COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Caleb Griffin hit a 43-yard field goal as time expired as Illinois secured its first Big Ten victory of the season, taking down Maryland, 27-24, at SECU Stadium on Saturday.
Seven different receivers caught a pass, including 60 yards and four receptions from Casey Washington. Isaiah Williams also tallied four catches and tallied his first touchdown of the season, while Pat Bryant hauled in a 44-yard pass for his fifth score of the year.Â
Kaden Feagin, making the first start of his college career, registered 19 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown, his first of the season. The Illini totaled 131 yards on the ground against the Terrapins.
Dylan Rosiek forced his third fumble of the season in the second quarter, while Kenenna Odeluga jumped on the loose ball for his second straight game with a fumble recovery. Seth Coleman recorded a career-high 3.0 sacks in the win.
Illinois' special teams came to play on Saturday. Along with Griffin's two field goals, Williams averaged 28 yards on his two punt returns, while Kenari Wilcher recorded a 43-yard kickoff return that came in the fourth quarter.
The Illini offense capitalized on their first drive of the game after the defense forced a Terrapin punt to open the game. Feagin opened the game with a 12-yard pickup before Altmyer found Tip Reiman for a 13-yard gain. Three plays later, Altmyer found Bryant for a 44-yard touchdown connection, the Illini wide receiver's fourth receiving score of the season.
After Maryland scored 14 straight points, Rosiek forced his third fumble of the year with the Terrapins deep in Illini territory. Odeluga recovered the loose ball, his second consecutive game with a fumble recovery, giving the Illinois offense a chance to march down the field with under two minutes to play in the opening half.
That is exactly what the Illini did. A 17-yard strike to Washington moved the Orange and Blue to midfield, and Illinois ultimately found the end zone on a 2-yard rush from Feagin, the first touchdown of his college career, to tie the game at 14 with nine seconds to play in the first half.
After opening the second half near midfield, the Illini took advantage of the short field. With an eight-play, 59-yard drive, Illinois found the end zone via a 15-yard pass to Isaiah Williams, his first touchdown of the season. The score put the visitors back in front, 21-14, less than five minutes into the second half.
The Illini extended their lead on their subsequent possession. Caleb Griffin drilled a 40-yard field goal six minutes later to push the Orange and Blue's advantage to 24-14.
After the Terrapins tied the game with 90 seconds lefts, the Illini marched down the field to set up the game-winning field goal. A 29-yard completion to Washington moved the ball into Terrapin territory before Aidan Laughery took the ball inside the Maryland 30. Getting to the Terrapin 25-yard line, Griffin hit his second game-winning field goal of the season, this time from 43 yards out, to give the Illini the road win.
Illinois returns to Memorial Stadium on Oct. 21 to take on Wisconsin on Homecoming. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT.
NEXT HOME GAME
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois recorded its first win in program history over Maryland.
- Bret Bielema is now 1-1 in his coaching career against the Terps.
- Bret Bielema's six Big Ten road wins in his first three seasons are the most since Lou Tepper won eight Big Ten road games in his first three seasons from 1992-94.
- The Illinois defense recorded a season-high three sacks in the game.
- All three came in the second half.
- The Illini defense held the Terps to 5-for-15 on third-down conversions.
- Maryland was held to 2-for-7 on third downs in the second half.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Junior WR Pat Bryant caught 3 passes for 61 yards and 1 touchdown.
- Now has two touchdown catches of 44 yards or more on the season.
- His five receiving touchdowns rank tied for second among Big Ten players.
- Junior WR Isaiah Williams caught 4 passes for 43 yards and 1 touchdown.
- Williams has one catch in all 32 games since he switched from QB prior to the 2021 season.
- Caught his first touchdown of the season in the third quarter.
- Averaged 27.5 yards on two punt returns today, fourth-highest mark in a single game all-time in program history (min. 2 ret.).
- Sophomore QB Luke Altmyer completed 16 of his 28 passes for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns.
- Also rushed 13 times for 29 yards.
- Freshman RB Kaden Feagin ran 19 times for 84 yards and 1 touchdown.
- Scored first-career rushing touchdown in the second quarter.
- Junior LB Seth Coleman had 6 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 3 sacks.
- First Illini to have at least 3.0 sacks in a game since Owen Carney Jr. on Oct. 31, 2020, vs. Purdue.
- His 3.0 sacks are the most in a single game by a Big Ten player this season.
- Sophomore LB Kenenna Odeluga has back-to-back games with at least one tackle for a loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
- Sophomore DB Tyler Strain led the Illini with 2 passes broken up.
- Senior K Caleb Griffin kicked his second game-winning field goal of the season.
- First Illini kicker to have two game-winning kicks in the final two minutes or overtime in a game in a single season since Otto Seiler hit two game-winning drop kicks in 1910.
- Griffin is also the first kicker in program history with two final-minute game-winning field goals in a season.
- The 43-yard game-winner was the second walk-off field goal on the road in Illinois history, along with Mike Bass' 46-yard winner as time expired at Wisconsin in 1982.
QUOTES
Opening statement:
"I'm super excited for our guys. They have been through a lot, but they have stuck together. They have practiced extremely hard. As crazy as it is, I told them during the course of the week, 'Everybody is telling you why you can't. I want to tell you why you can.' We had a good practice Tuesday. I literally said, 'Hey, I can't make you do anything, but I might watch a little film Tuesday night,' and a lot of guys showed up.
"When you play a team like that, Locks is a good coach. They are very well-coached. They tell you things before the snap if you listen, and our guys really locked into the game plan. I couldn't be happier for Barry Lunney. At the end of the first half, he talked me into going for it on the fourth-and-1. We not only got it, but we got in the end zone. It was also the will of the offensive line.
"It was also my C.I.P. crew. My Central Illinois Power, with Kaden Feagin and Aidan Laughery. I'm very happy for those guys. I told those guys, 'It's a gritty type of day with the moisture, a little chill in the air. This is going to be one of those games.' I'm excited for them.
"On Thursday, Caleb Griffin wasn't even at practice. He was at a funeral for a family friend. For him to hit his second walk-off field goal, and it wasn't a chip shot either, I was just very impressed with him and what he did. I'm super excited for that group.Â
"Happy for Illinois fans, our A.D., administration, and coaches to get a win. I know it's a long time coming, but now I'm excited for where we can go this week against Wisconsin."
On what he was most impressed with from the win:
"I think the way we ran the ball. With two freshman running backs come in and do what we were able to do, I think that was a big part of it. For me, game management-wise, I couldn't believe it. Isaiah (Williams) came smiling to the sideline saying, 'This is the first time we've won the coin toss all year.' We like to defer and double dip, where you try to score right before the half and score the first possession out. When you do that, defensively, if you can put two scores without the defense playing a snap, that usually flips the game for you. We got ahead there and obviously got tied up at the end. Our guys just played it out masterfully."
On his underclassmen running backs, Kaden Feagin and Aidan Laughery:
"I knew Kaden was going to enjoy it. He's a competitive kid. I just had a feeling because our guys rallied around him. That play right at the end of the half, everybody saw what he did to get in the end zone. It's things we see every day.Â
"Aidan Laughery did a nice job. He came in and picked up an edge blitzer there that was pretty impressive for a young freshman. I'm excited for those guys. I think they can really build off this."
On what the team can learn from the win:
"I think it teaches guys what they can do. These guys can play with anyone. It's just whether they want to do it. It doesn't matter what we want as coaches; it's what they want as players. I've told them routinely, 'This is in your hands. We're going to coach you, play you, put you in good positions, but somebody's got to step forward.' Some of those guys did that today."
