Monday, December 2, 2024

Box score, stats, game summary and more ft. Luke Altmyer

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In a battle of bowl-eligible teams, No. 25 Illinois rallied on a last-second 40-yard pass from QB Luke Altmyer to Pat Bryant to claim an impressive win.

Altmyer threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for another score as Illinois rallied late to post an impressive 38-31 victory.

Illinois (8-3, 5-3 in Big Ten) is probably the league’s top team outside the quartet of likely College Football Playoff picks. The Illini came in off a win over Michigan State and now could manage a 9-3 season with a trip to Northwestern coming next. Rutgers (6-5, 3-5 in Big Ten) defeated Maryland last week to achieve bowl eligibility, but lost a game in which they led for most of the way.

Illinois vs. Rutgers Box Score

Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
Illinois 0 9 6 23 38
Rutgers 3 14 0 14 31

Illinois Passing Stats

Player Comp. Att. Yards Pass TDs
Luke Altmyer 12 26 249 2

Illinois Rushing and Receiving Stats

Player Rushes Yards Rush TDs Rec. Yards Rec. TDs
Josh McCray 13 58 1 0 0 0
Ca’Lil Valentine 6 24 0 0 0 0
Aidan Laughery 6 26 1 1 5 0
Luke Altmyer 11 74 1 0 0 0
Pat Bryant 0 0 0 7 197 1
Hank Beatty 0 0 0 2 31 1
Collin Dixon 0 0 0 2 16 0

Illinois Kicking Stats

Player XP-XPA FG-FGA Long
David Olano 1 for 2 1 for 1 29

Rutgers Passing Stats

Player Comp. Att. Yards Pass TDs
Athan Kaliakmanis 19 37 175 2

Rutgers Rushing and Receiving Stats

Player Rushes Yards Rush TDs Rec. Yards Rec. TDs
Athan Kaliakmanis 13 84 2 0 0 0
Kyle Monangai 28 122 0 4 24 0
Antwan Raymond 4 7 0 0 0 0
Ian Strong 0 0 0 6 66 1
KJ Duff 0 0 0 2 25 0
Dymere Miller 0 0 0 3 38 0
Mike Higgins 0 0 0 1 11 0
Christian Dremel 0 0 0 3 11 0

Rutgers Kicking Stats

Player XP-XPA FG-FGA Long
Jai Patel 4 for 4 1 for 1 34

The teams traded scores throughout the first half, but a missed extra point by Illinois and a 75-yard drive by Rutgers to close out the second quarter (ending in a Kaliakmanis TD pass to Ian Strong) gave Rutgers a 17-9 lead.

Illinois scored on a four-yard TD run mid-third quarter by missed a two-point conversion to tie the game. The teams traded fourth-quarter touchdowns before Illinois’s Luke Altmyer broke off a 30-yard scoring run to give Illinois its first lead of the game, 30-24.

Rutgers answered with a 10-play, 65-yard drive culminating in a 13-yard scoring pass to running back Kyle Monangai from Kaliakmanis to retake a 31-30 advantage with 1:08 to play.

It wasn’t enough as Altmyer’s 40-yard bomb to Bryant delivered the winning score with just four seconds left.

  • Rutgers: 34-yard field goal by Jai Patel, 3-0, 5:52 remaining in 1st quarter
  • Illinois: 29-yard field goal by David Olano, 3-3, 14:56 remaining in 2nd quarter
  • Rutgers: 12-yard TD run by Athan Kaliakmanis (Patel XPT), 10-3, 9:20 remaining in 2nd quarter
  • Illinois: 18-yard TD pass to Hank Beatty from Luke Altmeyer (Olano XPT missed), 10-9, 5:32 remaining in 2nd quarter
  • Rutgers: 2-yard TD pass to Ian Strong from Athan Kaliakmanis (Patel XPT), 17-9, 0:06 remaining in 2nd quarter
  • Illinois: 4-yard TD run by Josh McCray (Two point conversion failed), 17-15, 6:36 remaining in 3rd quarter
  • Rutgers: 1-yard TD run by Athan Kaliakmanis (Patel XPT), 24-15, 14:51 remaining in 4th quarter
  • Illinois: 8-yard TD run by Aidan Laughery (Olano XPT), 24-22, 13:48 remaining in 4th quarter
  • Illinois: 30-yard TD run by Luke Altmeyer (Altmeyer to McCray for two-point conversion), 30-24, 3:07 remaining in 4th quarter
  • Rutgers: 13-yard TD pass to Kyle Monangai from Athan Kaliakmanis (Patel XPT), 31-30, 1:08 remaining in 4th quarter
  • Illinois: 40-yard TD pass to Pat Bryant from Luke Altmyer (Two point conversion failed), 36-31, 0:04 remaining in 4th quarter
  • Illinois: Safety on kickoff, 38-31, final.

Illinois finishes the regular season with a trip to Northwestern, while Rutgers closes the regular season by traveling to Michigan State. Both teams are bowl-eligible and will have postseason play ahead.