As Homecoming festivities concluded, No. 23 Illinois (4-1) celebrated with a 34-32 victory against No.21 University of Southern California (4-1). The Illini won their first match against the Trojans since 2007 in the fourth quarter with a game-winning kick from David Olano since 2007.
Takeaways
Illinois: After a disappointing outing against Indiana, Illinois was looking to get back on track. The Illini prevented the Trojans from gaining momentum during the game and made sure to maintain the lead.
Illinois’ defense held back USC’s offense and was able to force two turnovers in the game. On the first drive of the game, Illinois forced a fumble right when USC was about to score first. The second turnover came in the first defensive drive of the second half. Senior linebacker Dylan Rosiek lurked over the middle of the field and intercepted the ball.
As the game went on, Illinois was able to get its offense going and score to extend its lead by two possessions.
USC: Though USC was only able to score one touchdown in the first half, the Trojans did not make it an easy win for for Illinois.
Junior quarterback Jayden Maiava threw for 364 passing yards and two touchdowns. Maiava also threw his first interception of the season.
Even though they were able to come back from being down 14, the Trojans were unable to stop Illinois from scoring a game-winning field goal.
Key moment
USC did not let up through the end of the game. Despite being down by 14, the Trojans were able to take a one-point lead with less than two minutes left on the scoreboard. Illinois methodically went down the field by running the ball and throwing short to avoid any mistakes.
With 4 seconds left, Illinois junior kicker David Olano was set up with a 41 yard field goal to win the game. With no time left on the clock, the kick was up, and Olano won Illinois the game.
Key Stat
Luke Altmyer became the first Illinois quarterback in to run, catch and throw for a touchdown in a single game in 26 years. The last time a quarterback for the team was able to achieve this was in 1999, when Kurt Kittner beat the University of Virginia in the Micronpc.com Bowl.
Up Next
Illinois will hit the road once again and travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to face off against the Purdue Boilermakers. That game kicks off at 11:00 a.m. next Saturday.