UW quarterback Jack Coan was perfect on third down ... until his last throw of the game

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan was nearly flawless on third down Saturday.

Nearly.

The junior completed 24 of 32 passes or 264 yards and a touchdown in UW’s 24-23 loss to Illinois. He was particularly effective on third down, completing 10 of 11 attempts for 158 yards, with eight conversions.

The lone miss, however, was huge.

Protecting a 23-21 lead, Coan faced third and five from the UW 45. He tried to hit tight end Jake Ferguson on a corner route, but cornerback Tony Adams, who initially covered Garret Groshek in the flat, dropped into coverage and made a leaping interception to give the Illini the ball at their 47 with 2 minutes 32 seconds remaining.

“It was a heck of a pick,” UW coach Paul Chryst said. “But you’d like to have that one back. …

“I’m not trying to dodge it. We didn’t make enough plays in different areas to win the game.”

BOX SCORE: Illinois 24, Wisconsin 23 

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UW REPLAY: Saturday's in-game review

The interception marked the last offensive play for UW. Coan through seven games this season has completed 35 of 42 third-down attempts (83.3%) for 390 yards, with 24 conversions.

Coan thought Ferguson was open and that he put enough air under the ball to complete the pass.

“I let it go,” he said, “and kind of heard the crowd going crazy after that. That’s when I knew it was picked.”

Long day for Larsh

UW kicker Collin Larsh made 3 of 4 field-goal attempts but the one miss turned out to be critical and having to watch the Illini drive for a winning field goal enhanced his frustration.

Larsh hit from 24, 44 and 20 yards. His miss, from 37 yards, came with 2 minutes 39 seconds left in the third quarter and UW looking to build on a 20-7 lead.

That mistake became larger when UW’s defense surrendered a six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive as the Illini pulled within 20-14.

Finally, Larsh had to stand on the sideline and watch James McCourt hit from 39 yards on the final play of the game to give the Illini the victory.

“You feel that feeling of letting your family down,” said Larsh who is 6 of 10 on field-goal attempts this season. “You’ve just got to be better.

“I just sat there praying at the end of the game. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way.”

Taylor hits his mark

Tailback Jonathan Taylor entered the game with 4,996 rushing yards in two-plus seasons at UW.

With a 16-yard run on his first carry, Taylor became just the fourth FBS player to reach the 5,000-yard mark in his third season.

Taylor finished with 132 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, giving him 5,128 yards at UW. He reached the 5,000-yard mark on his 736th carry.

Herschel Walker, who rushed for 5,596 yards at Georgia from 1980 through ’82, needed 973 carries to reach 5,000 yards.

UW’s Ron Dayne, who rushed for 5,091 yards in his first three seasons at UW, needed 843 carries to reach 5,000 yards.

LaMichael James, who rushed for 5,082 at Oregon from 2009 through ’11, needed 755 carries to reach 5,000 yards.

Taylor needs 13 yards to move past Montee Ball (5,140 yards) and into the No. 2 slot in program history behind Ron Dayne (7,125).

Turnovers kill UW

The Badgers entered the day with only five turnovers (four fumbles, one interception), the lowest mark in the Big Ten.

Illinois came in with 14 takeaways (10 fumbles, four interceptions), tied with UW for the No. 1 mark in the Big Ten.

The Illini won the takeaway battle, 3-1, and turned those miscues into 17 points. Linebacker Jake Hansen entered the game with five forced fumbles and forced two more Saturday, one by Coan and one by Taylor.

“I think they do a great job,” Chryst said, lauding the work of head coach Lovie Smith. “It has been a signature of Lovie’s defenses for a number of years…I think they do a great job attacking the ball, second guy in…I think that is a sign of a really well-coached team. That’s been a big part of a lot of games.”

Smith, in his fourth season with the Illini after serving as a head coach in the NFL for 11 seasons, was beaming. 

"Defensively, no one preaches taking the ball away more than we do," he said, "and it came down to that."

Extra points

» UW saw its road record under Chryst fall to 17-5. The previous losses came in 2016 against Michigan, 14-7; last season against Michigan, 38-13; last season against Northwestern, 31-17; and last season against Penn State, 22-10.

» Donny Navarro’s 48-yard touchdown reception with 5:53 left in the first half was the first score allowed by UW since Northwestern scored with 4:10 left in the fourth game of the season.

» Illinois snapped a streak of 24 straight losses to opponents in The Associated Press rankings. Illinois' last victory over an AP ranked team before Saturday was a 17-14 decision over Arizona State in 2011.