Notes: Upset gives plenty of reason to celebrate

CHAMPAIGN — Luke Altmyer spent the aftermath of Saturday’s upset of No. 19 Kansas looking for his family and friends among the Memorial Stadium field stormers.

A sizable contingent made the trip from Mississippi. Altmyer’s first thought after Illinois wrapped up its 23-17 victory was to find someone from that group. Maybe one of his brothers. Or his parents. Or one of his many close friends in attendance.

They found him instead.

Altmyer shared a postgame hug with his younger brother, Whit, before his older brother, Steele, and his friends, hoisted him into the air. The Illinois quarterback might not have thought he’d be crowd surfing on Zuppke Field on Saturday night, but beating the Jayhawks apparently called for that kind of celebration.

“They picked me right up,” Altmyer said. “That was just a special moment. Something I’ll remember more than the plays that were made out there. It was just really cool.”

That Illinois wound up with that kind of moment in Week 2 was meaningful in the bigger picture of the season.

“It was a moment that everybody will remember forever and something we can build upon,” Altmyer said. “It’s definitely really cool that it happened really early rather than later down the season to help us grow confidence moving forward. It’s crazy how life works, how God works. I remember last year there were times they were booing us off the field. To be able to have that moment is just really cool for my team, to be honest.”

★ ★ ★

Illinois’ first seven drives of Saturday’s game ended in a David Olano field goal, a fumble, a punt, another Olano field goal and then three straight punts. Trailing Kansas 17-13 after a touchdown pass from Jalon Daniels to Lawrence Arnold with 5 minutes to play in the third quarter, Altmyer said the Illini had their “backs against the wall.”

The result? Two straight scoring drives that ultimately led to the upset victory. First an eight-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Kaden Feagin. Then a 15-play, 42-yard drive that chewed clock in the fourth quarter and wound up closed out with a third Olano field goal.

“We just stuck with it,” Altmyer said. “The coaches were putting us in good positions, and it was up to us to make plays. We knew our backs were against the wall — we were down — and if we wanted to go do what we wanted to do the only thing to do was go make something happen. … Guys were executing. That’s the bottom line. Execute, move the chains and score.”

★ ★ ★

The one thing about that final drive that surprised Altmyer was the fact Illinois went with freshman running back Ca’Lil Valentine as its closer.

It was a move rooted in a halftime discussion between the Illini coaches. There were plays where Feagin and Aidan Laughery struggled to move the ball in the first half. A little more speed, Illinois coach Bret Bielema said, could have come in handy.

Enter Valentine. The freshman running back might have only rushed eight times for 25 yards in the second half, but he helped Illinois both move the ball and the clock in the fourth quarter.

“Give (running backs coach Thad Ward) a lot of kudos for having the confidence to put him in there,” Bielema said. “Ca’Lil, since he came on campus, has just been very impressive. He’s got a good, natural feel for it and understanding.”

Even if Altmyer was surprised Valentine got the call late in the game, he didn’t doubt the 5-foot-11, 190-pound freshman would deliver.

“He’s just shifty, man,” Altmyer said. “He’s hard to tackle and hard to bring down. He’s not the biggest guy. You run with Kaden a lot and then bring in little Ca’Lil, but he’s fast and he’s dependable. I talked to him before the game because we had him in the game plan. I was like, ‘You’re moment is going to come (Saturday night), and I know you’ll do great things. You’re built for it. You’re made for it.’ Just proud of that dude.”

★ ★ ★

Altmyer finished Saturday’s game completing 16 of 25 passes for 192 yards. Nearly all of it went to either Zakhari Franklin or Pat Bryant. The latter caught three passes for 70 yards, while Franklin established a new best — at least in his short time at Illinois — with nine catches for 99 yards.

“He’s just dependable,” Altmyer said of his top target. “He’s so even. I think that’s what’s so cool about him. He never gets rattled. ... There were some good corners out there he was going against, and he never flinched at all. I have so much confidence in him to go do what he does. I saw it all through camp, and he’s done that the past four years. Thankfully, he’s on my team. He won a lot of one-on-one battles.”

Franklin’s familiarity with the Illinois offense, of course, has eased his transition after joining the team this summer following one season at Mississippi. It’s the three he played at Texas San Antonio, including two under now Illini offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr., that have made a difference in his time in Champaign.

“Barry said something to me in recruiting,” Bielema said. “He said, ‘Coach, he’s going to need us just as much as we need him.’ We knew we wanted one more perimeter receiver and thought he was going to fill the bill there. I think he’s only going to begin to get better. He’s understanding how we do things here.”

★ ★ ★

Bielema has a few sayings that have permeated the Illinois football program. “Tough, smart and dependable” is at the top of the list. “Do your job” isn’t far behind.

Then there’s “CTOTTY.” Or “Catch the ones they throw to you.”

Xavier Scott and Miles Scott clearly took that last one to heart. Xavier Scott had two interceptions, including a pick-six, off Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels. Miles Scott had Illinois’ third interception, giving him two in two games.

“You’re going to get some batted balls and balls up in the air, but when they throw one to you you’ve got to catch it,” Bielema said. “Our guys have been pretty good. … There was no hesitation. A lot of times, defensive players in those moments, if you have a slight hesitation you won’t make the play. A lot of confidence and faith, but also schematically there’s a lot of things they’re doing.”

Xavier Scott and Miles Scott are roommates in addition to being teammates. And after Saturday’s game, which included the former forcing a fumble, Illinois’ “Mayhem King” belt is going to stay at their place. Miles Scott won it in Week 1. Xavier Scott was ready to accept it after his standout performance against the Jayhawks.

“We do it in practice,” Xavier Scott said. “It’s our coaches being on us throughout the week of taking the ball away and catching everything we see.”

“Sometimes QBs are going to make decisions that they shouldn’t, but the biggest thing is making him pay for making those decisions,” Miles Scott added. “Just taking full advantage of it. Catching the ball when it’s thrown to you. Forcing fumbles. It’s having a heightened sense of awareness for it. I definitely don’t think it’s something that just happens. You’ve got to have intentionality behind it — especially in practice each and every day.”

Scott Richey