Play of the Week: Illinois' Collin Dixon Stops Minnesota's Fake Punt

Redshirt freshman receiver made a key stop to keep the Illini within firing distance in Week 10

Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Collin Dixon (17) runs after a catch against Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive back Marques Buford Jr. (3) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The outcome was stlll very much in question last Saturday when No. 24 Illinois got a fourth-quarter stop against Minnesota, up 16-10, to force a punt from the Gophers' 44-yard line.

Or at least the Illini thought they had forced it.

In fact, when punter Mark Crawford and the rest of the Gophers' special teamers sold the play beautifully, Collin Dixon – an Illini redshirt freshman receiver who was pressuring up the middle – was literally the only defender on the field who saw it.

Fake Punt stopped by Collin Dixon ‼️

The Gophers go for it but @IlliniFootball comes up with the stop 👀#B1GFootball on FS1 📺 pic.twitter.com/jRfhrMCCP6

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 2, 2024

Dixon, who was initially blocked and turned on the play, spun off a Gophers lineman and found himself in front of two blockers and staring down Crawford, who had tucked the ball and was making a beeline for the first-down stick on the right sideline roughly 25 yards away.

As his teammates, heads already turned, sprinted downfield for the punt that would never come, Dixon split the two Gophers blockers, found his angle and sprinted for Crawford, who otherwise might have run for 40.

At midfield, Dixon laid out to get a hand on Crawford's leg along the sideline, doing just enough to send him sprawling as he reached for the last bit of yardage to convert the first down. But Crawford came up just short – and lost the ball, to boot – turning it over to the Illini.

Although Illinois would fall 25-17, the play saved what might have led to a two-touchdown deficit and it set up a subsequent drive that gave the Illini their only lead of the day. The special teams have been consistent producers for the Illini (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) all season.

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