Aidan Laughery scored three touchdowns, and No. 22 Illinois defeated Northwestern 38-28 on Saturday to reach nine wins for the first time since their 2007 Rose Bowl season.
In the third quarter, Pat Bryant caught a 43-yard pass from Luke Altmyer to score early, and Illinois (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) followed with another touchdown just over four minutes later to take a 28-10 lead in what had been a close game. Bryant’s 10th receiving touchdown tied a school record.
Altmyer, who passed for 170 yards, also scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter. David Olano added a field goal in the fourth quarter to finish off Illinois’ scoring.
Laughery, a sophomore running back, rushed for a career-high 172 yards, topping 100 yards for the first time. He had only one touchdown this season and two for his career coming into the game. He made a career-long 64-yard run for a touchdown early in the second half.
Coach Bret Bielema said he wasn’t surprised by Laughery’s strong performance, as he had been recovering from a hamstring injury earlier in the 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 had been preparing for this kind of game, carrying the ball 12 times for an average of 14.3 yards per carry.
“Finally, the opportunity was there,” said Laughery, who received the game ball. “You know you gotta hit one, and it came together today.”
He praised the Illini offensive line for creating space for his big runs.
“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 a 13-yard touchdown return late in the first quarter. Thomas Gordon caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jack Lausch with one minute left, and the Wildcats added a two-point conversion to complete the scoring.
Northwestern (4-8, 2-7 Big Ten) didn’t give up, playing their second game of the season at Wrigley Field on a breezy, sunny day with a game-time temperature of 20 degrees.
It looked like Illinois might pull away after Bryant’s 10th receiving touchdown, which came 4:52 into the third quarter. He was tied for the Big Ten lead in receiving touchdowns.
However, Luke Akers kicked his second field goal of the game, a 34-yarder, with 5:35 left in the third quarter to make it 28-13. Lausch led the Wildcats on their next drive, ending it with an 11-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Henning, cutting Illinois’ lead to 28-20.
Then, Mac Resetich intercepted Lausch’s pass 50 seconds into the fourth quarter. Laughery broke free for 31 yards and his third touchdown about two minutes later, putting a stop to the Wildcats’ momentum.
Northwestern controlled the time of possession with 34:32, compared to Illinois’ 25:28, and ran 90 plays compared to 53 for the Illini.
The Wildcats had a stronger possession time in the first half, but they had to settle for a 13-yard touchdown return on Turner’s second interception with 2:14 left in the first quarter. Akers’ 21-yard field goal opened the scoring 6:29 into the game.
Illinois led 14-10 at halftime after Laughery’s 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Altmyer’s 1-yard keeper early in the second. Akers missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired in the half.
