5 massive observations from the Illinois football win over Rutgers

3. Thank you, Greg Schiano, for the extra timeout

That was a huge win for the Illinois football program. My voice is hoarse due to all of the yelling, especially toward the end of the game.

Illinois started to move the ball on the final drive. We needed a little more yardage to get in better field goal position for the win. That is when Pat Bryant got called for a false start.

This false start backed Illinois up five more yards, and the result of the next play was an incomplete pass. Illinois was forced into a 4th and 13 situation, and things looked bleak.

I was baffled when Bret Bielema called for a field goal. It was a 58-yard attempt with the wind howling and the kicker’s previous high was a 59-yard field goal in good conditions. I didn’t think there was much of a chance that he was going to make this field goal.

What happened next blew might mind even more. Rutgers’ head coach Greg Schiano called a timeout. He wanted to ice a kicker who was about to essentially kick a career-high field goal with insane wind.

Without that timeout by Schiano, the following craziness wouldn't have happened. That timeout by the Rutgers head coach enabled Bielema to see that his kicker didn’t have it in him to make that 58-yard field goal.

Bielema made a smart late-game adjustment. Illinois went for it on 4th and 13, and the result was a massive touchdown to Bryant.

I would argue that it was one of the biggest coaching flubs I have ever seen. Schiano gave Illinois another life, and we took full advantage of it. Thank you, Greg Schiano.