Illinois was able to overcome Ball State and win 28-18, thus securing the Illini eligibility into a bowl game. Mendenhall ran for 189 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory and had 100 yards at halftime. Mendenhall has now ran for over 1,000 yards on the season.

The Illini (6-3, 3-2) led just 7-3 at halftime and trailed 10-7 during the third quarter.

Mendenhall’s first touchdown, a 2-yard run up the middle, came early in the second quarter and put Illinois up 7-0. and his last one was the game-winner.

Mendenhall took a handoff from Williams, found nothing inside, then bounced out around the right end and into open space before cutting into the corner of the end zone. The extra point made the score 21-10.

Williams was just 7-of-15 passing with 145 yards and two interceptions, however he ran the ball 17 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

Quarterback Nate Davis completed 16 of 33 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown for Ball State (5-4, 3-2).

Williams threw a third-quarter screen pass to Mendenhall that popped out of his hands and right into Ball State linebacker, Mike Dorulla’s hands, who ran it back to give the Cardinals a 10-7 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the third quarter.< Illinois quickly answered back with Williams diving into the end zone on a 10-yard keeper 3 minutes later. Illinois never trailed again.

The Illini haven't been to a bowl game since the 2002 Sugar Bowl, a loss to LSU that capped a 10-2 season.

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