CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois bounced back with a 23-17 win over Florida Atlantic at Memorial Stadium on Saturday in the team's final nonconference contest of the season.
The Fighting Illini overcame a first-quarter deficit, scored 23 unanswered points, and improved to 2-2 overall before resuming Big Ten play on the road next week.
Isaiah Williams grabbed a team-high eight catches for 120 yards, a mark that ties his career-high. Griffin Moore and Aidan Laughery both registered their first touchdowns for the Orange and Blue, while Luke Altmyer tallied 303 passing yards and two total scores while completing nearly 70% of his passes.
Reggie Love III took a team-most 12 carries for 85 yards, which equals his career-best mark. The Illini totaled 207 rushing yards, their most in a game this year.
Nicario Harper tallied his first interception as an Illini, while Keith Randolph Jr. recorded his first sack of the season.
After going behind early, Illinois found the end zone on its first drive of the second quarter. Marching 76 yards down the field in just over two minutes, a reverse flea flicker ultimately saw Altmyer find Moore for a 46-yard score, Moore's first-career touchdown.
Neither side could get much going over the next five drives, but the Illini took their first lead of the day with just under two minutes to play in the opening half. Three consecutive catches for Williams moved Illinois into FAU territory before Tip Reiman came down with a 42-yard grab to move the Illini inside the Owls' 5-yard line. Three plays later, Altmyer found the end zone with his third rushing score of the season, this time from 7 yards out, to put the hosts in front, 14-10.
Illinois took that 4-point advantage into halftime. Altmyer tallied over 200 yards through the air, including seven completions and 75 yards to Williams. The Fighting Illini forced five punts while also holding the Owls to just 23 rushing yards through the first 30 minutes.
Scoring 14 consecutive points to close the opening frame, the Orange and Blue came out of the break with momentum. With the Illini offense facing a third-and-long, Altmyer found Williams for a 45-yard strike to move into Florida Atlantic territory. Laughery took his second of two straight runs for a touchdown, a 3-yard rush that marked the first score of his Illinois career.
Following a missed FAU field goal, the Illini extended their lead on their ensuing offensive possession. Reggie Love III took the first play from scrimmage for 61 yards, the longest rush of his career, to move into the red zone. Illinois ultimately tacked onto its advantage with a 44-yard field goal from Caleb Griffin, giving the home side a 23-10 lead with four minutes to play in the third quarter.
The Illini defense made big fourth-down red-zone stops on consecutive FAU drives, the latter of which was capped off by an interception from Harper in the end zone, his first pick as a member of the Orange and Blue.
Illinois resumes its Big Ten schedule in West Lafayette, Ind., next week, taking on Purdue (1-3) at Ross-Ade Stadium at 2:30 p.m. CT.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
PLAYER NOTES
- WR Isaiah Williams had eight catches for 120 yards.
- Matched his career-high mark in receiving yards, which he set in last season's ReliaQuest Bowl.
- First 100-yard game by an Illini receiver this season.
- Set season-high marks in both catches and yards.
- Has at least five catches in all four games this season.
- Williams now has at least one catch in all 29 games since he switched from QB prior to the start of the 2021 season.
- It's the second-longest active streak in the Big Ten.
- He has also made at least three catches in 18-straight games.
- RB Reggie Love III carried the ball 12 times for 85 yards.
- New season-high mark in yards.
- Also matched his career-best mark.
- His 61-yard rush in the third quarter was the longest of his career.
- RB Aidan Laughery rushed for his first-career touchdown in the third quarter.
- Finished with three carries for 23 yards.
- RB Kaden Feagin rushed three times for 28 yards, including a career-long 25-yard rush in the fourth quarter.
- TE Griffin Moore caught the first touchdown pass of his career in the second quarter, a 46-yard reception.
- Longest pass play of the season for the Illini.
- QB Luke Altmyer completed 25 of his 36 passes for 303 yards and one touchdown.
- New career-high passing mark.
- First 300-yard game by an Illini QB since Tommy DeVito tossed for 329 yards on Sept. 22, 2022, vs. Chattanooga
- DB Zachary Tobe, DB Tahveon Nicholson and DB Saboor Karriem all recorded at least two pass breakups in the contest.
- Karriem and Tobe led all defensive players in the contest with three passes broken up apiece.
- DB Zachary Tobe was the highest graded true freshman defender in the nation during Week 4 (87.0), according to PFF.
- Allowed only one reception for four yards on 53 snaps (37 coverage snaps) and six targets.
- Three pass breakups tied for the second-most by a Big Ten player this season and tied for the most in the Big Ten during Week 4.
- Highest graded freshman in the Big Ten (all positions) during Week 4 (87.0), according to PFF.
- No. 22 rated defender in the nation during Week 4 and No. 6 rated cornerback, according to PFF.
- 88.3 coverage grade by PFF was No. 6 in the nation among cornerbacks and No. 2 among Big Ten corners.
- DB Nicario Harper recorded the first interception of his Illinois career in the fourth quarter.
- DT Keith Randolph Jr. tallied seven tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one QB hurry.
- Matched his career-high in TFLs.
TEAM NOTES
- The Illini recorded a season-high 510 total yards.
- First time posting at least 500 yards of total offense since Sept. 22, 2022, vs. Chattanooga.
- Most total offense since gaining 646 yards vs. Minnesota on Nov. 3, 2018.
- Illinois outrushed FAU in the contest, 207-97.
- First 200-yard rushing game of the season.
- First since Oct. 15, 2022, vs. Minnesota.
- The Orange and Blue offense recorded three passing plays of at least 40 yards.
- The Illini outgained the Owls, 202-57, in the second quarter.
- Today's attendance at Memorial Stadium was 53,512
- Third-largest home crowd since 2014.
QUOTES
Opening statement:
"It's exciting to come out with a win. I thought coming into this game it was going to be a battle. FAU's game against Clemson was a kind of a different game. I've known Tom (Herman) for a long time. He's got a great staff, so give a lot of credit to them.Â
"I did like our perseverance. I think the story of the day by far was our defense. Give credit to Aaron (Henry) and the defensive staff. Our pass rush came alive a little bit more today, and we did a lot more to change it up, but we have to do a little bit better job.Â
"Obviously, I'd love to be 4-0 going into conference play, but to be 2-2 with the amount of players we've played and the amount of adversity we've had at certain positions, it's pretty good.Â
"Give Barry Lunney Jr. a lot of credit for what we did with Luke. Luke had a really good week of practice. I thought our players did a really good job of supporting him. Luke responded really well today. He made a couple plays with his feet and made some really good design plays that were a big help for us in the first half."
On Zachary Tobe and playing true freshmen:
"Those guys all have gotten better every week of practice. Saboor (Karriem) has been going against our No. 1 offense in practice. Not really much rattles Zach as a corner. He's kind of unique personality. He's kind of an introverted person and handles his own business, and I really like his demeanor. I think he's got a bright future."
On how he feels about the team heading into the rest of Big Ten play:
"I like where this group is at, I think we got a lot of depth. I don't know if anything's going to be pretty, but this group is going to play tough and gritty football. We've got to clean up and get on top of more situations, but I thought overall they played a pretty clean game."
On Isaiah Williams' performance:
"He's got gamesmanship to him. He's incredibly intelligent. Very dynamic with the ball in his hands. That play he caught it out of mid-air, Luke bailed high on that play, scrambled around, and made some plays with his feet.Â
"I think Isaiah really likes Luke. Luke really likes Isaiah, so that's good chemistry. Isaiah Williams is a young man, and I don't think anything in life has ever been given to him. We always talk about earning it in this program. For a kid who works the way he does and puts himself out there the way he does every day at practice, it's very impressive.
On Josh McCray's improvements:
"It's awesome. He's done a lot. He's devoted his body. He's done a better job of taking care of himself. From Tuesday on, I thought on Wednesday and Thursday, he ran with a purpose. Today, he was shrugging some guys off, so that's going to show up on film. I told the guys today, 'Film does not lie. What you see on film is reality.'
"You see a guy running like that and making some plays, and you see your quarterback make plays with his feet, those are things that should excite you."
On the Illini's offensive tempo:
"The emphasis of the week was to play with a lot of pace and physicality, and we are very comfortable with playing with great pace. We find a lot of success when we do that. I am looking forward to keeping that going."
On dealing with pressure and fighting through adversity:
"That was definitely a tough moment. We definitely do not want to be in that situation. They made a few plays there, and we did not hit the panic button at all. We have a lot of great coaches that put us in great positions for that moment. The teammates on this roster are just so encouraging. There are so many special people on the team who never lose sight of our goals. It's easy to dwindle down and get down on yourself after that, but we never hit the panic button on that or lost sight of what we had prepared to do this week."
On scoring his first-career touchdown:
"It was awesome. I am thankful for my teammates blocking up and doing their jobs. That way I can do mine and get into the end zone."
On head coach Bret Bielema's pregame reinforcement:
"He expressed total confidence. When the head coach believes in me and knows I can do it, that feels good going into the game. I was just looking for my opportunity to come."
On if the game was needed for a confidence boost for the four-man RBÂ rotation:
"All four of us are able to get in there, do our job, and make the offense go interchangeably. I think all four of us ended up doing that."
On the defensive front clicking:
"I feel like we're one of the best in the country when everybody is playing at their best. Now, it's about being consistent and doing it every play and game."
On the young guys in the Illini secondary:
"They give us depth for sure. We've got some young guys that can play. Saboor and Tobe came in and held their own and made plays, and that's what we needed. When you step on the field, you are no longer a freshman. You're no longer a redshirt freshman. You're a football player, and they came out and showed they are pretty good football players."
On his first sack:
"That's a gift from God. I've been praying for it for a minute. I didn't get a ton the first three weeks, obviously, as a defensive lineman. TFLs, tackles, interceptions, it's not the same as a sack. There are no words to describe it."
On Illinois'Â defensive backs:
"Our length is crazy. You usually don't see DBs that tall, that long, and just their attention to detail. They always want to learn something new. They are never becoming complacent. They are always being coachable and learning something new."
On the keys moving forward for the Illini heading into Big Ten play:
"Just take it one play at a time, one game at a time, one practice at a time, everything one thing at a time. Trying hard to not look too far into the future. Just taking it one day at a time. That's all."
On the Illini's true freshman fitting in on defense:
"It makes me happy. I don't really have to help them that much. I am able to play my true position, but even if we did come to that, I still got those guys' backs, so I know they got mine."
On his first game getting several defensive snaps:
"Coaches always say this: When your number is called, what are you going to do with it? I think my teammates were preparing me during practice. Every single day, I'm working hard, and them pushing me helped prepare me for this moment."
On where he gets his confidence:
"My teammates. The older DBs have been telling me I can do this, and then we can go out there and win."
On quarterback Luke Altmyer:Â
"When you see a quarterback come back the next week with that same confidence, swagger, and get the juices going, you have a leader. You have somebody that you could rally behind. Going into the week, I thought I was going to have to encourage him a lot, but he was the one encouraging. It really showed today. You go through some adversity, then you bounce back the way you do. He's a special person."
On the key going into Big Ten games:
"We have to start fast. We have to be able to move the ball down the field, make plays, and just build that momentum early. We can't just wait for the second quarter or the second half to get that momentum going. We have to figure out from watching these four games what works for us."
On matching his career-high in receiving yards (120):
"It's a great feeling whenever you have a game like that, but going into this game, that was the one thing I wasn't worried about. I was worried about being there for my brothers. I just wanted to win and click this week.When you have a game like that, it gives great momentum and it feels great. Everything just feels so much better when we win."
