John Peterson
FightingIllini.com
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Illinois recorded its first win of the season as James McCourt made a game-winning field goal to defeat the Scarlet Knights, 23-20 on Saturday afternoon. The Illini rushed for 342 yards and forced three interceptions in the victory.
RECORD-BREAKING DAY
In his first start for the Illini, redshirt freshman quarterback Isaiah Williams set the Illinois single-game rushing record with 192 yards, passing AJ Bush Jr. (187 at Nebraska).
Chase Brown also had a big day for the Illini, rushing for 131 yards on 17 carries. This marks the first time since 2018 that Illinois has had two rushers with over 100 yards in a game (Reggie Corbin, 213, and AJ Bush, Jr., 127 vs Minnesota).
Gallery: (11-14-2020) Illinois at Rutgers - 11/14/2020
DEFENSE LEADS TO OFFENSE
Senior linebacker Jake Hansen recorded another turnover on Saturday afternoon, intercepting a pass late in the third quarter which would lead to an Illini score. In another impressive game leading the Illini defense, Hansen notched a game-high 14 tackles with one sack, one tackle for loss, and one pass breakup in addition to the interception.
The Illini would force two more interceptions in the fourth quarter, with cornerbacks Nate Hobbs and Devon Witherspoon getting in on the action.
PINNING THEM DEEP
Blake Hayes continued to shine for the Illini special teams unit on Saturday, averaging 46 yards per punt and recording one punt of 59 yards. The 2019 Big Ten Punter of the Year also pinned the Scarlet Knights deep in their own territory with three punts inside the 20.
NOTES
• Illinois is 5-2 all-time against Rutgers, including a 3-1 record in New Jersey.
• Illinois has won three straight against Rutgers.
• Illinois forced 3+ Rutgers' turnovers for the fifth straight year.• Illinois had 341 rushing yards, its first time over 300 rushing yards since 383 at Nebraska, 11/10/2018.
• All six Illinois drives in the second half ended with scoring opportunities. The Illini made three field goals, scored one touchdown, and missed one field goal. Illinois held a 20:45-9:15 time of possession advantage in the second half, thanks to a 4-for-9 effort on third downs and 1-for-1 on fourth downs.
• Illinois started five transfers - RB Chase Brown, WR Brian Hightower, WR Josh Imatorbhebhe, WR Donny Navarro, DL Roderick Perry II,
• Seven of Illinois' 22 starters against Minnesota have 20+ starts: OT Alex Palczewski (40th), OT Vederian Lowe (36th), OL Kendrick Green (29th), LB Jake Hansen (26th), DB Sydney Brown (24th), CB Nate Hobbs (33rd), DB Tony Adams (23rd)
• Illinois captains: LB Jake Hansen, P Blake Hayes, CB Nate Hobbs, C Doug Kramer - other captain, QB Brandon Peters was out.
• Redshirt-Freshman QB Isaiah Williams and Sophomore LB Tarique Barnes made thier first career starts.
• QB Isaiah William rushed for an Illinois record 192 yards. The most single-game rushing yards by a quarterback.
• QB Isaiah Williams (192) and RB Chase Brown (131) ran for 100 yards. The last game Illinois had two rushers with over 100 yards vs. Minnesota, 11/3/2018 with RB Reggie Corbin (213) and QB A.J. Bush, Jr. (127)
• QB Isaiah Williams (192 rush yards) and RB Chase Brown (131 rush yards) combined to be the second Illini QB/RB duo to both rush for 130+ yards in a game in Illinois history.
RB Rashard Mendenhall (201) and QB Juice Williams (133) both ran for 130+ at Minnesota 11/3/2007.
• Jer'Zhan Newton is the 16th true freshman to start 2+ games on the defensive line in Illinois history.
• RB Mike Epstein rushed for a touchdown, making three straight games with him reaching the end zone.
• Illinois started an all-Illinois offensive line of LT Vederian Lowe (Rockford, Ill.), LG Kendrick Green (Peoria, Ill.) , C Doug Kramer (Hinsdale, Ill.) RG Verdis Brown (Chicago, Ill.), RT Alex Palczewski (Mount Prospect, Ill.)
• Senior RT Alex Palczewski started for the 40th straight game.
• Senior LT Vederian Lowe started for the 30th straight game.
• Junior OL Kendrick Green started for the 31st straight game.
• Starting C Doug Kramer, LB Shammond Cooper, K James McCourt, DL Keith Randolph Jr. and QB Isaiah Williams returned after missing the last two games.
• Illinois senior quarterback Brandon Peters and redshirt freshman tight end Griffin Moore were both sidelined for 21 days following positive test results Thursday 10/29/20 for the COVID-19 virus. Per Big Ten Conference protocol, following recovery both players will be eligible to return for the Nov. 21 game at Nebraska.
Coach Lovie Smith - Postgame Quotes
Opening Statement: "It had been a long time since we'd won a football game. The last six, a lot had contributed to that. We'd been shorthanded. But today we kept fighting. Our offense, we'd talked about how good Isaiah Williams had looked in training camp, he was as good as anyone in camp, so it was good to get him out there. For our offense to have success, we needed to solidify the defensive line also.
We wanted to run the football. Chase Brown was outstanding, gave you a glimpse of what he can be. It's tough duty for a defense when the quarterback can run like that. Isaiah in his first start to be able to do that, I liked what the offense was able to do. Defensively, we gave up some big plays, and we'll continue to work on that. But those takeaways late allowed us to win the football game. Guys strained for four quarters and it was good to get the win."
On the field goals: "It's tough when you miss a couple field goals, but we have all the confidence in the world in him. We just wanted to get him that opportunity. A lot of things had to happen to get that chance, but we've seen him do that before. The other field goals we attempted were in range, so was the last one, so no thought at all, he's done that before."
On focusing on the running game: "It's about moving the football, whether it's run or pass. A first-time quarterback, we didn't want to put him in a lot of obvious passing situations. When you have a guy that can run like that, it's really tough on the defense. That last third-and-long with a quarterback draw, that was big."
On what the win means: "When you talk to the team and can call on experiences, it helps a lot. The last time we won was one of the biggest in our history, and we've talked about that a lot. Today, we were down 10 on the road, but the guys just kept fighting and refused to lose. So hopefully this will give us confidence going forward."
On takeaways: "We haven't lived up to the goals we set each week in terms of taking the ball away. That's what we did today, and we had other opportunities as well that we need to capitalize on."
On having Nate Hobbs back on defense: "Nate is a physical player. If you play corner here, you have to want to tackle. He played the run well. He tackled and he had a big interception.
On the run game: "With our athletic quarterback, when he can make a defender miss in the open field like Isaiah can, that's tough duty. He can improvise, scramble and get yardage. We have seen that quite a bit. Chase Brown, he can make you miss too. He's capable, he has great vision. That combination of those two guys, that's tough. We needed all those plays today."
On the defense: "We need to eliminate the big plays, but they continue to fight. They hung in there. We're heading in the right direction and saw signs of improvement that we needed to make."
On third down stops: "Third down is critical. We look at it like a takeaway, so a lot of emphasis is places on it. Today that was huge for us, to get the offense back on there to keep moving the ball."
