Illinois vs. Rutgers: Box score, stats, game summary and more ft. Luke Altmyer

In a battle of bowl-eligible teams, No. 25 Illinois rallied on a last-second 40-yard pass from QB Luke Altmyer to Pat Bryant to claim an impressive win.

Altmyer threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for another score as Illinois rallied late to post an impressive 38-31 victory.

Illinois (8-3, 5-3 in Big Ten) is probably the league's top team outside the quartet of likely College Football Playoff picks. The Illini came in off a win over Michigan State and now could manage a 9-3 season with a trip to Northwestern coming next. Rutgers (6-5, 3-5 in Big Ten) defeated Maryland last week to achieve bowl eligibility, but lost a game in which they led for most of the way.

Illinois vs. Rutgers Box Score

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Illinois	0	9	6	23	38
Rutgers	3	14	0	14	31

Illinois Passing Stats

Player	Comp.	Att.	Yards	Pass TDs
Luke Altmyer	12	26	249	2

Illinois Rushing and Receiving Stats

Player	Rushes	Yards	Rush TDs	Rec.	Yards	Rec. TDs
Josh McCray	13	58	1	0	0	0
Ca'Lil Valentine	6	24	0	0	0	0
Aidan Laughery	6	26	1	1	5	0
Luke Altmyer	11	74	1	0	0	0
Pat Bryant	0	0	0	7	197	1
Hank Beatty	0	0	0	2	31	1
Collin Dixon	0	0	0	2	16	0

Illinois Kicking Stats

Player	XP-XPA	FG-FGA	Long
David Olano	1 for 2	1 for 1	29

Rutgers Passing Stats

Player	Comp.	Att.	Yards	Pass TDs
Athan Kaliakmanis	19	37	175	2

Rutgers Rushing and Receiving Stats

Player	Rushes	Yards	Rush TDs	Rec.	Yards	Rec. TDs
Athan Kaliakmanis	13	84	2	0	0	0
Kyle Monangai	28	122	0	4	24	0
Antwan Raymond	4	7	0	0	0	0
Ian Strong	0	0	0	6	66	1
KJ Duff	0	0	0	2	25	0
Dymere Miller	0	0	0	3	38	0
Mike Higgins	0	0	0	1	11	0
Christian Dremel	0	0	0	3	11	0

Rutgers Kicking Stats

Player	XP-XPA	FG-FGA	Long
Jai Patel	4 for 4	1 for 1	34

The teams traded scores throughout the first half, but a missed extra point by Illinois and a 75-yard drive by Rutgers to close out the second quarter (ending in a Kaliakmanis TD pass to Ian Strong) gave Rutgers a 17-9 lead.

Illinois scored on a four-yard TD run mid-third quarter by missed a two-point conversion to tie the game. The teams traded fourth-quarter touchdowns before Illinois's Luke Altmyer broke off a 30-yard scoring run to give Illinois its first lead of the game, 30-24.

Rutgers answered with a 10-play, 65-yard drive culminating in a 13-yard scoring pass to running back Kyle Monangai from Kaliakmanis to retake a 31-30 advantage with 1:08 to play.

It wasn't enough as Altmyer's 40-yard bomb to Bryant delivered the winning score with just four seconds left.

Rutgers: 34-yard field goal by Jai Patel, 3-0, 5:52 remaining in 1st quarter
Illinois: 29-yard field goal by David Olano, 3-3, 14:56 remaining in 2nd quarter
Rutgers: 12-yard TD run by Athan Kaliakmanis (Patel XPT), 10-3, 9:20 remaining in 2nd quarter
Illinois: 18-yard TD pass to Hank Beatty from Luke Altmeyer (Olano XPT missed), 10-9, 5:32 remaining in 2nd quarter
Rutgers: 2-yard TD pass to Ian Strong from Athan Kaliakmanis (Patel XPT), 17-9, 0:06 remaining in 2nd quarter
Illinois: 4-yard TD run by Josh McCray (Two point conversion failed), 17-15, 6:36 remaining in 3rd quarter
Rutgers: 1-yard TD run by Athan Kaliakmanis (Patel XPT), 24-15, 14:51 remaining in 4th quarter
Illinois: 8-yard TD run by Aidan Laughery (Olano XPT), 24-22, 13:48 remaining in 4th quarter
Illinois: 30-yard TD run by Luke Altmeyer (Altmeyer to McCray for two-point conversion), 30-24, 3:07 remaining in 4th quarter
Rutgers: 13-yard TD pass to Kyle Monangai from Athan Kaliakmanis (Patel XPT), 31-30, 1:08 remaining in 4th quarter
Illinois: 40-yard TD pass to Pat Bryant from Luke Altmyer (Two point conversion failed), 36-31, 0:04 remaining in 4th quarter
Illinois: Safety on kickoff, 38-31, final.

Illinois finishes the regular season with a trip to Northwestern, while Rutgers closes the regular season by traveling to Michigan State. Both teams are bowl-eligible and will have postseason play ahead.