NCAAF

Illinois Fighting Illini at Northwestern Wildcats

· NCAA - Football
Final
38 - 28

No. 22 Illinois reaches 9 wins for first time in 17 years with 38-28 victory over Northwestern

Aidan Laughery dashes for his 3rd touchdown for Illinois

Pat Bryant dashed in to score off Luke Altmyer’s 43-yard pass early in the third quarter as Illinois (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) struck for touchdowns just over 4 minutes apart early in the third quarter to open a 28-10 lead in what had been a tight game. Bryant's 10th receiving touchdown tied a school record.

Altmyer, who threw for 170 yards, had a TD himself on a keeper from the 1-yard line early in the second quarter. David Olano added a field goal in the fourth to cap Illinois' scoring.

Laughery, a sophomore running back, rushed for a career-best 172 yards and topped 100 for the first time. He entered with only one TD this season and two for his career. He had a career-long 64-yard run for a score early in the second half.

Coach Bret Bielema said he wasn't surprised by Laughery's explosive performance as the Gibson City, Illinois product rounded back into form after being hampered by a hamstring injury earlier this season.

“I thought today would be a day that could happen,” Bielema said. “Today some of those turned into big home run hits we've kind of been waiting on all year.”

Laughery said he's been prepping for this kind of game, when he carried the ball 12 times for an average of 14.3 yards.

“Finally, the opportunity was there,” said Laughery, who got the game ball. “You know you gotta' hit one and it came together today.”

He credited the Illini offensive line with opening space for his breakout performance.

“Those guys were covering them (Northwestern's defense) all day long,” Laughery said. “It was awesome running behind the looks we were getting”

Northwestern’s Devin Turner intercepted Altmyer twice, including for a 13-yard touchdown return late in the first quarter. Thomas Gordon caught Jack Lausch's 15-yard TD pass with a minute left, then the Wildcats added a two-point conversion to complete the scoring.

Northwestern (4-8, 2-7 Big Ten) didn’t pack it in as hosted its second game this season at Wrigley Field, this time on a breezy sunny day with game-time temperature of 20 degrees.

It looked like the Illini might run away after Bryant’s 10th receiving touchdown 4:52 into the third. He entered tied for the Big Ten lead.

But Luke Akers kicked his second field goal of the game, a 34-yarder, with 5:35 left in the third quarter to cut it to 28-13. Lausch led the Wildcats on their next possession and finished it with an 11-yard touchdown toss to A.J. Henning to narrow the Illini lead to 28-20.

Then Mac Resetich intercepted Lausch’s pass 50 seconds into the fourth quarter. Laughery powered up the middle for 31 yards and his third TD about two minutes later to quell the Wildcats' momentum.

Northwestern dominated in possession time — 34:32 to 25:28 —and plays — 90 to 53.

The margin was even more pronounced in the first half, but the Wildcats settled for a 13-yard touchdown return on Turner’s second pick of the game with 2:14 left in the first quarter and Akers’ 21-yard field goal that opened the scoring 6:29 in.

Illinois led 14-10 at the half on Laughery’s 30-yard TD run midway through the first quarter and Altmyer’s keeper 1:39 into the second. Akers missed wide to the right on a 44-yard attempt as time ran out in the half.

Wide receivers down Both teams’ leading pass receivers were injured. Northwestern’s Bryce Kirtz was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a lower-body injury after two receptions that upped his total yards to 598.

Illinois’ Bryant went to the locker room with about 5 minutes left in the first half after Turner collided with him as he plucked his second interception. Bryant returned, however, for the second half.

The takeaway Illinois: Is in line for a prestigious bowl game appearance and a chance to tie the school record of 10 wins, most recently set during their 2001 Sugar Bowl season. “We wanted to put ourselves in a good position on this day to get to nine wins and see where it can go,” Bielema said. “Just a fun day overall. I don't know what the future holds. It think we're a team that can play with anybody in the country.”

Northwestern: Finished its second season under coach David Braun at 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats dropped their final three and five of the last six.

Up next Illinois is headed to a bowl game.

Northwestern opens its 2025 season at Tulane on Aug. 30.

How To Watch

How can I watch Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats?
  • TV Channel: Fighting Illini at Wildcats 2021 College Football, week 14, is broadcasted on BTN.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Scoring Summary

NU FG 1st Period 9:31 Luke Akers 21 Yd Field Goal
ILL TD 1st Period 8:12 Aidan Laughery 30 Yd Run (David Olano Kick)
NU TD 1st Period 2:14 Devin Turner 13 Yd Interception Return (Luke Akers Kick)
ILL TD 2nd Period 13:21 Luke Altmyer 1 Yd Run (David Olano Kick)
ILL TD 3rd Period 14:15 Aidan Laughery 64 Yd Run (David Olano Kick)
ILL TD 3rd Period 10:08 Pat Bryant 43 Yd pass from Luke Altmyer (David Olano Kick)
NU FG 3rd Period 5:35 Luke Akers 34 Yd Field Goal
NU TD 3rd Period 1:34 A.J. Henning 11 Yd pass from Jack Lausch (Luke Akers Kick)
ILL TD 4th Period 12:15 Aidan Laughery 31 Yd Run (David Olano Kick)
ILL FG 4th Period 11:06 David Olano 24 Yd Field Goal
NU TD 4th Period 1:00 Thomas Gordon 15 Yd pass from Jack Lausch (Jack Lausch Pass to Marshall Lang for Two-Point Conversion)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/356.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originILL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/77.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNU
14 1st Downs 28
4-10 3rd down efficiency 9-19
0-0 4th down efficiency 0-1
382 Total Yards 442
170 Passing 329
10/17 Comp/Att 29/61
10.0 Yards per pass 5.4
212 Rushing 113
36 Rushing Attempts 29
5.9 Yards per rush 3.9
7-50 Penalties 2-10
2 Turnovers 4
0 Fumbles lost 1
2 Interceptions thrown 3
25:28 Possession 34:32

Game Information

Venue: Wrigley Field

Location: Chicago, IL
Attendance: 26,378 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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