No. 25 Illinois gets 40-yard TD with 4 seconds left for 38–31 win over Rutgers

No. 25 Illinois won a 38–31 thriller over Rutgers with a last-second touchdown in Piscataway, New Jersey on Saturday.

Down 31–30, the Illini faced a 4th-and-13 with 14 seconds remaining in the game and were ready to attempt a go-ahead field goal from 58 yards. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano then called timeout to try and ice kicker David Olano.

With extra time to reconsider and perhaps assess the conditions, Illinois coach Bret Bielema decided against the field goal try and opted to go for a first down. That choice ended up working out even better than Bielema likely imagined.

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer connected with Pat Bryant for a 17-yard pass and a first down. However, Rutgers then couldn’t tackle Bryant despite five defenders being nearby. The senior wideout then sprinted the remaining 23 yards to the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown with four seconds remaining.

The Illini failed on a 2-point conversion attempt. Yet they got those two points anyway when Rutgers lateraled the ball out of bounds in the end zone on the ensuing kickoff.