It took until the final minutes of the third quarter, but the 58,495 Illini fans (correction: probably 20,000 Wisconsin fans in attendance) at Memorial Stadium on Saturday finally had a reason to cheer for their football team.

They gave a thundering ovation to their men's basketball team between the first and second quarters.

They gave a goosebump-inducing applause at halftime when public address announcer Jim Sheppard revealed the Cubs' fate.

They were in the process of delivering their third raucous response (4:16 remaining in the third quarter) when the tide of the Illini's latest rousing comeback chance changed dramatically.

As 245-pound Illini linebacker Antonio Mason tipped, stumbled and rumbled toward the Wisconsin end zone with his first career interception, a faint yellow bag of beans appeared on the opposite side of the field.

It appeared fuzzy to Illini fans in delirium from an apparent defensive touchdown. Illini players and coaches tried to ignore it.

But the referees didn't.

They flagged Illini defensive tackle Charles Gilstrap for roughing the passer.

It was a friendly shove. He was trying to stop his momentum. They were playing tag.

The referees didn't buy it. And they shouldn't have. Gilstrap drilled Wisconsin QB Jim Sorgi after he threw the interception to Mason.

Touchdown null. Illini void.

Another crucial mistake at a critical junction. That's the calling card of the 2003 Illini.

That's what cost them a 38-20 loss to Wisconsin Saturday. That's what has buried them in a 1-4 start.

"It was a huge, crucial point of the game and that is where we've been this year," Illini head coach Ron Turner said. "When we've had crucial situations like that and a chance to get back into the game — and have momentum — we've made those mistakes."

At the time of Mason's apparent score, the Illini trailed 28-20. At the time, the Illini had finally figured out how to stop the Wisconsin running game — holding the Badgers to 16 yards rushing in their first three second-half drives after serving up 148 yards in the first half. At the time, the Illini had finally seized momentum after digging themselves a gaping 21-0 deficit.

But that yellow flag incinerated a season-ending-sized hole in the Illini's comeback sail. And it put Hurricane Isabel-sized winds in Wisconsin's sail.

"That play took a lot out of us at the time," senior fullback Carey Davis said. "He's being aggressive. He's doing what he's supposed to do. You can't be mad at somebody for playing hard. I really didn't see what he did, but if it was a cheap shot, then it was dumb. But if he was just playing hard and going after the quarterback like we expect him to, it was a good play. They just called it."

For the next 12 plays, Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez called for the run. The Badgers ran. And ran. And ran all over the Illini.

Sixty-three yards later, Wisconsin scored its final touchdown of the evening to increase its lead to 35-20 with 12:59 left in the fourth quarter.

That drive left the Illini devastated, deflated and decrying the football gods.

"Everybody was like, 'How could this happen?'" senior defensive tackle Jeff Ruffin said. "The momentum from that point on shifted from our side to their side."

The loss shifted fan momentum too. They headed for the exits after Wisconsin's final score. They headed home to warm up and watch tapes from last year's Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.

Bruce Weber and his Illini arrived at Memorial Stadium between the first and second quarters Saturday to confirm this latest piece of sobering news for Turner's team. Accordingly, the Memorial Stadium crowd erupted into a frantic fever pitch — a noise foreign to Memorial Stadium.

That is except for those 20,000 or so Badgers fans. Their collective nervous hush may have been louder.

Chris Neubauer is a senior in communications. Chris' pick of the week: Cubs sweep Braves. He can be reached at sports@dailyillini.com.