Illinois football may have escaped College Park with a victory, but the Illini certainly gave their fans quite the Halloween fright, pulling out a 20-17 victory over Maryland in jump-scare style, courtesy of a 26-yard game-winning field goal from Ethan Moczulski as time expired.
Fresh off a stunning upset of Oregon, Illinois entered Saturday’s matchup against a struggling Terrapins club that had lost five straight games and recently fired coach Mike Locksley. On paper, this looked like a perfect opportunity for the Illini to build more momentum.
Instead, Illinois needed every second of regulation to escape the clutches of the boogeyman. The Illini offense looked completely out of sorts to begin the afternoon. Returning from a hand injury, starting quarterback Katin Houser threw an interception on the opening possession, setting the tone for a frustrating first half.
Maryland capitalized on Illinois’ offensive struggles, jumping out to a 7-0 lead behind an eight-yard touchdown run from quarterback Malik Washington.
After nearly two quarters of offensive misery, Illinois finally found the end zone when Houser connected with Brayden Trimble for a 16-yard touchdown with just 27 seconds remaining in the first half, sending the teams into the locker room with the score knotted at 7-7.
Unfortunately for Illinois, the second half didn’t begin much better.
Maryland marched down the field on its opening possession of the third quarter, reclaiming the lead on a 17-yard touchdown run from DeJuan Williams. A 45-yard Moczulski field goal cut the deficit to four, but the Illini still trailed heading into the final quarter.
Then, Javari Barnett finally provided the spark Illinois desperately needed. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Barnett exploded for a 64-yard touchdown run, giving the Illini their first lead of the afternoon at 17-14.
But Maryland refused to go away, tying the game on a 46-yard field goal with just over 10 minutes remaining.
With the game hanging in the balance, Houser and the Illinois offense finally delivered when it mattered most. Taking possession with 5:45 remaining, the Illini orchestrated a 13-play, 67-yard drive that drained the remaining clock and positioned Moczulski for the winning kick.
For Illinois, the performance was far from convincing. A week after knocking off Oregon, the Illini nearly suffered an embarrassing defeat against a Maryland program in complete disarray.
Still, ugly wins count just the same as pretty ones.
Illinois improved to 5-3 (3-2 Big Ten) and extended its winning streak to three games. But with Nebraska coming to Champaign next Friday, the Illini will need a much sharper performance if they hope to keep that streak alive.
Following the thrilling finish, social media was buzzing as Illini Nation reacted to yet another heart-stopping victory. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Illini found a way to get the job done.
A great day for some football
A start to forget
Trimble breaks through
Bustin’ loose
What a turnaround
Shout out, Bret Bielema
The clutch gene
Counts just the same
A Halloween treat
A sneaky playoff team?
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