Florida Atlantic falls to 1-3 after 23-17 loss to Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Daniel Richardson played well in his first start since replacing the injured Casey Thompson, and Florida Atlantic hung tough with a Big Ten team on the road.
But in the end, Illinois (2-2) hung on for a 23-17 victory Saturday afternoon, sending FAU to its third straight loss after a season-opening win.
Richardson completed 28 of 49 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted in the end zone by Nicario Harper early in the fourth quarter.
"Very big progress. Just the sideline encouragement, the leadership, guys rallying behind each other, just saying positive things, staying out of the negative and just not pointing fingers," FAU coach Tom Herman said. "It was a very winnable game and that is a great team over there; hats off to them and their coaching staff. I felt like we could have gotten the job done, you never know what could have happened if we got the ball back, but at the end of the day, they won so hats off to them."Luke Altmyer threw a touchdown pass and ran for another and Isaiah Williams caught eight passes for 120 yards to lead the victory in the non-conference game. It was a bounce-back game for Altmyer, who threw four interceptions in a 30-13 loss to Penn State last week and was benched in the fourth quarter. He completed 25 of 36 passes for 303 yards and wasn’t picked off.
“I called Luke at 8’clock last Saturday night. I didn’t want him to go to bed worrying if he was still our starting quarterback,” said Illinois coach Bret Bielema. “I wanted to let him know I was still behind him and we would come up with a game plan for him to be successful. Then the team picked him up during the week.”
Herman thought a “winnable game” slipped through his team’s fingertips. But he thinks the Owls, who have a bye next weekend before opening their conference schedule, have a bright future.
“For the last 10 months (since he became coach), I’ve talked to the team about having faith," he said. "Faith is belief without evidence. We got some evidence (Saturday). We have a lot to build on.”
LaJohntay Wester, who became the Owls’ career reception leader last week, was as good as advertised. He had 13 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown.After falling behind 10-0, the Illini (2-2) rallied to lead 14-10 at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter before the Owls scored a late touchdown.
Aidan Laughery scored on a 2-yard run early in the quarter, capping an eight-play, 94-yard drive that included a 45-yard pass from a scrambling Altmyer to Williams. Caleb Griffin added a 44-yard field goal later in the quarter.
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After committing five turnovers against Penn State, the Illinois offense started slowly against FAU, which had four sacks and eight tackles for losses.
The Illini marched to the Owls’ 19 on their first drive, then turned the ball over on downs. On Illinois’ second possession, Altmyer was sacked by Xavier Peters, fumbled, and Jayden Williams recovered for the Owls at the Illinois 28. That led to a 22-yard field goal by Logan Lupo and a 3-0 lead.
After an Owls’ touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Richardson to Wester, Illinois got back into the game on a trick play. Altmyer took a pitch on a reverse flea flicker and threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Griffin Moore.
Illinois grabbed a 14-10 halftime lead on a 7-yard run by Altmyer that capped an 8-play, 85-yard drive.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU Owls lose 23-17 to Illinois Illini in college football action
