Illini Fan Reaction - Illinois 23, Rutgers 20: How Did the First Win Provide the Illini a Present & a Future?

Illinois senior kicker James McCourt sent a game-winning kick through the uprights with three seconds remaining propelling the Illini to its first win of the 2020 football season. McCourt’s kick allowed Illinois to escape with a 23-20 victory over Rutgers Saturday ending a six-game losing streak and a 371-day gap between wins for the Illini program.

McCourt, who had missed the last two games due to coronavirus contact tracing protocols due to being a housemate to quarterback Brandon Peters, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, had missed two field goal attempts in the fourth quarter (54-yarder and 46-yarder) but managed to regroup to nail a 47-yard attempt to send Illinois home from New Jersey with a victory.

“I held on to that belief, even in the times after the two missed kicks, I remembered what I wrote in my notebook and that this moment was going to come,” McCourt said.

Illinois (1-3) was led by a run-first and practically run-only offensive philosophy directed by redshirt freshman Isaiah Williams and his 296 total yards (192 rushing, 104 passing) as the highest-ranked recruit in Illini history since highest ranked quarterback recruit since Isiah "Juice" Williams in 2006 cut through the Rutgers defense with highly effective RPO run reads.

Chase Brown, who Illinois offensive coordinator Rod Smith said his staff had to figure out a way to get more opportunities, left Rutgers with a career-high 131 yards on the ground in just 17 attempts.

“Chase is a dog and he makes my job way easier,” Williams said. “I know that on every play, he’s got my back...it’s a connection that we have honestly. ”

Rutgers took an early 10-0 lead but from that moment, the game went back-and-forth in terms of momentum but Illinois never had the lead until McCourt’s right foot touched that football on Illinois’ final play. The win represents the sixth win under Lovie Smith by eight points or less. Smith said he’s hoping this victory turns around what had been a forgettable start to the 2020 season.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve felt a win,” Lovie Smith said. “When you talk to the team and you can call on that kind of experience, it helps. We were down by 10 on the road today and a lot of things were going against us. These guys just kept fighting and refused to lose.”

Rutgers (1-3) proceeded to give back the early lead with three second half interceptions as the Illini used its turnover-happy defensive philosophy to mount a comeback win on the road.

Illinois is scheduled to take to the road again next weekend to play a Nebraska team that got off the 2020 losing skid Saturday with a home win over Penn State.