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 fourth-and-13 with 14 seconds left in the game and were set to attempt a field goal from 58 yards. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano called a timeout to try to kick Ethan Moczulski off the ice.
Moczulski actually kicked the ball to the left and about 15 yards away, but the attempt was called back at the timeout. After seeing how the kick went and having a chance to reconsider, Illinois coach Bret Bielema decided not to attempt the field goal and opted to go for a first down.
That election ended up turning out even better than Bielema could have imagined.
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer connected with Pat Bryant for a first down and more. Bryant avoided several Rutgers defenders and ran to the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown with four seconds left.
The Illini failed on a two-point conversion attempt. However, they got those two points anyway when Rutgers knocked the ball out of bounds of the end zone on the ensuing kickoff.
Altmyer threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-26 passing. He also ran for 74 yards and a score. Josh McCray ran for an additional 58 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Bryant finished with seven receptions for 197 yards and a touchdown he will never forget.
Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis also threw for two touchdowns with 174 yards on 18-of-36 passing, while also rushing for 84 yards and two scores on 13 carries. Kyle Monangai led the Scarlet Knights with 122 rushing yards on 28 carries. Ian Strong caught six balls for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Illinois improved to 8-3 overall with the win and is tied with Iowa for fourth place in the Big Ten at 5-3. Rutgers fell to 6-5 (3-5 Big Ten) with the loss.