Altmyer, Beatty Lead #22 Illinois to Cannon Win at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – No. 22 Illinois defeated Purdue, 43-27, on Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium. The Illini took home The Cannon rivalry trophy for a second straight year, the Illini's first time with back-to-back wins in the series since 2001-02. 

Illinois (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) used a 27-point second quarter to race past Purdue (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten). Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer threw for 217 yards and one touchdown in the second quarter on his way to a career-best 390 yards passing on the game. 

Altmyer connected with Hank Beatty five times for a career-high 186 yards, highlighted by a career-long 62-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. On the ground, Ca'Lil Valentine led the Illini rushing attack with 95 yards and a touchdown, while Kaden Feagin added two touchdown rushes.

Illinois used three David Olano field goals in the second half and one Feagin touchdown to keep Purdue from ever getting within one possession over the last 40+ minutes. Olano was a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals in the game, tying the Illinois record for makes in a single game, while also converting on all four extra points. 

Purdue's only lead at 7-0 was short-lived, as Illinois' defensive highlight of the day was provided by Dylan Rosiek when he forced a fumble that was recovered by JoJo Hayden. One play later, Altmyer found a wide-open Beatty for the 62-yard touchdown catch and run. Beatty's new career-long reception gave the Illini their first lead, 10-7, and they never looked back.

The Fighting Illini extended their lead with their longest scoring drive of the season on a 94-yard touchdown drive ignited by a 49-yard pass to Hollins and capped off by a 6-yard touchdown rush by Feagin, 17-7.

Altmyer once again found Beatty wide open the next drive for 40 yards to put Beatty over 100 yards receiving in the first half with 137 yards. The next play, Valentine sprinted into the end zone untouched from 25 yards out for his new career-long rush to extend the Illinois advantage, 24-7.

The Boilermakers answered with a 60-yard strike to cut into the lead, 24-14, before Olano hit a 42-yard field goal to take a 27-14 advantage into the break. Olano would tack on a 45-yard field goal to open the second half, and the Illini crossed the 30-point threshold for the fifth time this season, 30-14.

Purdue scored a touchdown on their first drive of the second half to pull within nine, 30-21 which was the closest it would get the rest of the afternoon. Ashton Hollins forced a fumble on punt coverage, recovered by Kenenna Odeluga, which set up Olano's fourth field goal of the day, 33-21.

After a three-and-out, Feagin powered in from the 1-yard line for his second touchdown of the day, 40-21. Olano ended the game the way it started by converting on a 40-yard field goal to make the final score 43-27 in the Orange and Blue's favor.

Illinois returns to Gies Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, to host No. 1 Ohio State. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on FOX. Tickets are sold out.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCES

POSTGAME NOTES

Team Notes

• Illinois is 15-4 over the last two seasons, including 11 Power-4 wins and eight Big Ten wins
• Illinois has won nine of its last 10 games. It is Illinois' first time going 9-1 over a 10-game stretch since finishing the 2001 regular season 10-1
• Illinois is 11-4 when playing as a ranked team over the last two seasons
• Illinois beat Purdue in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2001-02
• Bret Bielema won on the road for the 12th time during his Illinois career, tied for the most road wins by an Illinois head coach in his first five seasons along with Mike White (1980-84) and Bob Blackman (1971-75)
• Bielema won his 20th Big Ten game at Illinois, becoming the fourth head coach in program history to win 20+ Big Ten games over his first five seasons in Champaign (Mike White 30, John Mackovic 22, Bob Blackman 20)
• Bielema is the first head coach in Illinois history to win 5+ games in each of his first five seasons in Champaign
• Illinois is averaging 35.7 points per game over its last 10 games, while going 9-1 during that stretch
• Illinois recorded its longest scoring drive of the season, going 94 yards to take a 17-7 lead at the 3:52 mark in the second quarter on Kaden Feagin's 6-yard rushing touchdown
• Illinois' 27-point second quarter marked the program's highest scoring period since also scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter of the Fighting Illini's 37-34 comeback victory over Michigan State on Nov. 9, 2019
• The Illini scored 40+ points in a road game for the second time this season, registering two 40-point road games in the same season since the 2010 campaign
• Illinois' 43 points are their most in a Big Ten road game since scoring 47 at Northwestern on Nov. 26, 2022
• Illinois is 11-1 when it has committed zero or one turnover over the last two seasons (2024-25)
• Illinois is 12-1 when it has forced one or more turnovers over the last two seasons (2024-25)

Player Notes

• Luke Altmyer went 19-for-22 with a career-high 390 yards and one touchdown
  • Totaled a career-high 390 passing yards, surpassing his previous best of 379 against Purdue last season in Champaign
  • Fourth career game with over 300 passing yards
  • First time in his career with back-to-back 300-yard passing games
  • Eclipsed 6,000 passing yards for his career at Illinois, becoming the seventh Illini to reach that mark:  
    1. Jack Trudeau, 1981-85 - 8,725
    2. Kurt Kittner, 1998-2001 - 8,722
    3. Nathan Scheelhaase, 2010-13 - 8,568
    4. Juice Williams, 2006-09 - 8,037
    5. Jason Verduzco, 1989-92 - 7,532
    6. Tony Eason, 1981-82 - 7,031
    7. Luke Altmyer, 2023-25 - 6,173
  • Recorded his fifth completion of 50+ yards on his connection with Hank Beatty for a 62-yard score in the second quarter
  • Went 7/7 with 219 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter
  • Now has 495 career completions and 47 career passing touchdowns
• Hank Beatty recorded a career-high 186 yards and a touchdown on his five catches 
  • Recorded a career-long 186 receiving yards, eclipsing his previous best of 128 yards at Duke in Week 2 on Sept. 6
    • Now has three career 100-yard receiving games
  • Beatty's 186 receiving yards are the most in a Big Ten game this season and the most in a conference game since Pat Bryant had 197 at Rutgers on Nov. 23, 2024
  • Scored on a career-long 62-yard reception to give the Illini a 10-7 lead at the 12:50 mark in the second quarter
  • Illinois' most receiving yards vs. Purdue\
      1. 200 - Mike Dudek (10/4/2014)
      2. 186 - Hank Beatty (10/4/25) 
      3. 169 - Steve Hull (11/23/2013)
• Kaden Feagin secured his fourth and fifth touchdowns of the campaign
  • Scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the season, a 6-yard plunge, to give the Illini a 17-7 lead at the 3:52 mark in the second quarter
  • Added his fifth rushing score on a 1-yard carry to extend the Illinois lead to 40-21 with 1:19 left in the third quarter
  • Posted his first career multi-touchdown game 
  • Feagin's five rushing touchdowns are a career-high in a single season  
• Ca'Lil Valentine led the Illini in rushing with 95 yards on the ground and a score
  • Recorded a career-most 95 rushing yards, eclipsing his previous career-high mark of 63 yards vs. Western Michigan (9/13/25)
  • Scored his fourth-career rushing touchdown, a career-long 25-yard rush, to give the Illini a 24-7 lead at the 2:25 mark of the second quarter
• Ashton Hollins tallied one catch for 49 yards and forced a fumble on special teams
  • Hauled in a career-long 49-yard reception
  • Became the second FBS player with a catch and a forced fumble in the same game this season (Washington's Quentin Moore vs. #1 Ohio State on Sept. 27)
• Dylan Rosiek recorded three total tackles, including one solo, and a forced fumble
  • Made his first forced fumble of the season and the seventh of his career
    • Moved into a tie for sixth place on the Illini career forced fumbles list
      1. Simeon Rice (1992-95) 13 
      2. Jake Hansen (2016-21) 12 
      3. Whitney Mercilus (2009-11) 11 
      4. Stanley Green (2016-19) 10 
      5. Dana Howard (1990-94) 8 
      6. Dylan Rosiek (2021-Present) 7 
          Mason Monheim (2012-15) 7 
          Earnest Thomas III (2011-2014) 7
          Kevin Hardy (1992-95) 7
• David Olano tied the program record with his career-high five made field goals.
  • Made a career-high five field goals while going a perfect 5-for-5 on FGs and 4-for-4 on PATs
    • Tied the program record for field goals made in a game
    • Became the first Illini kicker with five made field goals in a game since Doug Higgins on Oct. 20, 1990
    • Converted kicks from 35, 42, 45, 34, and 40
    • Has multiple FGs in back-to-back games for the third time in his career and for the first time this season
    • His five field goal attempts also marked a new career-most

Quotes

Head Coach Bret Bielema

Opening Statement
"I'm excited. I give a lot of credit to Purdue. I thought Barry had done a great job. It was a competitive four quarter game to get a win over here is important. To get The Cannon in the 101st meeting and to win back-to-back it's been a long time for all the Illinois fans who haven't been able to do that. The biggest thing is I think we're at a point where if we don't play our best we can still find a way to get it done. The key for us this week, we have an unbelievable opportunity to play Ohio State, we must get our guys healthy and fresh.'
 
"We had some special things in all three phases of the game today. Luke had a career day, and we don't even really know it because it's so routine for him. There were a lot of things that happened today that I thought were cool. Our response when we gave up the big touchdown play before the half which is inexcusable. Then to have our offense go out there and execute an end of half drive to get points on the board to take that momentum back was huge. Then we came out with a momentum changer with a turnover on the punt and were an opportunistic group all day and it was a full team effort." 
 
On Luke Altmyer
"The thing I love about working with Luke is he shuts out the noise and takes care of his day. His preparation detail is amazing. He has his own study in the building where he can get alone and watch films on his own. He does a great job of putting himself into preparation mode to get ready for Tuesday's practice and execute, Wednesday he makes corrections and Thursday get the gameplan together. I can't control the outside narrative, I've been in this business for a long time and have quarterbacks who have played in the NFL and still are playing in the NFL. This guy's as good as I've ever had."
 
On Hank Beatty
"People that are in the game when I say this know what I mean. Both Hank and Luke let the game come to them. When Luke's playing at his best he lets the game come to him and Hank, especially at receiver, lets the play come to him. There are things we design and put him in position, but he just lets the game come to him naturally. I think that's a good sign. Luke has a high comfort level throwing him the ball in his area and knows what he's going to do and could do after the catch. There's only so many plays to go around, but as many ways as we can put the ball into Hank's hands we'll get rewarded 10-fold. He's a fun player to be around and a piece of work with everything he does preparation wise."
 
On Josh Kreutz's absence and TJ McMillen stepping in 
"He got rolled up last week and played through it adrenaline wise. The good news was this week Josh never really practiced until yesterday. He tried to make a go of it and the way it looked yesterday we didn't think today would be in his best interest to play. That's why we went with TJ, but he's a coach's son and you had a feeling that if he got his opportunity, he was going to take advantage of it. I know it wasn't perfect today, but I know Luke was excited for him and his offensive line buddies were excited for him. To see him get that first opportunity on the road in the Big Ten is a big statement and I think he's got a lot of good football in front of him."
 

Luke Altmyer 

On how he's grown from last year to this year
"The game is slowing down for me; I've gotten better as a physical quarterback for sure. It's the intangibles. I trust what I see, I'm seeing the field well, I'm comfortable in the pocket. I've played with the same five-seven offensive linemen for the past few years and growing with Barry Lunney has helped too. Instilling a lot of trust and confidence in me. We're stacking days and I believe in myself greatly. I believe I'm very gifted and a lot of good things culminate into what you see on the field."
 
On how TJ McMillen stepped up in Josh Kreutz's absence
"When you're without a captain it's not great. A guy who's played a lot of starts, was a leader for us and the centerpiece of our organization. So, to have Josh not out there is difficult. But nobody had a doubt at all or was worried about TJ going out there and stepping in. He has shadowed Kreutz and everything he has done over the past few years. They're inseparable people because they play the same position, but they're good friends and he's learned a lot. He's maximized all his opportunities in practice, the offseason and out there on that field today to be his best. He's gifted and very intelligent. I didn't even notice Kreutz wasn't out there because we were doing some good stuff out there with TJ."

 
Gabe Jacas

On his thoughts on the defense today
"I think we persevered. We gave them a couple big plays beating ourselves, but we just kept fighting. That's what I love about our defense. No matter what the circumstances are, we just keep fighitng and keep chopping wood."
 
On the feelings of winning the Cannon
"It's been a rivalry for so long, this was the 101st anniversary of the game so to win games like that it's always special. Illinois hasn't won back-to-back I think in 23 years, so it's special to be a part of the team that has won back-to-back now for the first time in a long time."

 
Dylan Rosiek

On Luke Altmyer as his QB
"I mean he's doing a tremendous job. He's changed the game on multiple levels. He gets out of the pocket when he's hurried and throws the ball at a high clip. That one go ball he had to Hank Beatty was crazy. I mean the defender was right on him and Luke delivered the ball to him right in his lap. It's been amazing to see him play to his fullest potential."
 
On No. 1 Ohio State coming into Champaign
"I think it's a great opportunity, anytime you get the number one ranked team coming into your house you get excited about that. Defending national champions and all that buzz but we're going to attack the game the same way as any other game on our schedule. We must put the pen to the paper and get to work." 

Hank Beatty

On his connection with Luke growing
"I feel like we're getting better and better every game and that's what good football teams do. He's thrown some dots out there, not just to be but everybody else too. The lines protecting him long enough to get the ball out so it's something that's been growing throughout the season and it's good to see. I felt it in the spring; I could tell that we were clicking and on the same page more often than not. He was playing at an elite level all offseason and that's come to light here in the fall."
 
On the offense's all-around performance today
"We had a good day, I think everybody did their job well, but there's obviously things we need to work on. That's the name of the game to always be getting better. The coaching staff here does a great job of pushing us to our limit and always wanting to be better. That's something we're going to go in there and look at the film tomorrow to see what we could've done better. Then hopefully carry that into next week."