Illinois had been waiting almost three weeks for injured quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase to play again.

When he took the Memorial Stadium field Saturday and led the Illini to an early 7-0 lead over Louisiana Tech, it looked like the leader of Illinois' attack was back.

But by the end of the first quarter Scheelhaase was back on the bench, the Illini had turned the ball over three times and trailed by a pair of touchdowns on their way to a stunning 52-24 loss to the Bulldogs (3-0). Illinois turned the ball over six times in all and at times appeared powerless to stop Louisiana Tech's quick-strike offense.