No. 25 Illinois won a 38–31 thriller over Rutgers with a last-second touchdown in Piscataway, New Jersey on Saturday.
Down 31–30, the Illini faced a 4th-and-13 with 14 seconds remaining in the game and were ready to attempt a go-ahead field goal from 58 yards. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano then called timeout to try and ice kicker Ethan Moczulski.
Moczulski actually kicked the ball wide left and approximately 15 yards short, but the attempt was negated by the timeout. After seeing how the kick went and given a chance to reconsider, Illinois coach Bret Bielema decided against the field goal try and opted to go for a first down.
That choice ended up working out even better than Bielema likely imagined.
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer connected with Pat Bryant for a 17-yard pass and a first down. However, Rutgers then couldn’t tackle Bryant despite five defenders being nearby. The senior wideout then sprinted the remaining 23 yards to the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown with four seconds remaining.
The Illini failed on a 2-point conversion attempt. Yet they got those two points anyway when Rutgers lateraled the ball out of bounds in the end zone on the ensuing kickoff.
Altmyer passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns on 12-for-26 passing. He also rushed for 74 yards and a score. Josh McCray rushed for an additional 58 yards and a TD on 13 carries. Bryant finished with seven receptions for 197 yards and a touchdown he’ll never forget.
Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis also passed for two TDs with 174 yards on 18-for-36 passing, while also rushing for 84 yards and two scores on 13 carries. Kyle Monangai led the Scarlet Knights with 122 yards rushing on 28 carries. Ian Strong caught six balls for 66 yards and a TD.
Illinois improved to 8–3 overall with the victory and tied with Iowa for fourth in the Big Ten at 5–3. Rutgers dropped to 6–5 (3–5 in Big Ten) with the defeat.
