Scheelhaase, Illini breeze by SIU 42-34

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Nathan Scheelhaase had waited a long time for a day like this. Career-high 416 yards through the air. Two early touchdown passes that staked an Illinois team in bad need of an early win to a comfortable lead. But the ending was closer to a hot, muggy nightmare than any fairy tale. With the temperature hitting 95 degrees and the heat index 108, Scheelhaase watched helplessly from the sideline in the final minute Saturday as Southern Illinois fell just short of the kind of upset Football Championship Subdivision teams like the Salukis dream of, with Illinois holding on 42-34. "It's gonna be a fight every time," the fifth-year senior quarterback said before refusing to attach much if any significance to his own big day. "Honestly, I think we'll all put it behind us and start preparing for Cincinnati." Illinois hosts the Bearcats next Saturday.