Illinois and Michigan State met Saturday afternoon in a showdown of two teams trying to bounce back as we hit the final stretch of the season.

Heading into the half, Illinois carried a 21-9 lead and was able to keep Michigan State in check for much of the first half. However, a touchdown in the third quarter made the score 21-16 with a lot of life left in the game.

The rest of the game swung heavily in favor of the Illini with a fantastic closing performance from Bret Bielema’s squad. The defense was particularly important as they got after Jonathan Smith’s offense up front.

Illinois would score the final 17 points of the game and eventually cruise to the 38-16 win. Here are the key takeaways from that game:

Luke Altmyer stays clean

A key for Illinois all season long has been getting clean play out of its starting QB. In the recent losses to Oregon and Minnesota, Altmyer had 4 total turnovers leading to predictable final outcomes.

Against the Spartans, Altmyer was able to protect the football. He did not throw an interception and had just one fumble, but even that fumble was able to be kept with Illinois.

And, instead of the turnovers, Altmyer found some big plays in the passing game. He hit Pat Bryant with a 57-yard bomb to open the scoring and also delivered passes of 11, 12, 15 and 16 yards with 8 different Illini players recording a catch.

Altmyer finished the game 19-for-32 through the air with 231 passing yards and 2 touchdowns while also gaining 20 yards with his legs.

Aidan Chiles under duress

Aidan Chiles has had his struggles maintaining control of the ball this season. That has been a big issue in Michigan State’s losses this season, but he produced a promising effort against the Illini.

Chiles was able to finish the entire game without a single turnover, a particularly promising development against a ball-hawking secondary. Unfortunately, he was under duress time and time again by the Illinois defense.

Illinois ended the game with 5 sacks overall of Chiles, including 2 by Seth Coleman and 1.5 by Gabe Jacas. And that doesn’t count the times Chiles was forced to escape the pocket quickly after the snap.

Saturday’s performance illustrates the need Michigan State has to improve the trenches, but Chiles’ overall numbers of 23-for-40 for 256 yards and 2 touchdowns without a turnover should be viewed positively.

Josh McCray’s career game

Josh McCray did not rack up the yardage, but he was efficient on the afternoon. He finished with 61 rushing yards on 9 carries, good for an average of 6.8 yards per carry.

The big impact from McCray came in the touchdown department where he set a new career-high with a clean hat trick. Also important is the timing of McCray’s touchdowns.

With Illinois clinging to a 24-16 lead in the fourth quarter, McCray provided the Illini with a cushion on his 2nd score. Then, he delivered the punctuation mark, scoring his final touchdown with 1:56 remaining to guarantee a blowout.