Rutgers Suffers Brutal Last Second Loss to Illinois
Rutgers suffered one of the most heartbreaking losses of the season, as 25th ranked Illinois found a way to escape SHI Stadium while handing Rutgers a stunning 38-31 loss Saturday, thanks to a 40-yard, walk-off touchdown reception by receiver Pat Bryant with four seconds to go in the game.
Bryant’s heroics came after Rutgers called a time out the play before when Illinois was about to attempt, and miss, a 58-yard field goal from kicker Ethan Moczulski.
Instead the timeout proved to be costly for Rutgers; it gave Illinois another chance and they took full advantage.
The Illini offense trotted back out onto the field on fourth and 13, and the rest is history. Bryant caught the pass from quarterback Luke Altmyer at the Rutgers’ 22-yard line, then broke free of a would be tackler, and dashed untouched into the end zone for the winning score.
The crowd of 47,524 went totally silent as Bryant crossed the end zone and was quickly surrounded by teammates.
“I wish we could have done a little more. Hats off to Illinois they made one more play than us,” Head coach Greg Schiano said afterwards.
“I am certainly retrospective. I wish I hadn’t. I have been doing this a lot of years. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t,” Schiano said of calling a timeout prior to Illinois attempted 58-yard field goal. “You do it, and win the game, it’s the right call.
“There were so many things in that game. It had so many twists and turns. That’s they way it goes. You make decisions. There is a whole list of plays that make up a game, and you live with them.”
The events of the final seconds of the fourth quarter capped off what was a wild game, and an even wackier fourth quarter. Illinois and Rutgers combined for 37 points alone and four lead changes in the quarter alone.
According to Rutgers Athletics the game clocked in at four-hours and 10 minutes, the longest regulation Rutgers game this century.
FOURTH QUARTER
Rutgers entered the fourth quarter holding onto a slim 17-15 lead, and were the first to strike on the scoreboard, when quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis plowed into the end zone from one-yard out to complete a lengthy 14-play, 75-yard drive to make it 24-15.
Illinois wasted little time in answering. The Illini needed only five plays in less than a minute to respond as Aiden Laughery charged into the end zone from eight yards out to help Illinois cut the deficit to 24-22.
After Rutgers’ ensuing possession ended in a punt, Luke Altmyer had Illinois charging again down field. The speedy quarterback who proved elusive all afternoon in the pocket, hurt the Scarlet Knights with his legs on this drive. On first and ten at the Rutgers 30, Altmyer found nothing but daylight in front of him dashing straight into the end zone for the score to put the Illini up 30-24.
Give Rutgers credit, they didn’t back down, even after blowing a nine-point advantage in the fourth quarter. Athan Kaliakmanis willed Rutgers downfield, including rushing for a total of 27-yards on two separate plays to help his team.
Finally on first and ten at the Illinois’ 13-yard line, Kaliakmanis hit Kyle Monangai in the flat, and the shifty senior running back darted down the sideline for the score to give Rutgers a thrilling 31-30 lead.
Unfortunately for Rutgers, they couldn’t hold on for the major upset of a ranked opponent.
INSIDE FOOTBALL:
Monanagi ran for 122 yards on Saturday, making him the third player in Rutgers history to rush for 3,000 yards in a career, joining the likes of Ray Rice and Terrell Willis.
Despite the loss, Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) is eligible for a bowl game, an honor they clinched a week ago vs. Maryland. There is still an an opportunity to finish over .500 for the year when the Scarlet Knights head to East Lansing next week to face the Michigan State Spartans.
