No. 21 USC's comeback bid falls short against No. 23 Illinois; Fighting Illini win with walk-off field goal

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Illinois overcame a pair of red-zone fumbles, as well as a pair of fourth-quarter, highlight-reel touchdown connections between USC quarterback Jayden Maiava and wideout Makai Lemon, Saturday in Champaign.

Despite allowing 490 yards — a week removed from giving up 579 yards and 63 points to now-No. 11 Indiana — the No. 23 Fighting Illini escaped with a 34-32 win over No. 21 USC.

While still leaky, the Illinois defense was at least opportunistic, turning the Trojans over three times, once on downs and twice with takeaways.

And Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer scored as a runner, receiver and passer before ultimately orchestrating a game-winning drive that culminated in a 41-yard, walk-off field goal from David Olano.

Maiava went 30 of 43 for 364 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 pick in the loss, with Lemon co-starring to the tune of 11 catches for 151 yards and his 2 scoring grabs.

The first of Illinois’ forced turnovers allowed the Illini (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) to go up early on USC (4-1, 2-1).

Illini EDGE Leon Lowery Jr. stripped Trojans running back Waymond Jordan in Illinois territory. That set the stage for a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that ended with Altmyer pulling the ball for a 12-yard zone-read scoring run.

Altmyer clocked out 20-of-26 for 328 yards with four total touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving and two passing).

Illinois rediscovered its running game Saturday, finishing with 171 yards in that department after mustering a measly two rushing yards at Indiana the previous week.

USC was effective on the ground during its first touchdown drive, too. Jordan started and finished the series with carries, ultimately finding a lane for a 1-yard score but also picking up gains of nine and six yards earlier in the drive. 

Maiava completed a 30-yard pass to wideout Jaden Richardson to catapult the offense before Jordan located the end zone for the first of his two touchdowns on the day.

Altmyer’s rapport with leading receiver Hank Beatty was on full display Saturday. The two connected six times for 81 yards.

Beatty found Altmyer as well — on a trick play that gave Illinois a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.

An endaround to Illini wideout Collin Dixon turned into a reverse to Beatty, who then fired a 3-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Altmyer.

Following a Jaheim Clarke pass break-up that turned USC over on downs, Illinois had a chance to go up two touchdowns with about a minute left in the first half.

Kaden Feagin plowed forward from the Trojans’ 2-yard line. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound back found himself in a pile.

Dixon thought Feagin was scoring. The sophomore wideout even raised his hands up, signaling touchdown. Not even a second later, he was chasing after USC true freshman defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, who recovered a fumble and returned it 22 yards to the USC 26-yard line.

Feagin appeared to be down before the ball was ripped from his grasp, but the fumble call wasn’t overturned after review. The Trojans made the most of it, marching downfield for a field goal, capping a potential 10-point swing that kept USC in the game.

Illinois opened the third quarter by restoring its touchdown lead with a field goal and then picking off Maiava. Linebacker Dylan Rosiek caused Maiava’s first interception in 132 passes, a streak that dated back to last season.

But the Illini seemed to make their move midway through the period when Altymer dropped a screen pass to Feagin, who wound up rumbling down the sideline for a redemptive, 64-yard touchdown.

A beautifully-placed 29-yard Maiava seam throw to Lemon on third-and-16 kept USC’s subsequent drive alive. And Jordan eventually punched the ball in to make it a 24-17 game.

That resumed the back-and-forth between the Illini and Trojans, who traded touchdowns to start the fourth quarter. Altmyer fooled the USC defense with an RPO, complete with a 25-yard strike to receiver Justin Bowick. The Trojans answered, with Lemon beating Illinois corner Tanner Heckel 1-on-1 for a 19-yard touchdown on fourth-and-8. Maiava went back to Lemon for a two-point conversion.

Altmyer then hit Dixon, who turned upfield for a 61-yard gain that would have turned into a touchdown had USC safety Christian Pierce not tracked him down.

Pierce saved the day again the next play, after Trojans linebacker Eric Gentry punched the ball loose from Illinois running back Ca’Lil Valentine. Pierce nearly caught the fumble, then was trampled by a recovery-hungry tight end, Tanner Arkin, who couldn’t reel the hot potato in. Pierce had one more chance to hop on it, and he made good on the opportunity.

Maiava piloted the Trojans downfield before dialing up a backshoulder throw to Lemon for another head-turning touchdown, this one from 16 yards out.

But USC left too much time on the clock for the veteran Altmyer.

Illinois got the ball back with 1:55 to go and patiently moved into a field goal range. That’s where Olano finished the roller-coaster fourth quarter, getting the Illini back on track after last week’s embarrassment in Bloomington.