On the same weekend that the Syracuse football team became bowl-eligible, former Orange quarterback Tommy DeVito helped Illinois achieve that milestone as well.
DeVito — who left Illinois’ previous game with an ankle injury — was 25-for-32 passing for 252 yards and a touchdown as the Illini beat Minnesota 26-14 on Saturday. Illinois improved to 6-1 on the season, 3-1 in the Big Ten, and became bowl-eligible. It was the fifth consecutive win for Illinois, which entered the game ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll and improved to No. 18 in the poll released on Sunday.
“We’re going bowling in October, and that’s a really good feeling,” DeVito told The Associated Press. “But I don’t think that’s the team’s goal. I think we want to go way past that. But it’s just another notch in our belt.”
Here’s a look at how some other transfers from Syracuse University fared this weekend:
Luke Benson, TE, Georgia Tech: Bye week
Geoff Cantin-Arku, LB, Memphis: Cantin-Arku had a team-leading 11 tackles plus a sack, 1.5 tackles for a loss and one pass defended, but Memphis lost in overtime to East Carolina, 47-45.
Curtis Harper, DL, Akron: Harper had one solo tackle in the Zips’ 28-21 home loss to Central Michigan.
Jarveon Howard, RB, Alcorn State: Howard rushed 22 times for 79 yards in the Braves’ 21-17 loss at Southern.
Jawhar Jordan, RB, Louisville: Bye week.
Lee Kpogba, LB, West Virginia: Kpogba had seven tackles — six solo — as well as a sack and a tackle for a loss as the Mountaineers beat Baylor, 43-40.
Cooper Lutz, RB, Vanderbilt: Lutz did not play in the Commodores’ 55-0 loss against No. 1 Georgia.
