CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – At the start of play Saturday, IU needed three wins from three to reach bowl eligibility. By close of business, the Hoosiers only needed two.

Coach Tom Allen picked up his first-career Big Ten win in the job, and Richard Lagow excelled behind center in a 24-14 win at Illinois. Here are three reasons the Hoosiers (4-6, 1-6) won on the road:

A composed performance from Lagow

IU’s redshirt senior quarterback surely hasn’t had the final college season he would have hoped for. He excelled against Ohio State but struggled in the ensuing weeks, and saw redshirt freshman Peyton Ramsey take his job.

But Ramsey, sacked five times at Maryland, has been out since late in the loss in College Park. And Lagow has been as good as at any point in his career since taking the offense back.

In two-plus games including a near-comeback at Maryland, Lagow has 646 yards and six touchdowns. He’s also tossed three interceptions, but Lagow has looked confident and composed since his return, as solid as he’s been at any point in this season.

Ramsey dressed and warmed up for each of IU’s last two games, but Allen admitted Ramsey wouldn’t have been able to play had Indiana needed him against Wisconsin. The redshirt freshman didn’t look overly healthy during warm-ups Saturday. This looks like Lagow’s team again from here on in.

A dominant front six

IU sacked Illinois quarterback Jeff George Jr. eight times Saturday. The Hoosiers bottled up Illinois on the ground (which in fairness hasn’t been too difficult this season). Overall, Indiana won the battle at the line of scrimmage on defense, which will be music to Allen’s ears.

It still didn’t yield the production it needed to in terms of turnovers, but given the competition remaining on Indiana’s schedule, this kind of performance bodes well.

The Hoosiers spread out the stats — seven different players recorded at least half a sack, and linemen and linebackers shared in the success. Nate Hoff and Jacob Robinson were outstanding inside, and Chris Covington made himself a persistent pest blitzing from the second level.

Indiana’s bowl hopes remain slim. But given the two teams left on the schedule are Rutgers and Purdue, those hopes do remain. More line-of-scrimmage performances like this one will breathe further life into them.

Solid on the ground

Holding Illinois to just 33 rushing yards isn’t the most difficult thing IU has done all year. The Illini are second-to-last in the Big Ten in rushing offense.

The Hoosiers are last.

So it’s worth pointing out IU’s ground game’s usefulness Saturday. With freshmen Cole Gest (82 yards) and Morgan Ellison (49 yards, one touchdown) leading the way, the Hoosiers managed 139 rushing yards Saturday, enough to hold what pass rush Illinois might have hoped for at bay and keep IU on schedule.

Gest is shifty and explosive, and navigated tight spaces well all day. Ellison is a bruising downhill back who converted in some critical short-yardage situations.

Like much of Indiana’s performance in Champaign, it wasn’t earth-moving. But it did the job and offered some encouragement, with bowl eligibility kept on the table for another week.