The Unexpected Star Who Ignited Illinois' Second-Half Surge in Duke Win

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, Illinois fans. We’ll take you all the way back to Saturday afternoon, when Illinois laid the wood to Duke, 45-19, in Durham, North Carolina – but also led just 14-13 coming out of halftime. Despite the Illini holding that one-point lead, the Blue Devils appeared to be in the driver's seat, stringing together promising drives on offense, while completely stifling Illinois on the other side of the ball.

Two first-half turnovers (a muffed punt and a Gabe Jacas strip sack) allowed the Illini to control the scoreboard, but with just a measly one-point head start in the second half, there was certainly some anxiety about Illinois’ ability to close out a rock-solid Duke team on the road.

Gabe Jacas (pronounced Ack-us) retraces his rush path for the strip-sack. pic.twitter.com/8JOPkNDGBO
— Sam Teets (@Sam_Teets33) September 6, 2025

An immediate Illinois three-and-out did nothing to quell those worries, but then rose an unexpected lllini hero from the shadows to save the day. Facing a fourth-and-5 on that initial third-quarter drive, Illinois sent a punt Duke’s way, giving its star quarterback, Darian Mensah, another chance to steal the lead … but there was some laundry on the field.

A penalty was called on the Blue Devils for having two players on the field wearing the same uniform number, and those five yards incurred were just enough to give the Illini a new set of downs. Naturally, it felt like one of those typical dumb-luck plays that lately always seem to swing in Illinois’ favor. But in a modern college football environment in which everything is micromanaged, few things happen by chance.

Who is Chris Hurd?

“The play of the game came from a coach – Chris Hurd – on the sideline, our assistant special teams coach,” said Illinois head coach Bret Bielema after the game.

“He puts in hours and hours in our office, and he starts screaming, ‘There’s two eights on the field!’ ... That obviously drew attention to the officials. A lot of times, that happens in special teams, where there’s two players with the same numbers and it never gets noticed.”

“And Chris Hurd was screaming at it – it’d popped up on our scouting report … and that literally changed the game, in my opinion, because the next play was a big play, and that really kind of took the game away from them at that point.”

Thanks to those long hours and deep preparation, Hurd and the Illini coaching staff found an advantage that could be leveraged. Hurd simply kept an eye out and ensured that Duke didn’t get away with a (small) infraction unscathed.

The result?

Aug 29, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) runs the ball against the Western Illinois Leathernecks during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

A touchdown drive that swung the momentum fully back towards Illinois and kick-started a 31-6 second half that reminded the Illini themselves (as well as the rest of the country), that this squad is worthy of a top-10 ranking and potentially even a future College Football Playoff berth.