POST-GAME VIDEO - Illinois 23, Rutgers 20: Illini Head Coach Lovie Smith

Illinois head coach Lovie Smith spoke to local and statewide media following his team's 23-20 win at Rutgers Saturday.

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.

This was Illini’s first win since a 37-34 come-from-behind win at Michigan State on Nov. 9, 2019.

The win represents the sixth win under Lovie Smith by eight points or less. Similarly to how McCourt’s game-winning kick over Wisconsin last year on Homecoming weekend, 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.”

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.