No. 23 Illinois’ (4-1, 1-1) 34-32 homecoming win over No. 21 USC (4-1, 2-1) was brought on by some big plays.
There was junior Kaden Feagin’s 64-yard touchdown rush midway through the third, made possible by the 6-foot-3, 255 lb running back’s footwork to stay in-bounds.
There was sophomore wide receiver Collin Dixon’s 60-yard sprint downfield after breaking free from the USC defense to put Illinois in the red zone.
And of course, there was do-it-all senior wide receiver Hank Beatty’s touchdown pass to senior quarterback Luke Altmyer in the second quarter.
But it was junior kicker David Olano’s 41-yard field goal that delivered the Illini the walk-off win.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
“I’m grateful enough to be a part of a team where Keelan (Crimmins), Pat (Mahoney III) and I can be the exclamation mark,” Olano said. “We can be the punctuation, and the team’s the paragraph.”
What can’t he do?
“What more can Hank do? He should play defense,” said head coach Bret Bielema.
Hank Beatty had already found the endzone three different ways this season entering Saturday, and he added a fourth in the second quarter.
With Illinois facing a third-and-goal at the USC 3, Altmyer took the snap. The quarterback handed the ball to Dixon, who pitched the ball back to Beatty.
Beatty waited for a moment before heaving the ball towards the endzone, where a wide-open Altmyer made the catch.
“When that play call came in, I just got ecstatic, because I knew it was going to work,” Altmyer said. “Hank made a great throw; it seemed like the ball was up there for so long. It was so fun. I’ll remember it forever.”
The completion made Beatty the first Big Ten player with a passing, rushing, receiving and punt return touchdown in the same season in over 20 years.
Offensive line redemption
After last weekend’s embarrassment against No. 9 Indiana, Illinois was looking to bounce back. Altmyer was sacked seven times in Bloomington, continuing a season-long struggle to keep the quarterback on his feet.
Against USC, the offensive line held strong. Altmyer suffered only one sack and often had plenty of time to rattle off throws. The senior tallied season highs in both passing (328) and rushing (28) yards, going 20 for 26 on pass attempts.
Altmyer connected with nine different players, eight of whom racked up 10 or more receiving yards.
Bielema said Beatty, Dixon and junior wide receivers Hudson Clement and Justin Bowick have all taken steps forward this season to help the offense.
“I think we’re finding more weapons on offense,” Bielema said.
Secondary woes continue
The Illinois secondary left Indiana battered. The team was without seven defensive backs, and the Hoosiers took advantage.
This week, with only senior Xavier Scott out, the unit was primed for a much stronger showing. Instead, USC redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava and the offense picked apart Illinois’ secondary.
The Trojans went 4-5 on fourth down, with two fourth-down conversions on the team’s penultimate drive. On fourth-and-8 at the Illinois 19, Maiava found sophomore wide receiver Makai Lemon to bring USC within a touchdown. The Trojans took the lead after Maiava and Lemon connected again on the team’s final drive.
While Illinois completed the comeback, the secondary will have to play better in the coming weeks to give the team a chance against teams like No. 1 Ohio State and Washington.
Up next
The Illini are back on the road next weekend, when they travel to take on the Purdue Boilermakers (2-2, 0-1) in the battle for The Cannon.
@BrendanGallian
