Freshman QB Michael Clayton II helps Illinois upset Oregon 21-10 in his 1st start

CHAMPAIGN — Illinois freshman quarterback Michael Clayton II spread both arms wide in stunned celebration as two teammates hugged him, a huge smile evident beneath his face mask.

Clayton had launched a dipping 23-yard pass to the end zone late against Oregon on Saturday at Gies Memorial Stadium, and wide receiver Collin Dixon somehow scooped the football before it hit the turf.

Upon review, the touchdown was upheld: Dixon had maintained control with an Oregon defender rolling with him to the ground, punctuating the Illini’s 21-10 upset of Oregon.

Illinois (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) and Oregon (4-3, 2-2) both entered the game with backup quarterbacks, though the Ducks certainly had the experience advantage with theirs. Dylan Raiola, filling in for star Dante Moore, had started for two seasons at Nebraska. Clayton, replacing injured starter Katin Houser, was making his first career start.

Clayton came through with a pair of touchdown passes, but it took far more than his play to knock off the Ducks, who were No. 2 in the preseason poll and since have fallen out of the rankings and the College Football Playoff conversation. The Illini needed solid efforts in all phases to pull off a needed victory after going through an early stretch of three losses in four games.

“Hopefully things start to roll for us,” Dixon said. “Everyone believes in us. It’s just showing the outside world that we know we can compete with teams like this. And this was a great step toward that.”

The Illinois victory broke a three-game losing streak to Oregon. The only Illini win in the series came in 1970 in Champaign. Oregon beat Illinois 38-9 in their last meeting in 2024.

Illini coach Bret Bielema said he told his players about that 2024 game, which Oregon led 35-3 at halftime.

“And I just said, for me as a head coach, this is personal to me, right?” Bielema said.

Illinois came through with its defense, playing its third game under defensive play caller Roger Cooper, the inside linebackers coach who added to his duties after the Illini parted with former defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck. The Illini entered the game having held just one opponent, Southern Illinois, under 23 points. But they held Oregon scoreless in the second half to pull off the win.

The Illini came through with their running game, including a 75-yard touchdown from Aidan Laughery late in the first half. They totaled 225 rushing yards.

Dixon made that big catch, prompting Clayton to call him “a game changer” and “a guy that I can trust.” He had six catches for 65 yards.

And the Illini even used a second backup quarterback to pull off the win. Bielema said in the week leading up to the game that the Illini could use both Clayton and sophomore Carson Boyd to replace Houser.

The Illini did that well on the opening drive of the third quarter, which proved to be the winner.

Boyd had carries of 6 and 20 yards while in at quarterback, and Clayton threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Christian Abney — the first pass of the drive — to give the Illini a 14-10 lead. Clayton called it a “great changeup” to bring in Boyd occasionally.

Bielema said he was impressed with Boyd’s contributions after the starting job went to Clayton at the end of Illinois’ previous game against Michigan State.

“Michael’s going to get headlines as he deserves, but for Carson Boyd, just the demeanor, the selfless attitude,” Bielema said. “He was obviously hurting in that Michigan State locker room because his opportunity didn’t come, right? But I knew it would come eventually. I thought (offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.) kind of rolling those guys through that first drive in the second half was just poetry in motion.

“I thought it was a really, really good job by Barry, but also give a lot of appreciation to Carson and Michael for their execution.”

Saturday wasn’t the easiest of first starts for Clayton. Oregon entered with a top-40 defense in FBS, allowing 327.3 yards per game. The Ducks also allowed 20.7 points per game in their first six games.

Clayton completed 11 of 18 passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Laughery had 123 rushing yards and the long touchdown.

“It’s unreal, man,” Clayton said. “It’s just everything that I came here hoping for, and it’s just all playing out in my favor.”

Bielema announced on Oct. 14 that Houser would be out four to six weeks after undergoing surgery on his throwing hand. Houser was injured while making a tackle after he threw an interception at Michigan State.

Clayton, a three-star recruit who threw for more than 6,000 yards at his Florida high school, had the experience of leading Illinois in a critical moment in a 38-37 overtime victory over the Spartans on Oct. 10. Houser’s injury came in the third quarter, and Clayton entered to complete 6 of 8 passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns. His 25-yard TD pass to Hudson Clement in overtime helped the Illini hold off the Spartans.

In that game, Clayton was the first true freshman in program history to throw two touchdown passes in a Big Ten win.

Houser’s injury came before Illinois’ bye week, so the Illini and Clayton had extra time to prepare for his first collegiate start.

“Just with me stepping up into a new role, it was definitely a lot more added to the table,” Clayton said. “A lot more preparation, a lot more meetings, a lot more reps out in practice, after practice, but it all worked out.”

Meanwhile, the Illini defense also used the bye week to its advantage.

Illinois gave up 426 yards of offense but buckled down to keep Oregon out of the end zone in the second half. Ducks kicker Gage Hurych missed three field-goal attempts, including a 53-yarder and a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Cornerback Juice Clarke said the Illini have begun to build confidence over the last couple of games. He pointed to the work in the bye week as key and noted the coaches have worked at all hours to try to turn things around from the poor start before Hauck departed.

“They don’t get no sleep,” Clarke said. “So it’s just knowing that they’re going to execute to put us in a good position so that we go out there and we can play faster and physical.”

Illinois fell behind early Saturday. The Ducks marched 75 yards on 11 plays on their opening drive and scored on Jordon Davison’s 2-yard run for a 7-0 lead.

The Illini didn’t get into Oregon territory on offense until Ean Rhea forced Raiola to fumble and Joe Barna recovered it at the Oregon 30 late in the first quarter. But on the next play, Clayton lost a fumble.

The Illini defense came through on the ensuing drive, with safety Matthew Bailey stopping Dierre Hill Jr. for a 2-yard loss on third-and-2. Then Hurych missed a 52-yard field-goal attempt wide right.

Hurych got the points back on the Ducks’ next possession with a 20-yard field goal. Oregon had runs of 32 and 41 yards on the drive, but the Illini came up with stops after the Ducks had first-and-goal from the 6.

Laughery then gave the Illini life with a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the next drive. He ran to his right, broke through a hole to his left and outraced four defenders to cut Oregon’s lead to 10-7 before halftime.

Laughery said he made the turn to his left and saw “just all open space,” so he told himself just to run.

“The guys up front blocked it up perfect,” Laughery said. “The play worked out just how we wanted it, so yeah, I’m thankful for the guys up front.”

Oregon was ranked No. 2 in the preseason but suffered losses to Oklahoma State and UCLA to drop out of the rankings.

The Ducks have been hit hard with injuries, losing Moore to a head injury in their win over USC and top wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan to a broken foot earlier in the year. Wide receiver Evan Stewart missed Saturday’s game after battling an undisclosed injury and later being arrested on a DUI charge. Receivers Jalen Lott and Messiah Hampton also were out.

Oregon’s previous two games — the 17-12 loss to UCLA and a 17-15 win over Nebraska — were a roller coaster of quarterback play.

Raiola, who threw for 4,819 yards and 31 touchdowns as a two-year starter at Nebraska, completed 6 of 19 passes for 43 yards and two interceptions against UCLA before Oregon benched him for fellow backup Brock Thomas. The Ducks started Thomas against Nebraska but then put Raiola in for the fourth quarter.

Raiola led them to that win but couldn’t come through late Saturday to prevent the upset. He finished 27 of 41 for 246 yards.

Illini players said the win gave them a needed boost as they eye the final five games of the season. They next play at Maryland on Oct. 31.

“That’s who we are,” Laughery said. “That’s our team. That’s what we’re capable of and even more so. That sets the standard for the second half of the season.”