Last-Minute Touchdown Sends #24 Illinois to Road Win Over Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Comeback: complete.

A 40-yard Pat Bryant touchdown with four seconds remaining helped the No. 24-ranked Fighting Illini leave SHI Stadium with a 38-31 win over Rutgers on Saturday afternoon. Trailing with 1:08 remaining, the Orange and Blue marched 75 yards down the field to retake the lead after converting on fourth-and-13 for the game-winning touchdown.

Illinois scored a touchdown on each of its final four drives to complete the comeback.

Bryant finished with a career-high 197 yards on seven catches, including the game-winning 40-yard score. Bryant registered 166 receiving yards in the second half, including 140 yards on four catches in the fourth quarter. Bryant's 64-yard reception in the third frame was the longest of his career. 

Bryant now has three game-winning touchdowns in the final minute or overtime this season, the most of any player in the nation.

Luke Altmyer ended the day with 249 yards and two passing touchdowns on 12 completions. He added 74 yards on the ground and one rushing touchdown.

Hank Beatty registered 90 total yards of offense, which included a 59-yard punt return in the first quarter and a 16-yard touchdown reception for the first score of his collegiate career. Beatty amassed three catches for 31 yards.

In the third quarter, Matthew Bailey forced his second fumble of the season, while Gabe Jacas registered the first fumble recovery of his career.

The Scarlet Knights opened the scoring just over nine minutes into the game on a field goal, and the Illini evened the game at 3-3 on the first play of the second quarter. Hank Beatty put the offense in the red zone before they even took a snap following a career-high 59-yard punt return, and Illinois got on the board for the first time via a 29-yard David Olano field goal.

Rutgers retook the lead on its next possession, but Illinois answered right back on its next offensive drive. Three consecutive 10+-yard plays moved the Illini into Scarlet Knight territory before the visitors found themselves in the red zone. Facing a third-and-14 at the Rutgers 16-yard line, the Orange and Blue converted for the first time, which came in the form of Beatty's first-career touchdown reception.

The Illini went into halftime facing a 17-9 deficit after Rutgers scored late in the first half.

After both teams were forced to punt on their first drives of the third quarter, the Illini defense forced their first turnover of the afternoon. With the Scarlet Knights just inside Illinois territory, Matthew Bailey forced his second fumble of the season and Gabe Jacas jumped on the loose ball to put the Orange and Blue offense in business near midfield.

A 15-yard strike to Beatty gave the Illini their moved the Illini into Scarlet Knight territory before the Illini found themselves facing third-and-9 at the Rutgers 30-yard line. Converting on a 26-yard completion to Pat Bryant, Illinois found the end zone one play later via a 4-yard rushing score for Josh McCray.

The touchdown and unsuccessful two-point conversion cut the visitors' deficit to 17-15 with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter.

The Scarlet Knights found the end zone on their next possession to extend their advantage up to two scores, but the Illini found an immediate answer once again. With Illinois facing a third-and-7 on their own 28-yard line, Altmyer found a streaking Bryant for 64-yard gain, the longest pass and reception of their respective careers. Two plays later, Aidan Laughery recorded an 8-yard rushing score, his first touchdown of the season, to cut the Illini's deficit to 24-22 with just under 14 minutes remaining.

Forcing the Scarlet Knights to punt on their next possession, Illinois took over at its own 10-yard line. Marching 90 yards on 12 plays, the Illini took their first lead of the game on a 30-yard quarterback keeper from Altmyer, and a successful two-point conversion to McCray put the Orange and Blue in front, 30-24, with three minutes to go.

Rutgers retook the lead with 1:08 left, but Illinois was not done yet. Starting the drive at their own 25-yard line, the Illini picked up a first down on their first play before a sack pushed the Orange and Blue to second-and-14. A 21-yard completion to Bryant moved the chains and saw the Illini progress into Scarlet Knight territory.

On fourth-and-13 from the Rutgers' 40-yard line, the Illini opted to go for it rather than kicking a field goal. Altmyer found a streaking Bryant for a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown with four seconds remaining to give the Orange and Blue a 36-31 edge.

A safety on the final play of the game pushed the final score to 38-31.

No. 24 Illinois (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) closes the regular season against Northwestern next week in Chicago. The annual battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy is set to take place at historic Wrigley Field, with kickoff slated for 11 a.m. CT on Big Ten Network.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

POSTGAME NOTES

Team Notes

• Illinois improved to 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten.
• Illinois secured an 8-win season for the 16th time in program history and the 10th time in modern history (since 1950). 
• Illinois has 21 wins over the last three years, the Illini's most wins in a three-year stretch since winning 23 games from 1999-2001.
• Illinois' five Big Ten wins this season is tied with 2022 for the most since Illinois went 6-2 in Big Ten games in 2007 on the way to the Rose Bowl. Next week Illinois will have an opportunity for its third six-win Big Ten season since 1990 (2010, 2007).
• Bret Bielema improved to 26-22 during his Illinois career. Since Robert Zuppke went undefeated in two of his first three seasons at Illinois from 1913-15, Bielema's 26-22 start is the third-best through 48 games by an Illini head coach, behind only Mike White (1980-83) and John Mackovic (1988-91).
• Bielema has won at least eight games in two of his first four seasons at Illinois, becoming the first Illini head coach since John Mackovic (1988-91) to do so.
  • Bielema owns two of the Illini's five seasons of at least eight wins since 1990.
• Bielema's 17 Big Ten wins through his first four seasons at Illinois are the most since John Mackovic won 22 in his first four seasons (1988-91).
  • Bielema is third in Big Ten wins through four seasons among the Illini's 13 head coaches in modern history (post 1940).
    • Mike White – 24 (1980-83).
    • John Mackovic – 22 (1988-91)
    • Bret Bielema – 17 (2021-pres.)
    • Lou Tepper – 16 (1992-95)
    • Bob Blackman – 16 (1971-74)
  • Bielema improved to 9-8 in Big Ten road games at Illinois.
    • His nine Big Ten road wins are the fourth-most by an Illinois head coach in his first four seasons, behind only Mike White (11, 1980-83), Lou Tepper (10, 1992-95), and John Mackovic (10, 1988-91).
• The Illini improved to 6-3 all-time against the Scarlet Knights.
  • Illinois improved to 4-1 all-time at Rutgers and have won the last four matchups in Piscataway.
• Illinois has four wins this season while ranked in the AP Top 25, the most since also winning four games while ranked in 2001.
• Illinois scored 38+ points in back-to-back Big Ten games for the first time since 2011.

Player Notes

• WR Pat Bryant caught seven passes for 197 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
  • His 197 yards are seventh-most in a single game in program history.
  • His nine touchdown receptions this season match Brandon Lloyd (2002) and Josh Imatorbhebhe (2019) for third-most all-time in program history in a single season.
    • Now has 18 touchdown receptions in his career and is one shy from matching A.J. Jenkins (2008-11) for third-most in program history.
  • Had four receptions of 20+ yards in the contest…now has 15 such receptions on the season…entered the contest leading all Big Ten receivers in such receptions, which was also tied for fifth in the nation.
  • His 40-yard touchdown with four seconds left in the fourth was his third game-winning TDs in the final two minutes or overtime this season.
  • His 64-yard reception in the fourth quarter was a career long.
  • Has at least one reception in 23-straight games, dating back to 2023.
    • Has at least seven receptions in two games this season.
  • Became the ninth receiver in Illini history to eclipse 2,000-career receiving yards, moving into seventh on the program's all-time list with 2,025 career receiviing yards. 
• QB Luke Altmyer completed 12 of his 26 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
  • Now has a 20:3 touchdown to interception ratio on the season.
  • First Illinois quarterback to throw 20+ touchdown passes in a season since Nathan Scheelhaase in 2013.
    • His 20 touchdowns are tied for seventh-most in a single season in program history.
  • Has 33 touchdown passes in his Illinois career, 10th-most all-time in program history.
  • Has now led five game-winning drive in the final minute or overtime of his Illini career.
  • Rushed 11 times for 74 yards and one touchdown.
• WR Hank Betty recorded both the longest punt return (59) and kick return (17) of his career and finished with 107 all-purpose yards including his 30 receiving yards on two catches. 
  • Now ranks fifth on Illinois' single-season punt return yardage chart with 279 yards on the year. 
  • Entered the game leading the Big Ten and ranking eighth nationally in yards per punt return and pushed his season average to 15.5, which ranks fifth in Illinois history. 
  • Beatty's single-game punt average of 29.5 yards per punt return ranks third all-time at Illinois (min. 2 returns) behind only Dike Eddleman's 51.2 (2-102) vs. Minnesota (10/18/1947) and Red Grange's 31.3 (4-125) vs. Nebraska (10/6/1923).
    • Beatty's mark is the top single-game average in a road game in program history.
  • Beatty also hauled in the first touchdown reception of his career, a 16-yard strike from Altmyer in the second quarter. 
• RB Josh McCray rushed 13 times for 58 yards and recorded his eighth rushing touchdown of the season.
  • Has 12 career rushing touchdowns (13 total including one receiving touchdown this season). 
• LB Josh Kreutz led the team with 12 tackles.
  • His 12 stops marked a career-best total. 
• DB Matthew Bailey tied his career high with 11 total tackles (7 solo)
  • Bailey matched career-best for total tackles from Illinois' win vs. Michigan on Oct. 19. 
• LB Ryan Meed recorded a career-high with 8 total tackles. 
• LB Malachi Hood tied his career high set with 3 total tackles. 
• OLB JoJo Hayden recorded a career-high with 3 total tackles. 
• DB Jaheim Clarke recorded a game-high two pass breakups, a career-best mark. 

QUOTES

Head coach Bret Bielema

Opening Statement 
Bret Bielema: I'm really proud of my guys. I give a lot of credit to Rutgers obviously, great football team up at the end. You know, we tried to give that one away, I thought we won it. There's no doubt in my mind that was a pick at the end, we've got to flip that baby back and then just obviously a great play at the end with Pat Bryant. Luke Altmyer continued to make great plays. Give a lot of credit to our resiliency, our coaches, just really stayed with the plan. There's a wholehearted effort by all three phases, offense, defense, especially with Hank Beatty and that big return at the beginning of the year, or beginning of the game. Felt like a year ago. And obviously, only got 3 points out of it. But just a lot of credit to our guys. We got one more left. Got a rivalry game against Northwestern this week. To get to 8 wins is absolutely awesome, with an opportunity to make it a big week this week.

What is it about QB Luke Altmyer and WR Pat Bryant that allow them to make big plays late in games?  
Bret Bielema: You know, I think it goes back all the way to last January. You could see those two start to develop a relationship beyond what they did last year and continue to put themselves all spring, all summer, timing, resiliency. I think that's the third winning touchdown, end-game, play. He's still not in the Biletnikoff (list), so if we can have a write-in campaign, holy Jesus. Like, he's literally one of the best receivers in the country. We can't get him on Biletnikoff. So Biletnikoff, please hear me. Just really, really, a really intelligent player. Pat is so aware of his surroundings. You know, just that last play. I thought he was going to the sidelines. You know, he saw that corner right and he took off and knew he could get there. We said it was a play that we had to have. If we got the first down, we need to–we call it a church play where they got to get down, but he saw the end zone and had 4 seconds to spare. 

Was it a no-brainer to go for it on fourth down with 14 seconds left?  
Bret Bielema: I mean, as soon as Greg called the timeout – I knew I could see him over there and we always tell our guys to hit the field goal, right? The operation is to hit it. So, Chow hit one from 60 plus in in practice, but that one was going to be a stress. And obviously, when he missed that bad, I knew he couldn't come back and hit from there. So that's when we went with the play and that was a deep dig and then it just, you know, they got out leveraged there and a really good play.

Were you expecting Rutgers to ice you with a timeout on fourth down at the end of the game?  
Bret Bielema: Yes. I knew that they had those to burn over there, he was definitely going to ice them. I didn't expect the result of that. Then a quick audible there and definitely made the right call in that situation.  

What did you like about the offense on the last three scoring drives? 
Bret Bielema: Well, I thought we can tie them, in the air, right? We really liked our matchup on the perimeter. Well, I thought they were getting a little handsy, so we knew we're going to get some holding calls too, and those were big in the second half. Give a lot of credit to those officials, they did a hell of a job. So, I think the big thing for us, right, is just take advantage of the plays that we got and make it.

How uncharacteristic were the penalties in the game today?  
Bret Bielema: I think we were 8th in the country in fewest penalties, and they were 7th. Right? But we definitely held up our end of the bargain. We got a lot of them. The self-inflicted, obviously, they're inexcusable–inexcusable one from Gabe, had them stopped. There's a lot of things to clean up, a lot of things that we left on the field out there, but I'm excited about the result.

What did you think of the way you ran the ball?  
Bret Bielema: Josh (McCray) and Aiden (Laughery) had that nice bounce on there in the goal line. Again, I just give a lot of credit to our running back room. Thad does a great job of those guys. Khalil got in there. All three of those guys added in there. I thought our offensive line all week felt good about the run game. And then I'd tell you the big run by our quarterback there at the end when he kept it. You know, he's a very dynamic runner. A lot of people don't give him credit for that, but he's a very gifted athlete. He can run. 

Is running an underrated part of QB Luke Altmyer's game?  
Bret Bielema: I think so. You know, he's got that, you know, that frat boy look, right? Kind of pretty boy, just kind of always has that moxie to him. But, you know, he's a really great kid from Mississippi. He plays with a little chip on his shoulder, and he definitely has the ability to run.