No. 24 stunned Rutgers on Bryant’s 40-yard TD reception with 4 seconds left

PISCATAWAY, NJ – Trailing by one point at the 40-yard line with 14 seconds left in the game and no timeout, Illinois coach Bret Bielema sent a play to Luke Altmyer known as “church.”

The quarterback would hit a receiver who would immediately fall to the ground. The offense was running to the line of scrimmage and Altmyer was dunking the ball to set up a potential winning goal.

Pat Bryant intercepted the pass at the 22 and then sounded his own two-second buzzer. Seeing the path to the end zone, the star receiver took off across the field. winning goal With 4 seconds left, the Illini scored, leading to a wild 38-31 victory over Rutgers on Saturday.

“Coach called it a perfect play,” Bryant said. “It’s a play we always play in our two-minute practice. I caught the ball, I saw the sideline and there was no one there. I had a guy to beat. I gave him some movement. I heard everyone jumping and saying ‘Get out’ but I had the confidence and I scored.”

Bryant’s ninth TD reception of the season capped an up-and-down finish to a Big Ten game that featured three changes in the final 3:07.

Illinois (8-3, 5-3) trailed 31-30 when it sent long kicker Ethan Moczulski down the field for a desperation 58-yard field goal. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano called a timeout just before Moczulski attempted a field goal about 15 yards out to the left.

After the missed shot was called off due to a timeout, Bielema sent his offense back onto the field.

“Pat is very aware of his surroundings,” Bielema said after Bryant finished with seven catches for a career-high 197 yards. “He saw that corner and took off.”

Schiano didn’t second-guess the timeout but said Moczulski should have taken it before taking the shot.

“They played one more game than us,” Schiano said.

Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) gave up a safety on the final kickoff and players threw the ball out of bounds in hopes of a miraculous touchdown.

Altmyer was 12-of-26 passing for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He put Illinois ahead with a 30-yard TD run with 3:07 left. He passed the ball to Josh McCray for a two-point basket and made the score 30-24.

Rutgers responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive. Athan Kaliakmanis had a 15-yard run in the fourth. He passed to running back Kyle Monangai for a 13-yard TD with 1:08 remaining.

Illinois then drove 75 yards in eight plays for the win.

“This is big football,” Monangai said. “They played a great game at the end of the game. I think we played our hearts out even in the last game. Illinois did the same. They are a great team. The chips are down, it’s their way today.

Kaliakmanis was 18-for-36 for 174 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 13 carries for 84 yards and two TDs. Monangai had a career-high 28 carries for 122 yards.

Kaliakmanis found Ian Strong for a 2-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the first half and scored on a 1-yard run that gave Rutgers a 24-15 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Illinois responded with an 8-yard TD run by Aidan Laughery, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.

The start of the second half was delayed due to tension between the teams. No punches were thrown and officials called for penalties against both schools.

Monangai’s day

Monangai became the third player in Rutgers history to rush for 3,000 yards with 4 picks on a third-and-1 carry early in the second quarter. The defending conference champion joins Ray Rice and Terrell Willis to achieve his goal.

takeaway

Illinois: Great finish keeps the Illini poised for their first nine-win season since 2007 and a prestigious bowl appearance this season.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights are within seconds of their first three-game intra-conference winning streak since joining the Big Ten in 2014.

next

Illinois: At Northwestern next Saturday.

Rutgers: At Michigan State next Saturday.

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AP college football: And https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-survey