CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Luke Altmyer threw for 235 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 88 yards to lead Illinois to a 35-13 victory Saturday over Rutgers.
Altmyer completed 19 of 31 passes as the Illini (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) ended a two-game losing streak and became bowl-eligible in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010-11.
Hudson Clement caught five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown in the West Virginia transfer's best game as an Illini.
Rutgers (4-5, 1-5) lost for the fifth time in six games.
Athan Kaliakmanis was 25 of 45 for 253 yards and a TD for the Scarlet Knights. K.J. Duff caught nine passes for 93 yards and a TD and Ian Strong had six receptions for 85 yards.
Altmyer’s 3-yard TD run late in the second quarter came on a trick play on fourth down. He took a handoff from Kaden Feagin, who was lined up in the wildcat formation, faked a handoff, and ran untouched into the end zone.
Illinois’ first TD, a 7-yard pass from Altmyer to Feagin, was at the end of a 12-play, 99-yard drive that took more than six minutes.
The takeaway
Rutgers: Kaliakmanis came into the game with more passing yards than any other QB in the Big Ten, but he couldn’t get untracked against Illinois. He was inaccurate on several throws. The 6-foot-6 Duff had 241 receiving yards last week in a walk-off win over Purdue, but he didn’t have any big plays against the Illini.
Illinois: The Illini defense had a bounce-back game after giving up 76 points the last two games in losses to No. 1 Ohio State and Washington. Rutgers had just 59 yards rushing, averaging 2.2 yards per carry.
Up next
Rutgers: Home vs. Maryland on Nov. 8.
Illinois: Home vs. Maryland on Nov. 15 after a bye week.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
