PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Luke Altmyer found Pat Bryant for a catch-and-run 40-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left, sending No. 24 Illinois to a wild 38-31 victory over Rutgers on Saturday.

Illinois (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) was down 31-30 when it sent long kicker Ethan Moczulski out for a desperation 58-yard field goal with 14 seconds to go. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano then called for a timeout right before Moczulski’s attempt was wide left and about 15 yards short.

After the missed field goal was waved off by the timeout, Illinois coach Bret Bielema sent his offense back on the field. Altmyer hit Bryant on an in cut on the left side at the 22, and he continued across the field and scored untouched in a game that featured three lead changes in the final 3:07.

Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) gave up a safety on the final kickoff return, throwing a ball out of bounds in the end zone as players passed it around hoping for a miracle touchdown.

Altmyer was 12-of-26 passing for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant finished with seven receptions for 197 yards.

Altmeyer put Illinois in front with a 30-yard TD run with 3:07 to go. He passed to Josh McCray on the 2-point conversion, making it 30-24.

Rutgers responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive. Athan Kaliakmanis had a 15-yard run on fourth down. He passed to running back Kyle Monangai for a 13-yard TD with 1:08 remaining.

Illinois then drove 75 yards in eight plays for the unexpected win.

Kaliakmanis was 18-for-36 for 174 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 13 carries for 84 yards and two TDs. Monangai had a career-high 28 carries for 122 yards.

Kaliakmanis found Ian Strong for a 2-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the first half, and he scored on a 1-yard run to lift Rutgers to a 24-15 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Illinois responded with Aidan Laughery‘s 8-yard TD run, setting up the roller-coaster finish.

The start of the second half was delayed because of a scrum between the teams. There were no punches thrown, and the officials called penalties on both schools.

Monangai become the third player in Rutgers history to rush for 3,000 yards when he picked up 4 yards on a third-and-1 carry early in the second quarter. The defending conference rushing champion joins Ray Rice and Terrell Willis in hitting the mark.

The great finish keeps the Illini in line for their first nine-win season since 2007 and a prestigious bowl game this season.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Coach Billy Napier and his team did something no one at Florida had done in nearly two decades. It could be the turning point for a once-proud program that clearly slipped in recent years.

DJ Lagway threw two touchdown passes, Montrell Johnson ran for 127 yards and a score, and the Gators upset No. 9 Mississippi 24-17 on Saturday to knock the Rebels out of College Football Playoff contention.

Florida (6-5, 4-4 SEC), which topped LSU last Saturday in the Swamp, beat ranked teams in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2008.

“We’re just getting started,” said Napier, who is expected back for a fourth season in 2025. “This is part of the big-picture journey. Belief is the most powerful thing in the world.”

It marked Florida’s second-largest upset win in the past 45 seasons, behind a victory at No. 16 LSU in 2016 (14-point underdogs). It also was the Gators’ first win as a double-digit home underdog in the past 45 seasons.

Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3), which closed as a 13.5-point favorite at ESPN BET, lost for the first time in four games and surely will drop out of the 12-team playoff picture. The Rebels ranked ninth in the latest CFP rankings and needed only to avoid stumbling down the stretch against Florida and lowly Mississippi State to clinch a spot in the playoff field.

“Obviously a lot was at stake, and we didn’t come through,” coach Lane Kiffin said. “A lot of missed opportunities.”

Kiffin’s team had a miscue-filled day: 0-for-3 on trips inside the red zone; a season-high three turnovers; 3-for-14 on third downs; and a season-high five dropped passes despite perfect weather.

“Very unusual,” Kiffin said.

Still, Ole Miss had chances late. But Jaxson Dart threw interceptions to end the team’s last two drives. Bryce Thornton, beaten for a touchdown in the first half, picked off both. The second one came with 17 seconds remaining and set up a raucous celebration by defenders in the end zone.

Dart completed 24 of 41 passes for 323 yards, with two TDs and the two picks. He was sacked four times and also scrambled 14 times for a team-high 71 yards.

“You look at the way we played, we had a chip on our shoulder for sure,” Florida defensive tackle Cam Jackson said.

Dart, meanwhile, apologized for the performance.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry to my teammates. I’m sorry to my coaches. Sorry for the fans,” he said. “Can’t lose these games. This one’s going to hurt for a really long time. That’s all I can really say. I’m sorry.”

The Rebels probably would have had a comfortable lead had it not been for repeated failures inside the 20-yard line. Defensive tackle J.J. Pegues, a 325-pound wrecking ball out of the backfield, was stopped on two fourth-down runs inside the 20-yard line, and Caden Davis missed a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Ole Miss’ drops were egregious, including at least three that probably would have been touchdowns.

Florida was much more efficient. Lagway completed 10 of 17 passes for 180 yards, with an interception. He made three throws with defenders draped all over him.

“Those were the plays of the game,” Napier said.

Johnson had a few of those, too. His 9-yard scoring run from the Wildcat formation was huge and came after he missed most of the past four games.

“I focused on grinding and trying to work my way back,” Johnson said. “Last week I got a couple carries, and this week I shot to the moon.”

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti didn’t think he needed to say it. Following Saturday’s 38-15 loss at Ohio State, do his upstart Hoosiers still belong in the 12-team playoff?

“Is that a serious question?” Cignetti responded defiantly. “I’m not even going to answer that one. The answer’s so obvious.”

Cignetti then smiled and nodded yes with a wink before exiting the postgame podium.

Tuesday will reveal whether the playoff selection committee agrees.

Indiana’s potential inclusion — or exclusion — figures to be the most controversial playoff storyline ahead of the final week of the regular season.

Before traveling to Columbus, the fifth-ranked Hoosiers (10-1) had been one of the most dominant teams in the country, reaching double-digit wins for the first time in program history.

They also became the first team since 1998 to start 8-0 without trailing once. All but one of the Hoosiers’ wins came by at least two touchdowns.

But the Hoosiers, who face 1-10 in-state rival Purdue next weekend, will finish without a top-25 win. Indiana’s strength of schedule ranked just 106th coming into the Ohio State game.

The Hoosiers scored a touchdown on their opening drive to take their first lead over Ohio State in five years.

But the Buckeyes rolled the rest of the way, holding Indiana to just 53 yards in the first half, its lowest total in a first half in 10 years, according to ESPN Research.

Ohio State led 31-7 before the teams traded meaningless touchdowns in the final two minutes. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who was second nationally in QBR (88.1), completed just 8 of 18 passes for 68 yards while taking five sacks.

“We couldn’t protect the quarterback,” Cignetti said. “Every time we dropped back to pass, something bad happened. … It was like a nightmare.”

Special teams proved to be nightmarish for the Hoosiers, as well.

Just before halftime, Indiana punter James Evans mishandled the snap and was tackled at the Hoosiers’ 7-yard line. The Buckeyes punched the ball in the end zone three plays later to take a 14-7 lead into half.

Then, following an Indiana three-and-out to begin the third quarter, Ohio State’s Caleb Downs returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown to ignite the onslaught. Indiana fell to 1-71 all time against AP top-five opponents, according to ESPN Research.

“We didn’t handle the noise very well,” Cignetti said of playing in Ohio Stadium. “We didn’t play our best game today. But I think a big part of that was because of them.”

The Hoosiers did get some help later Saturday afternoon.

Florida knocked off Ole Miss 24-17, effectively removing the ninth-ranked Rebels (8-3) from the playoff conversation. But both the Big 12 and ACC could have multiple teams vying for playoff consideration.

Still, Rourke said he believes Indiana’s overall body of work should show that the Hoosiers are worthy of an at-large playoff bid.

“I hope so. We trust ourselves against anybody,” said Rourke, adding that he hopes to get a rematch with Ohio State “at some point” in the playoffs.

“Next week is a big game,” Rourke said. “We’ve got to go handle Purdue, and then move on take one game at a time.”