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Urban Meyer Breaks Down Illinois Football's Play of the Season

The Big Ten analyst and former Ohio State coach details Pat Bryant's game-winning TD catch at Rutgers

Jason Langendorf

Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant (13) outruns a Rutgers defender on his way to the game-winning score in the Illini's 38-31 win at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Nov. 23.
Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant (13) outruns a Rutgers defender on his way to the game-winning score in the Illini's 38-31 win at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Nov. 23. / University of Illinois
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It wasn't a national championship or even a bowl game, but in the moment, when Illinois met Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Nov. 23, the stakes were plenty high for both teams.

Illinois had won 10 games in a season only four times in the program's previous 134 years of existence – and not since 2001. Rutgers hadn't won nine games since 2012, its last year in the Big East and its first year following coach Greg Schiano's departure for the NFL (before his return in 2020).

As Gerry DiNardo noted in teeing up his Big Ten analyst partner Urban Meyer in a recent Big Ten Network "Urban Analysis" segment, both outcomes – 10 wins for Illinois and coach Bret Bielema, nine for Rutgers and Schiano – were still in play as Illini kicker Ethan Moczulski lined up on fourth down for a 58-yard field-goal attempt into a swirling wind with Rutgers ahead 31-30 and 14 seconds left on the game clock.

"They made some really big decisions at the end of the game," DiNardo said.

Did they ever. In his postgame press conference, Schiano described his thought process on icing the kicker and his decision to call a timeout just before the snap on Moczulski's kick, which he pushed left and short.

"I coached kickers a good portion of my career as a special teams coach," Meyer said, "and one thing is, kickers are very odd ducks – they're very routine-oriented. So after coaching kickers, I would actually ask them, 'Why would I call ... a freeze timeout?' And I came up with a conclusion, the whole idea being to sometimes use it, sometimes not. Because the kicker, even when you don't use it, it's in the back of the mind. So it's screwing up what? The routine."

That choice by Schiano, however, turned out to be a "tell," as Meyer noted.

When Bielema saw the result of Moczulski's kick – a wounded duck – he pivoted, sending his offense back onto the field. The Illini still had time to complete a pass or two, get out of bounds and set up for another, higher-percentage field-goal try – or perhaps accomplish more.

"This is not just about trying to score a touchdown," Meyer said of the Illini. "They're actually not. They're down by 1, Illinois, so all they have to get – in a coach's mind, the 25-yard line is the line of demarcation. That means you get to the 25-yard line, [you've got a] high-percentage chance of making that. That's a 42-yard field goal. Most kickers can make that."

Instantly, Schiano had a new and far different choice to make: pressure the quarterback or cover and prevent the big play?

"It's not a Hail Mary situation," Meyer said. "So he makes a decision to pressure the quarterback, get the ball out fast. They play zero coverage behind it, and obviously Illinois executes and makes one of the great plays of the season."

With three receivers lined up left – including Pat Bryant split out wide – and quarterback Luke Altmyer in the shotgun, the Illini offensive line walled up to provide excellent pass protection. Bryant crossed behind teammate Alexander Capka-Jones' deep route toward the middle of the field to rub his defender and get free, where Altmyer in a seam between the second and third levels of the D.

Bryant already had the first down and could have zipped out of bounds to set up a makeable kick. But he made one subtle break after the catch that staggered a Rutgers defender and appeared to notice that he had a blocker upfield and a seam down the right sideline. And so he kept running.

"The rest is just incredible individual effort by a great player," Meyer said, "and they go into New Jersey and find a way to win."

Although Bryant won't be with them this time around, the Illini (9-3) still have a chance to notch 10 wins when they head south to face South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, on New Year's Eve.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Illinois Football vs. South Carolina in Citrus Bowl Is Official

How Illinois and Big Ten Rivals Performed vs. Expectations in 2024

Bret Bielema Welcomes Illinois' 2025 Recruiting Class – But Not NCAA Changes

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Jason Langendorf
JASON LANGENDORF

Jason Langendorf is a longtime journalist who has covered football and basketball, among other sports, for ESPN, Sporting News, the Chicago Sun-Times and numerous other publications.

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