Illinois survived the loss of starting quarterback Tommy Devito to injury and three turnovers to eke out a 9-6 win over Iowa in Champaign, Ill., on Saturday night.

Fabrizio Pinton’s third field goal, from 36 yards out with 2:49 left in the game, broke the tie in favor of the Fighting Illini (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten). They lost Devito to an ankle injury late in the first quarter but survived thanks to running back Chase Brown and their defense, which made enough big plays to keep the struggling Hawkeyes’ offense at bay.

Brown, who entered the weekend atop the nation in rushing with 733 yards, finished with 146 on Saturday, his seventh consecutive 100-yard game going back to last season.

Iowa (3-3, 1-2), which had beaten Illinois eight straight times and taken 16 of the last 19 head-to-head contests, took over on its 22 after Pinton’s go-ahead kick and moved to its 47 before Spencer Petras was picked off by Matthew Bailey at the Illinois 28. The Illini also sacked Petras five times.

Petras completed 18 of 36 passes for 170 yards, and tight end Sam LaPorta made nine of those catches for 100 yards.

Devito, in his first season with the Fighting Illini after four seasons with Syracuse, was tackled after scrambling back to the line of scrimmage with 47 seconds left in the first quarter. Illinois coach Bret Bielema said at halftime Devito aggravated an injury from earlier in the season.

Devito’s replacement, Artur Sitkowski, went 13-for-19 passing for 74 yards, although he was intercepted at the Iowa 1-yard line with about 10 minutes left in the game.

Iowa went three-and-out, however, and Illinois took over on the Iowa 45, managing to move 26 yards on nine plays to set up Pinton’s game-winner.

Iowa missed big opportunities in the second quarter. The Hawkeyes trailed 6-3, but a fumble by the Fighting Illini’s Isaiah Williams gave them the ball at the Illinois 5. Hindered by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Iowa settled for Drew Stevens’ second field goal to tie the game at 6-6 with 2:48 left in the first half.

After Illinois went three-and-out, Iowa took over at its 21-yard line and moved quickly down the field, thanks in large part to a 32-yard completion from Petras to LaPorta. However, the opportunity dried up after a failed trick play that lost 9 yards and an eventual missed 45-yard field goal attempt by Stevens.

Illinois led in total yards, 316 to 222, and in first downs, 18 to 13.

–Field Level Media