Illini Beat Nebraska 31-24 In OT For Fourth Victory

From University of Illinois Website

LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 24 Illinois marched into a sold-out, hostile road environment at No. 22 Nebraska and left with a win, securing a 31-24 overtime victory over the ranked Cornhuskers on Friday night.

Outscoring Nebraska 21-7 after halftime, the Orange and Blue became the first team in the nation with two AP Top 25 wins and improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2011. Illinois moved to 3-0 in overtime games under head coach Bret Bielema.

Luke Altmyer went 21-for-27 with 215 yards and four passing touchdowns, including the game-winning score to Pat Bryant in overtime. Altmyer recorded his second four-TD game of the season while completing passes to nine different receivers.

Pat Bryant tallied his third multi-touchdown performance through the first four games of the season while registering five catches for a team-most 74 yards.

Kaden Feagin amassed 12 carries for 69 yards, both of which were team-best tallies.

Defensively, Illinois totaled a season-high five sacks, including three in the overtime period to keep Nebraska out of the end zone. 

The Illini defense forced the Cornhuskers to punt on their first possession for the first time this season, and the Orange and Blue offense quickly worked their way down the field on their first drive of the night. A 29-yard strike to Pat Bryant on third-and-short moved the chains and brought Illinois into Nebraska territory for the first time. 

Three plays later, Altmyer found Bryant again, this time for a 27-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Needing only two minutes and six plays to march 78 yards down the field, the Illini held a 7-0 edge just over four minutes into the contest.

The home side accounted for the next 10 points as the Cornhuskers went in front for the first time late in the first quarter.

The Illini answered on their third possession of the night. An eight-play, 62-yard drive saw the visitors tie the game at 10-10 via a 26-yard field goal from David Olano.

With the Cornhuskers in Illinois territory, Torrie Cox Jr. ripped away a would-be Cornhusker touchdown with eight minutes left in the first half for his second interception of the season. 

Nebraska went into the break with a narrow 17-10 lead after the home side scored a touchdown late in the second quarter. Six Illini receivers registered a catch in the first half, with Zakhari Franklin (three catches for 37 yards) and Pat Bryant (two catches for 56 yards) leading the way.

After both teams were forced to punt on their opening possessions of the third quarter, the Illini found more success on their second drive of the second half. Illinois took advantage of a short field following a 37-yard punt return from Hank Beatty, converting a third-and-short near midfield and a fourth-and-1 inside the Cornhusker 40-yard line. Once in the red zone, the away side used back-to-back completions to Tanner Arkin to find the end zone and tie the game at 17-17 with under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. 

Nebraska retook the lead on the first play of the final frame, but Illinois responded right away. The Illini leaned on Feagin early, with the sophomore running back recording two runs of at least 10 yards to move the Orange and Blue into Cornhusker territory. With Illinois facing a fourth-and-2 inside the Nebraska 7-yard line, Altmyer tallied his third passing touchdown of the game, finding lineman-turned-tight end Brandon Henderson for a 6-yard score with 10:36 to play. 

Neither team could break the tie in regulation, sending the game to overtime with the score knotted at 24-24.  

The Illini, on offense to begin the extra period, needed only two plays to find the end zone. Feagin began the possession with a 21-yard rush that moved Illinois inside the 5-yard line before Altmyer found Pat Bryant to give the visitors a 31-24 advantage.

The Orange and Blue defense registered sacks on the first two plays of the overtime period, pushing Nebraska back to a third-and-42 situation while needing to score a touchown to extend the game. With the Illini applying pressure on the quarterback on all four plays of the Cornhuskers' possession, Illinois closed out the ranked road overtime win to move to 4-0 on the season. 

No. 24 Illinois (4-0, 1-0 B1G) remains on the road next week, traveling to take on No. 10 Penn State on Sept. 28 under the lights at either 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. CT. Broadcast information has yet to be announced.