Illini get into win column on late FG
Illini get first win in more than a year on late FG
McCourt’s kick gives Illinois a 23-20 win over Rutgers, its first in more than a year.
Northwestern tops Purdue 27-20 tomove to 4-0.
Illinois waited more than a year for a victory.
The last time the Illini walked off the field as winners came on Nov. 9, 2019, at Michigan State with a 37-34 upset.
Illinois ended its six-game losing streak Saturday with a 23-20 victory against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., where it had been pegged a seven-point underdog by Las Vegas oddsmakers.
James McCourt, who missed two long field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter, hit a 47-yarder with three seconds remaining for the victory.
“It had been a long time since we won a football game,” coach Lovie Smith said. “Guys kept fighting away.”
The Illini (1-3) dealt with injuries and key players missing time because of COVID-19 cases and contact-tracing quarantines. Many of those players returned Saturday and made an impact.
Here are four takeaways from the Illini victory.
Isaiah Williams brings the ‘Juice.’ The quarterback was reminiscent of former Illinois quarterback Isiah Williams.
Isaiah Williams, whose nickname is “One” instead of “Juice,” set a school rushing record in a game by a quarterback in his first start. He scampered, scrambled and spun for 192 yards on 31 carries, including a 3-yard touchdown run.
“The biggest thing, I think I showed heart,” Williams said.
Chase Brown added 131 yards on 17 carries for an Illinois rushing attack that piled up 338 yards.
Williamswas the fourth Illini starter inas many games. He missed the last two games because of contact-tracing protocols.
Starting quarterback Brandon Peters missed his third game Saturday after hewas diagnosed with COVID-19 following the season opener at Wisconsin. He traveled to the Rutgers game and remained on the sideline. Peters is allowed to play Saturday against Nebraska.
That could offer Illinois an opportunity to mix it up offensively with Peters’ throwing ability and Williams’ running skills.
Williams’ passing improved during the game. He completed only 7 of 19 passes for 104 yards and lost a fumble. But he had two big passes on the final drive to help set up the winning field goal.
Williams replaced fourth-stringer Coran Taylor, who played most of the last two games, starting against Minnesota. Taylor struggled with accuracy and turnovers.
Williams, a former four-star recruit, said he learned on Friday that he would start.
“Coach Lovie called me up,” he said. “‘You’re going to get your shot. You had a great camp, and now it’s time to show the world.’ That’s what I did today.”
Will beating Rutgers build momen
tum? The Illini had plenty of lost opportunities and poor execution against one of the historically worst teams in the Big Ten.
But they are happy to be 1-3 rather than 0-4, which certainly would have infuriated even its most patient loyal fans.
Illinois started last season 2-4 before rattling off four consecutive victories to become bowl-eligible.
“(When) you can call on experience, it helps an awful lot,” Smith said. “We were down 10 on the road today, a lot was going against us. We refused to lose.”
Illinois will host Nebraska next. The Illini led the Cornhuskers 21-14 at halftime last season before faltering in a 42-38 loss.
Nebraska (1-2) also is coming off its first victory of the season. TheCornhuskers beat Penn State 30-23 on Saturday behind quarterback Luke McCaffrey, who passed for 152 yards and rushed for another 67.
Kicker James McCourt predicts the
future. Kicker James McCourt keeps a notebook filled with pointers from practices and other ruminations to help him improve. He wrote this week that Illinois would use a game-winner to beat Rutgers.
He fulfilled his prophesy.
McCourt nailed a 47-yard field goal with three seconds remaining for the victory.
“I knew this moment was going to come,” he said.
McCourt showed resiliency in converting the field goal after missing two earlier attempts from54 and 46 yards in the fourth quarter. He earlier made 24- and 23-yard attempts.
“You fall down but you have to bounce back,” McCourt said. “I didn’t really let it deter me. We still had a chance to win the ball game.”
He had missed the previous two games because of contact-tracing quarantine.
McCourt became the fourth player in team history to make two game-winners in the finalminute. His most memorable came when he hit a 39-yarder to beat then-No. 6 Wisconsin 24-23 last season that sparked a field-storming by Illini fans.
McCourt told Smith he wanted to kick fromthe right hash because he felt he could use the wind better fromthat vantage point. The wind had pushed the ball more than he had expected on his misses, he said.
Smith noted that the earlier misses didn’t give him pause about having McCourt go for it.
“No thought at all,” Smith said. “He’s done that before.”
Illinois is far from perfect. The Illini still
have some worrisome issues.
They struggled to put together an effective pass rush for most of the game. Rutgers quarterback Noah Vedral connected on 21 of 34 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns, while Isaih Pacheco rushed for 138 yards on 21 carries.
Illinois probably can’t afford to get off toa slow start any more this season. The Illini remain scoreless in the first quarter.
They also came up short in the red zone, settling for two field-goal attempts on first-and-goal situations.
The defense rescued Illinois with three second-half takeaways, including a key Nate Hobbs interception in the fourth quarter.
“The ball was in the air,” Hobbs said. “Somebody had to get it. It was going to be me.”