Pat Bryant caught a 40-yard touchdown on fourth down with four seconds remaining as No. 25 Illinois rallied for a dramatic 38-31 victory over Rutgers on Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J.
With Rutgers playing cover-zero defense, Bryant caught Luke Altmyer’s sidearm toss on fourth-and-13 at the 22-yard line in the middle of the field and ran in from the right side for a 36-31 lead.
Bryant’s dramatic catch came after Illinois initially decided to attempt a go-ahead 57-yard field goal into the wind. Following a timeout, the Illini went for it on fourth down.
Altmeyer’s two-point conversion attempt to Bryant was incomplete, but the visitors recorded a safety on the game’s final play.
Bryant finished with seven catches for a career-high 197 yards, and his score came after Rutgers took a 31-30 lead on a 13-yard rushing TD by Kyle Monangai with 1:08 left.
Monangai gave the Scarlet Knights the lead after Illinois overcame a nine-point deficit on Aidan Laughery’s 8-yard TD run with 13:48 remaining and Altmyer’s 30-yard run with 3:07 left.
Bryant’s clutch catch gave Illinois (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) eight wins for the second time in three seasons on a day when it committed 11 penalties.
Altmyer finished 12-of-26 passing for 249 yards and threw two touchdowns. He also gained a team-high 74 yards on the ground as the Ilini totaled 182 rushing yards.
Monangai finished with 122 yards on 28 carries and Athan Kaliakmanis completed 19-of-37 passes for 175 yards, but Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) was unable to win a third straight Big Ten game for the first time. Kaliakmanis also rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
The Scarlet Knights saw their losing streak against ranked teams reach 41 games after taking a 17-9 halftime lead and a 24-15 advantage early in the fourth.
–Field Level Media
