Coming into Michigan Stadium in 1999, Illinois had lost its first three Big Ten conference games. At 3–3, its season was on the verge of collapse and the Illini did themselves no favors in falling behind to the host Wolverines 27–7 midway through the third quarter.
That’s when they launched a comeback Illinois football fans still remember fondly.
The Illini would score four unanswered touchdowns in a little more than a quarter. The last two came courtesy of wonderfully named running back Rocky Harvey. The speedy sophomore from Chicago turned a short pass from quarterback Kurt Kittner into a 59-yard touchdown with 2:42 left to make it 28–27.
Less than two minutes later, Harvey was back in the end zone for a game-clinching, 54-yard run that gave the visiting 24.5-point underdogs a huge win.
Harvey, currently the director of enrollment services at Martin University in Indianapolis, will no doubt be watching to see if his alma mater can pull off another upset in the Big House this Saturday. Rocky Harvey profile
