What an insane day for the Illinois football program, as we snatched a victory away from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
The Illini didn’t play well in this game. We looked disjointed for much of the contest, but somehow, we were still within striking distance. That is what gave me hope.
Toward the end of the game, hope was dwindling, though. Illinois looked to be down and out, but that is when the skies parted and the Football Gods shined down. One miraculous throw led to an even better catch and run for the game-winning touchdown. Illinois ended up winning an incredible game over Rutgers, 38-31.
Here are five massive observations from the Illinois football win over Rutgers
1. Pat Bryant might be a superhero
I have talked about Pat Bryant numerous times throughout the season. He is a special player with talent that is rare for the Illinois football program.
On Saturday, Bryant took that rare talent and did something I didn’t think was possible. He impressed me even more and took his game to another level.
Bryant finished the Rutgers game with seven receptions for 197 yards and a touchdown. That stat line alone is incredible, but even at that, I don’t think it does him justice.
The 197 yards by Bryant accounted for all but 52 yards Illinois had through the air. He also accounted for all but five of the completions from Luke Altmyer.
The icing on the cake for Bryant’s incredible day was the final offensive play of the game for the Illini. On 4th and 13, he got space and caught a ball over the middle. It wasn’t a catch in stride, though. He had to go from zero-to-60 quickly, and Bryant managed to get a good angle and outrun the entire Rutgers’ secondary.
In the last two weeks, Bryant has gone back-to-back career highs. His previous career-high was against Michigan State last weekend when he hit 135 yards. Getting to the 197-yard mark blew his previous career high out of the water. This kid isn’t a great player, he is a superhero at wide receiver.
2. The Illinois defense was massively disappointing
Illinois won the game by seven points, but honestly, there isn’t a lot of positive to take away from the victory. The main thing is that Illinois got the win, and that is all that matters at the end of the day.
With that being said, Illinois’ defense was putrid against an average to below-average Rutgers offense.
Coming into the game on Saturday, Rutgers was No. 69 in the country in passing yards, and they averaged 24.3 points per game, which ranked No. 86 in the country. Illinois’ secondary made Athan Kaliakmanis look like a superstar, though.
Kaliakmanis threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns in horrible wind conditions. That alone had me upset with the Illini defense, but the run defense is what was most disappointing.
Rutgers finished the game with 45 carries for 213 yards and two touchdowns. This is a team that averages just 151.7 yards per game on the ground.
The Illinois front seven couldn’t stop the Scarlet Knights for anything in the world. They allowed Kyle Monangai to rack up the yards after contact, and he finished with 122 yards on the day.
I think the most disappointing aspect of the bad run defense was allowing Kaliakmanis to run all over us. He finished with 84 yards and had the two touchdowns. On multiple occasions, he made Illinois defenders lose their footing and would scramble for a first down.
The Illini offense pulled the program out of this loss. I can’t give the Illinois defense any credit. Giving up 31 points in any game is unacceptable, especially against someone like 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.
4. Josh McCray was one of the MVPs on the day
Pat Bryant is going to get all of the hype and understandably so. He had a legendary game and was the reason we scored that huge touchdown to beat Rutgers.
While Bryant should get a lot of praise, I think we have to give a hat-tip to Josh McCray. He was brilliant for the Orange and Blue.
McCray was the most effective running back on the ground for the Illini. He had 13 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. He had a hard time going down, and much like Kyle Monangai, McCray had quite a few yards after contact. There was one play that stuck in my head where he was hit two yards in the backfield but still managed to gain a yard on the ground.
The impact McCray had on the Illinois football team goes far beyond his ability to rush the football, though. He was a crucial part of the passing game as well.
Illinois’ offensive line struggled the entire game. They were able to put pressure on Luke Altmyer at a high rate, and some of the time it was just on a three-man rush. But when McCray was back there blocking, everything opened up for Altmyer.
McCray was the best offensive lineman Illinois had in the game, and he doesn’t even play on the offensive line. He had a huge block on a big play late in the game when Rutgers was called for pass interference. That play couldn’t have happened without McCray giving Altmyer time.
And then on the final play of the game, Rutgers brought a couple of extra players on a blitz. McCray picked up a linebacker who was flying in, and he discarded him to give Altmyer time in the pocket. Altmyer hit Bryant, and the rest was history.
Illinois doesn’t beat Rutgers without Bryant, but we also wouldn’t beat the Scarlet Knights without McCray’s great blocking. He isn’t going to get a lot of love after the win, but McCray was huge for the Illini on Saturday.
5. Bret Bielema found a way to win
I hear people criticizing Bret Bielema quite often. Some of it is earned and some not. I have been on the criticism bandwagon before.
Even in the game against Rutgers, I mentioned that I was surprised that Illinois had all three timeouts left with four minutes to go in the game. Usually, we blow a timeout or two pointlessness sometime in the third quarter and it comes back to bite us.
As much guff as Bielema gets for his in-game situations, I think you have to give him praise when the program comes through and gets a victory when it looked like the chips were down.
Bielema might make a few mistakes here and there, but he figures out a way to win. He gets the job done, and Illinois now has eight wins in two out of the past three seasons.
You can’t say the same about other coaches. Matt Rhule over at Nebraska finds ways to lose games. He can’t figure out how to get over the hump in one-score contests.
When you look down at Kansas, Lance Leipold is starting to figure things out, but he had struggled in tight games too. The Jayhawks are 1-5 in one-score games this season.
I know that the Illinois coaching staff has issues at times. I call out many things I have issues with when it comes to coaching. But you have to give credit where credit is due. Bielema finds a way to win games whether it is ugly or not. They are wins.