Illinois Closes Home Schedule With Victory Over Michigan State

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois returned to the win column with a 38-16 victory over Michigan State on Saturday at Memorial Stadium behind a dominant and complete showing.

The Illini’s 22-point win marked the program’s first time recording six home wins in a season since 2001.

Josh McCray tallied a career-best three rushing touchdowns, including two 1-yard scores in the fourth quarter. McCray amassed a team-high 61 yards on his nine carries, including a 30-yard rush in the final frame.

Pat Bryant secured the fifth 100-yard receiving game of his career, finishing with a career-high 135 yards on just four receptions. His 57-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter marked the longest reception of his career.

Luke Altmyer went 19-for-32 with 231 yards and two passing scores, which both came in the first half.

The Illini defense held the Spartans to 2-for-15 on third down, including a 1-for-10 mark in the second half. Illinois also totaled five sacks and eight tackles for loss.

Both teams were forced to punt on their first possessions, but the Illini found the end zone for the first time on their second drive of the afternoon. Needing only two plays to score, Illinois took an early 7-0 lead via a 57-yard strike from Altmyer to Bryant. 

Michigan State responded with a touchdown of its own on its next possession, but the Orange and Blue scored once again on their ensuing drive. A 13-play, 75-yard drive that featured four third-down conversions saw the Illini get in the end zone for the second time, this time on an 11-yard rushing score for McCray.

After forcing the Spartans to punt on two consecutive possessions, the Illini offense extended their lead on their second trip down the field in the second quarter. A 12-play drive saw the home side march 64 yards in the span of just over six minutes, with Zakhari Franklin making an acrobatic touchdown catch to push the Illinois edge up to 21-6 with two minutes remaining in the first half.

Michigan State cut into its deficit with a late field goal, and the Illini went into the break with a 21-9 advantage. The Orange and Blue amassed 222 yards of offense across the first two quarters while making two sacks and four tackles for loss.

The visitors scored a touchdown on their first possession of the second half, though the Illini pushed their edge up to eight points, 24-16, via a 37-yard David Olano field goal. 

The Illinois defense forced three consecutive MSU three-and-outs, and the Orange and Blue offense took advantage of good field position to add onto their edge, 31-16, exactly halfway through the fourth quarter. A 32-yard completion to Bryant moved the Illini into the red zone before McCray found the end zone for the second time, jumping up and over the offensive line for the 1-yard score.

The Spartans moved into Illini territory on their next drive, but back-to-back sacks on third and fourth downs saw the Orange and Blue take over near midfield. Four consecutive rushes from McCray ensued, the final of which was a 1-yard touchdown run that extended the home side’s lead to 38-16 with just under two minutes remaining.

Forcing another turnover on downs on MSU’s next possession, the Illini closed their home schedule with a win.

Illinois (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) will close the regular season with back-to-back Big Ten road games, a stretch that begins next Saturday, Nov. 23, with a meeting with Rutgers. The Fighting Illini and Scarlet Knights are slated to kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Peacock.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

POSTGAME NOTES

Team Notes

• Bret Bielema improved to 25-22 during his Illinois career. Since Robert Zuppke went undefeated in two of his first three seasons at Illinois from 1913-15, Bielema’s 25-22 start is the second-best through 47 games by an Illini head coach, behind only Mike White (1980-83).
• Bielema has won at least seven games in two of his first four seasons at Illinois, becoming the first Illini head coach since John Mackovic (1988-91) to do so.
• Bielema’s 16 Big Ten wins through his first four seasons at Illinois are the most since Lou Tepper also won 16 in his first four seasons (1992-95).

  • Bielema is tied for the third-most Big Ten wins through four seasons among the Illini’s 13 head coaches in modern history (post 1940).

    • Mike White – 24 (1980-83)
    • John Mackovic – 22 (1988-91)
    • Bret Bielema – 16 (2021-pres.)
    • Lou Tepper – 16 (1992-95)
    • Bob Blackman – 16 (1971-74)

• Bielema improves to 3-5 as a head coach vs. Michigan State.

  • Improves to 1-1 against the Spartans at Illinois.

• Bielema is 6-1 following a bye week in his Illinois career, including a 5-0 mark over the last three seasons.
• Illinois is 14-5 in games with more than six days prep since Bielema’s arrival in 2021, including 12-3 over the last three seasons and a 4-1 record this season.
• The Illini’s 22-point margin of victory was the largest over the Spartans since a 23-point margin (40-17) on Sept. 22, 1984, at Memorial Stadium.
• Illinois went 6-1 at Memorial Stadium during the 2024 campaign, the first time the Illini have won six games in front of the home fans since 2001.
• Today’s attendance was 52,660, bringing the season total to 383,250.

  • Illinois averaged 54,750 over seven home games this season, the highest average in a single season since 2009 (59,544).

• The Illinois offense did not allow a sack for the second time this season.
• The Illini defense held the Spartans to just 2-for-15 on third down, including a 1-for-10 mark in the second half.

  • Illinois also held Michigan State to just nine rushing yards on 13 attempts in the second half.
  • The Orange and Blue forced three-straight three-and-outs following the Spartans touchdown on their opening drive of the second half.

    • Illinois forced Michigan State into turning over the ball on downs on its final two drives of the game.

• Illinois held Michigan State to 87 yards on the ground, the first time the Illini held an opponent under 100 yards rushing this season.

Player Notes

• QB Luke Altmyer completed 19 of his 32 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns.

  • Fifth game this season throwing for multiple scores.
  • His 18 touchdown passes are the most in a single season by an Illinois quarterback since Brandon Peters also had 18 in the 2019 season.
  • Third game this season tossing at least 230 yards.

• RB Josh McCray carried the ball nine times for 61 yards, rushing for three touchdowns.

  • First career game with three rushing scores.

    • Second-career game with three touchdowns, also done on Oct. 12, vs. Purdue (two rushing, one receiving).
    • First Illini with a three-touchdown game on the ground since Tommy DeVito had three on Oct. 1, 2022, at Wisconsin.
    • First Illini running back to run for three touchdowns since 2010 (Jason Ford, 3, vs. Northwestern at Wrigley Field).

• WR Pat Bryant caught four passes for a career-high 135 yards and one touchdown.

  • Caught six touchdowns at Memorial Stadium this season, the most in a single season at this facility in program history.
  • His eight touchdown receptions this season are tied for fourth-most in a single campaign and now has 17 for his career.

    • Is two touchdown receptions away from tying A.J. Jenkins (2008-11) for third-most all-time in program history.

  • Bryant now has five 100-yard receiving games in his Illinois career, tied for ninth-most in program history.
  • His 57-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the longest catch of his career.

    • Had three catches in the game of at least 30 yards and two of at least 40.

  • Bryant now has at least one reception in 22-straight games, dating back to 2023.

• WR Zakhari Franklin caught seven passes for 44 yards and a touchdown.

  • Second game this season with at least three catches.
  • Caught the third touchdown of his Illini career and the 41st of his career.

    • Has 10 more touchdowns than any active player in the FBS.

• LB Seth Coleman registered a game-high 2.0 sacks and also had one pass breakup.

  • His 2.0 sacks set a season-high mark and marked the fourth game of his career with at least 2.0 sacks.

• OLB Gabe Jacas recorded five tackles, 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries.

  • Has a team-high 8.0 sacks on the season, just 1.0 sacks shy of tied for seventh in a single season in program history.

    • Has 4.5 sacks in his last four games.

QUOTES

Opening statement:

“I’m super excited to have this season here at home end the way it did. To be six and one at Memorial Stadium’s the best since 2001 also the best average attendance since 2009 so we give a lot of credit to the fans. We talk about it all week not just to give our seniors a great ending to the day but also give the fans a big push to make Memorial Stadium something special and hopefully that continues. I wanted to say thank you to all the fans for coming out this season.”

 

“To have the seniors go off the field this way in kind of a unique situation since we lost Dylan Rosiek as a captain. He made an executive decision and Mark Taurisani also suggested earlier in the week to make Terah Edwards a captain for today’s game. There’s nobody that embodies what we want around here more especially as a guy that transferred in. I say all the time he came with a double negative. He’s from Columbus and Northwestern and he’s come in here and done an incredible job for us. He’s a joy to be around, it was fun to see him, and I can only imagine how much his family enjoyed tonight. I told them to enjoy it with a lot of family and friends here tonight.”

 

“We’ll have to put this one behind us tomorrow and get ready for a Rutgers team. We really like the demeanor of this group. You know the outside world looking in we’re a 7-3 football team that’s got a lot in front of us. Never say never. In the middle of the week, I got the personal inventory to myself that there’s a couple 6-3 football teams ranked in the top 25. We’ve lost to teams that are ranked No. 1, No. 4, and a good Minnesota team in a nail biter. We’re telling our guys to keep working on what’s in front of us and continue to take advantage of every opportunity we get.”

 

“I thought it was also a special day because almost a year ago today Kenenna Odeluga broke his leg at Iowa. To see him go out there today and he’s gradually gotten better every week. He got a sack; some good pressure and did a lot of good things defensively to help our guys close that win out. A small little thing to give Kirkland Michaux that last snap in the victory formation at the end of the game, a guy that’s done absolutely everything we could ask for in this program on a daily basis. He never truly got the rewards of playing so to see that today was awesome. I also saw Owen Corney, Isaiah Adams, and Jordyn Slaughter so seeing some of our former alums come back was awesome.” 

 

On today’s complimentary football:

“I gave the team three goals on Sunday; the first was to prepare a plan, the second was to practice the plan and the third was to play the plan. We talk about it all the time, prepare our tough, smart, and dependable (TSD) edge, practice our TSD edge and play our TSD edge. It’s the complimentary fact of what we are, and it’s shown up in a lot of games, not just today. I think our guys really buy into playing off one another. I think we hit a little lull offensively in the second half there and our defense continued to show up. They gave up the first drive in the second half, but they rallied back to close them out. Hank Beatty is another guy that left the game two weeks ago with a dislocated finger where his bone came out and he’s playing with stitches catching the ball. It’s just another great indication of who he is.”

 

On his running backs:

“Josh McCray the last five, six games has been great and Aidan Laughrey too, I thought we were a hair away from breaking one of those runs. Ca’Lil Valentine does some nice stuff. Those three guys I give all the credit to Thad Ward. It’s incredible for me to watch Thad work with those guys. He’s not a guy that says a lot but does a lot. Every time I go by his office, he’s always working with his head down doing anything and everything to create an edge. Every Thursday I check the film that he’s going to show his players, and his film is incredibly detailed with a plan to get those three guys going. A running back room across the country I think may be the hardest to manage. The way Thad manages that room to have no egos in that room is impressive. They all cheer for one another and it’s fun to be a part of.” 

 

On Mac Resetich: 

“Mac, besides the great flowing hair, is a fun story. He continues to be impressive in everything he does. I know for Coach Discher on special teams they do a lot of special things with him. I grabbed Mac on Wednesday, and I asked him how many people are showing up for your first start and he said, ‘a lot’. In the town that he comes from a lot showed up. If he didn’t come here and play football for us, I think he had a partial scholarship to Sauk Valley Community College to play baseball. I think we’re getting our money in return 10 times on that one. We really don’t care who people are recruited by, we just care about results and Mac Resetich is a results driven guy.” 

On what his freshman year self would be most proud of:

“The day-to-day work. Coming in, I just focused on playing, I really didn’t focus on being a good receiver. I learned a lot by just working/talking to the players that come through the program or guest captains. Making great connections really helped me develop.”

 

On the double move on long touchdown:

“We had that route in for weeks and I’ve been waiting to run it. I knew that if Luke had enough time, I was going to play man cover. I knew if I sold it good enough, I would have gotten a bite on it and that’s what he did. I ran it a lot in practice, and I tried different ways to run it. It went exactly as planned and Luke put the ball up and gave me a great chance.”

On what makes Pat Bryant so special:

“He is super talented, as everyone knows, with his catch radius, speed, savvy, understanding of defense, and breaking coverage. Seeing his character and how he carries himself on days like this makes me so excited for him. I’ll miss the friendship that we have together as the season comes to an end. I get so excited to work with him daily to see his spirit and joy; it’s contagious. I’m happy for him and his family; seeing everyone smiling is fun.”

 

On what he will miss about this senior class:

“Everything, not just their athletic ability and talent and playing with them, but the friendship we all have and the brotherhood we made. Each win has its own story, and all the seniors’ stories are unique. In a season like this, you never want it to end because of brotherhood and friendship. I just love everyone I go to work with every day, especially the seniors. I’m happy for them.”

On being named captain today:

“I will savor that moment. Growing up, playing football from high school to college, you want to work your way up. Coming here, embracing my role and I keep trying to win. When Coach B served that last night, it was a surreal moment. I could not stop cheesing; you never want to take it for granted. You must know what you got, and an opportunity like that with the guys today. I am going to be real with you, I didn’t even know what I was doing. I was waiting for them, and then we locked arms. It was definitely fun.

 

On the third down package:

“I was so happy, man. Even when they put it in early, we got some guys on this team. Those guys, especially Gentle Hunt, knowing his story and him being in a home, the guy has worked his tail off. He never complains, and always has a good attitude. When he is given an opportunity he is going to make the most out of it. Seeing those guys out there, doing their jobs and getting to the QB. Ultimately, they are out there having fun and making memories.”

On knowing it’s his last time in Memorial Stadium:

“It is really bittersweet. I love it here, I have been an Illini for six years. It’s been a long six years, but I have really enjoyed my time here and I am glad to end the season and career like that.”

 

On what he will cherish the most from his time here:

“The people that I have been around. From the staff to the players, I really enjoyed that they feel like family and we are actually a FamILLy.”

On the one-year anniversary of his injury against Iowa last season:

“I just have to give Glory to God. The journey that I’ve had to go through – the trials, the tribulations, the failures – and coming back from an injury like that took a lot. To have a support system out here that pushed me every day, my teammates encouraging me and supporting me, and my faith did so much for me. Having this moment and opportunity is like catharsis. Now it’s like, ‘This is just the start. Let’s keep going and finish this season off strong and then see where we land after that.’ You just must keep going. You must believe. You have to have faith in everything that you do, so it was amazing.”

 

On the fulfillment that comes from a performance like today given his journey:

“I’m just happy because I know the work I put in. I know the work that so many people on this team put in just for my sake. Everything that I did with trainers: coming in at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. and working out during the season. Just having that culminate today was amazing.”