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PISCATAWAY, NJ – The young man they call “One” led Illinois to the number one victory of the 2020 season.
In his first career start, freshman in red shirt Isaiah williams rushed for 192 yards – a one-game program record for a quarterback – on 31 carries to lead the Illini (1-3) to a 23-20 victory over Rutgers (1-3), ending Illini’s six-game losing streak. back to last season.
James mccourt, who missed two field goals early in the fourth quarter, posted a 47-yard field goal with three seconds left to give Illinois their first lead of the season.
Williams completed just 7 of 19 passes for 104 yards, but he paced an Illini offense that rushed for 342 yards– the most for the program since a victory in November 2018 over Minnesota. Chase brown ran for 135 yards and 17 carries, a career-high, and Casey washington had a career-high 54 receiving yards.
The Illini has missed a few missed opportunities before. Illinois twice settled for field goals inside the Rutgers 10 and missed two field goals in the fourth quarter, but overcame them with big late plays. The Illini intercepted the Rutgers quarterback Noah vedral three times in the second half – Jake hansen, Devon witherspoon and Nate hobbs – and Hobbs’ interception at the end of the fourth quarter established the winning drive and field goal.
Jake hansen led Illini’s defense with 15 tackles, 1.0 sack, one interception and one pass break. Khalan Tolson added 2.5 tackles for the loss.
Vedral completed 21 of 34 assists but went 5-for-12 with three second-half interceptions. Isaih Pacheco ran 134 meters, while Bo melton had four receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
Williams was the fourth starting quarterback in four games for the Illini this season. The former top 200 prospect had served in the previous two games due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, but replaced the fourth-chain quarterback Koran Taylor who had played most of the previous two games but struggled with a 50.0 completion rate and four turnovers. Starter Brandon Peters missed his third final game after testing positive for COVID-19, but he traveled to New Jersey and was on the sidelines.
Lovie smith (9-31 Big Ten) is now 4-1 against Rutgers and 3-0 at Piscataway.
What this means: If Illinois are to save this 2020 season, they needed a win on Saturday. Even with questionable decisions and executions, Illinois has a happy flight home for a winnable game at Rutgers. While many are understandably down in this team and coaching staff, Illinois showed last season that it could change a season when no one thought it would. Yet it is only a victory. Like after the win over Wisconsin last season, it doesn’t mean much if the Illini can’t stack it with another next week. But 1-3 is definitely a better feeling for Smith and his staff than 0-4.
Game Star: Williams was not an efficient passer, but he showed the wheels and the elusive that has Rod smith and this staff so excited about their future. He brings a Pat White-like presence to the attack. He needs to improve as a passer, but he gives a lot of hope for the future. Peters will likely start next week, but Williams has given that offense some life. He is a leader and a playmaker.
Game stat: Illinois have only passed eight times in the second half. Rod Smith basically gave up the passing offense and relied on the rushing offense that kept him in the game. Illinois racked up 249 yards on 35 carries in the second half.
Do not forget: The Illinois defense had three huge second-half wins to stop on promising orders from the Rutgers. Derrick smith deflected a pass, leading to a Jake hansen interception, then Devon witherspoon intercepted Noah vedral on a jump ball. With Rutgers potentially for a winning pitch, Hobbs chose Vedral to set up a winning practice. For the first time this season, Illinois took home the revenue margin – and, unsurprisingly, that contributed to their first victory.
And after: Illinois heads to Nebraska for a Saturday kickoff at 11 a.m. Nebraska (1-2) beat Penn State (0-4) 30-24 on Saturday to claim their first win of the season. The Cornhuskers have won four straight wins over Illinois, scoring a total of 96 points against Illinois in the two previous clashes. Illinois is 1-9 in Nebraska and didn’t win at Lincoln since a 9-6 victory in 1924.
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