 18 passes and played only in the first half, threw touchdown passes of 27 and 22 yards to Steven Williams and 11 yards to Shawn Wax.

Romero Brice intercepted a pass by Tim O’Brien midway through the first quarter, and Mike Bellamy went 16 yards on the next play for a 7-0 lead.

Northwestern tied it with an 81-yard drive capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass play from O’Brien to Richard Buchanan.

George threw to Bellamy on a 42-yard pass play to set up the 27-yard touchdown to Williams as the Illini took a 14-7 lead after one quarter.

The Illini broke the game open with 28 points in the second quarter. An interception by Chris Green set up an eight-yard touchdown run by Wagner Lester. George threw touchdown passes to Wax and Williams, and Howard Griffith scored on a one-yard run.