Although his second experience at the Edward Jones Dome didn't match the first, Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase showed for one half Saturday why he was selected to run the Illini offense as a redshirt freshman.

Scheelhaase won a Missouri high school state championship with Rockhurst High in 2007 in St. Louis and picked up where he left off against Missouri.

Although his production plummeted in the second half, he walked away from his debut to good reviews.

"That quarterback's going to be a great player,'' Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. "I'm glad we're not playing them the next couple of years.''

Scheelhaase broke down the Tigers in the first half, rushing for 82 yards and throwing his lone touchdown pass to A.J. Jenkins. His 20-yard run in the waning seconds of the second quarter set up a 52-yard field goal.

However, with the good came the bad, including three interceptions and a lost fumble.

"It's not the kind of game that he would have liked, but I feel very good about Nathan,'' Illinois coach Ron Zook said. "Nathan will learn from his mistakes. Some of the things that weren't quite the way you wanted were because he tried too hard.''

Scheelhaase finished with 76 rushing yards and completed nine of 23 passes with one touchdown. Most of his throws were short to mid-range, and he got in trouble with some of his longer attempts.

"Winning a state championship here was a great feeling, but this is also something I'll look back on and remember — good times and bad times,'' he said. "It will always be a memorable game.''

meeting the challenge

Although Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert threw for 281 yards, there was a general consensus that the Illini defensive backfield performed well under the circumstances.

Because of injuries, Travon Bellamy stepped into a starting role at cornerback and had 12 tackles. Justin Green moved from running back to cornerback, and Tavon Wilson moved from corner to safety.

But maybe most impressive was the play of safety Steve Hull.

"I thought Justin did very well and Steve Hull was magnificent,'' Zook said. "A couple of times I saw he didn't wrap up. But he's got a natural instinct back there and just played well.''

Missouri tried to pick on Green a few times in the second half and he held up well, even drawing an offensive pass interference call.

Martez's return

Linebacker Martez Wilson saw his first game action since suffering a season-ending injury last season against Missouri. He had 11 tackles, including one for a loss, and forced a fumble.

But Zook didn't think Missouri's offense was conducive to seeing what the junior can do.

"This is not the kind of game — when they've got you spread out — where you're going to feel the 'Mike' linebacker a lot,'' he said. "Sometimes he was very tentative. Sometimes it was not knowing what to do or not doing it the way he knows he can.''

Ford sidelined

Running back Jason Ford (Althoff High) had only one carry in the second half and four for the game because of a sprained thumb that made Zook nervous about giving him the ball.

"He could have gone back in,'' Zook said, "but then you have a running back with a sore thumb holding on to the football.''

The injury limited the Illini's options in the second half as Mikel LeShoure carried the load and Troy Pollard was given one carry.