CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Kaden Feagin scored on a 1-yard run with 9:34 left, David Alano made a 43-yard field goal with 58 seconds left and Illinois rallied to defeat No. 19 Kansas 23-17 on Saturday night.
Illinois (2-0) beat a higher-ranked non-conference opponent at home for the first time since beating Arizona State (then No. 22) on Sept. 17, 2011. The Illini also avenged a 34-23 loss last year at Kansas (1-1).
Feagin scored after Luke Altmyer completed passes of 37 and 28 yards to Pat Bryant during an eight-play, 80-yard drive.
Altmyer completed 16 of 25 passes for 192 yards. Zakhari Franklin caught nine passes for 99 yards and Bryant caught three for 70 yards.
The win gave Illinois coach Bret Bielema a 20-19 record in four years as coach of the Illini.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment. We have to build on that now,” he said. “I had the feeling that we would compete well. I liked our performance. I had a good feeling about the game from the beginning and it was fun to see it in front of the spectators.”
Kansas’ Jalon Daniels completed 18 of 32 passes for 141 yards with two touchdown passes and three interceptions.
Daniels fought through and found a completely free Lawrence Arnold in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass that gave the Jayhawks a 17-13 lead with 4:57 left in the third quarter.
Luke Grimm caught nine passes for 40 yards and a touchdown for the Jayhawks. Devin Neal ran for 101 yards on 14 carries.
“It hurts, and it should,” Kansas coach Lance Leopold said. “We’ll see what we’re made of. I’m confident our seniors will respond.”
Leopold praised Illinois’ receivers.
“They made some really great plays,” he said. “When you play against good football players, they make good plays.”
Illinois and Kansas combined to score 17 points in the final 3:05 minutes of the second quarter.
The Illini led 13-10 at halftime thanks to Xavier Scott’s 28-yard return of an interception with 36 seconds left in the quarter. Scott recognized a screen pass attempt by Daniels and ran unchallenged into the end zone. It was Scott’s second interception of the game.
A 50-yard field goal by Alano with 2:27 left in the quarter was set up by a spectacular one-handed 42-yard catch by Franklin on the sideline while Kansas’ Damarius McGhee held his other arm.
The Jayhawks took a 10-3 lead with 3:05 minutes left in the half on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Grimm in the back of the end zone.
THE RESULT
Illinois: The Illini have proven they can compete and beat a higher-ranked opponent, which is a good sign considering they have games against No. 8 Penn State, No. 10 Michigan and No. 7 Oregon coming up in the next six weeks.
Kansas: Despite the loss, the Jayhawks showed they have a strong running attack led by Neal and a solid defense. Illinois’ offense scored just one touchdown — albeit the game-winning touchdown — gained just 79 yards and had just 14 first downs.
Impact on the survey
Kansas made some bad mistakes, including a penalty that negated a touchdown and Daniels’ interceptions that ruined drives and allowed Illinois to take the lead late in the first half. The Jayhawks will most likely fall out of the top 25.
VALENTINE’S DAY
Illinois freshman running back Ca’Lil Valentine carried the load for the Illini down the stretch, gaining 25 yards on eight carries, all in the fourth quarter.
“Ca’Lil is explosive, dynamic and he has so much composure,” Bielema said.
GREAT SCOTS
The interceptions thrown by Daniels all went to someone named Scott. Xavier Scott and Miles Scott are not related.
SOLD OUT STORM
60,670 spectators watched the game in front of a sold-out crowd. It was the first sold-out Memorial Stadium since 2016. Hundreds of fans stormed the field after the end of the game.
The crowd was greeted by Bielema.
“This was by far the best crowd I’ve seen in my four years here,” he said. “They came here to see something, and now they can believe it.”
Next
Illinois: Hosts Central Michigan on Saturday.
Kansas: Hosts UNLV on Friday night at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
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