No. 24 Illinois stunned No. 22 Nebraska, 31-24, in overtime on the road. Illinois scored on its second attempt outside regulation on a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Luke Altmyer to Pat Bryant, and the defense blocked the ensuing attempt to seal the come-from-behind victory.
It was Illinois’ second win against a ranked team this season and the first time the school has beaten two AP Top 25 teams in a season since 2007. It also improved Illinois to 4-0 for the first time since 2011. The Fighting Illini also beat then-19th-ranked Kansas at home and beat Central Michigan 30-9.
Altmyer completed 21 of 27 passes for 215 yards and four touchdowns in the comeback win.
The game’s defining moment came when Nebraska kicker John Hall missed a 39-yard turnaround field goal attempt with 2:59 left in the game. Nebraska’s final points came on the opening play of the fourth quarter, giving the Cornhuskers their eighth consecutive game without scoring in overtime, a streak that began in 2014 when they beat Iowa.
Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola passed for a career-high 297 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. The Cornhuskers have lost their last 25 games against ranked opponents dating back to the 2016 season. The loss gave Nebraska 31 one-point losses since 2018, nine more than any other team in the FBS (Iowa and Arkansas are tied for second).
Illinois (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will get another chance to pull off a commanding victory over a higher-ranked opponent next Saturday when it travels to No. 10 Penn State. Nebraska (3-1, 0-1) will play Purdue on the same day and host Rutgers on Oct. 5.