PISCATAWAY -- John Van Brill did the highly improbable and the Rutgers wrestling team made just enough of the possible happen.

Van Brill erased a seven-point deficit with a pin and heavyweight Razohnn Gross' victory in a winner-take-all heavyweight bout sealed the deal for No. 11 Rutgers in a thrilling 19-17 victory against No. 12 Illinois in its first match of the season at the Rutgers Athletics Center.

In the final bout before the intermission, 157-pounder Van Brill trailed 7-0 against 2015 Big Ten third-place finisher Kyle Langenderfer. But Van Brill, who has four ranked wins, flipped the script with a second-period takedown that turned into a fall.

"I don't remember having one of those here," coach Scott Goodale said. "I don't remember being dominated 7-0 and coming back and having a fall. It's very rare."

The nine-point swing gave Rutgers a 13-6 lead. That was just enough.

"Last time I went down 6-0, I kind of hung my head a little bit," Van Brill said. "This time I kept my head up. I knew I could win the match. I was just looking for my opportunity."

Gross -- a former football player who was dismissed from the program with four then-teammates in September 2015 -- scored a 3-2 decision over Deuce Rachal. It was the signature moment in his comeback effort.

"It was really emotional," Gross said. "I knew my team needed me. I just love these guys. I'm so happy they accepted me into the program."

Rutgers (7-1, 2-0) was hurt when Anthony Giraldo lost a tight battle at 149 and Phil Bakuckas and Nicholas Gravina suffered back-to-back losses in sudden-victory periods.

Bakuckas -- who has suffered more than his fair share of heartbreaking losses against ranked opponents over the years -- held a 1-0 lead midway through the third period on No. 12 Zac Brunson.

But Brunson escaped to tie the score, then scored a takedown as a quiet match suddenly turned aggressive -- with wrestlers flipping onto their backs -- in overtime.

Whereas Bakuckas was shooting for a major upset, No. 11 Gravina dropped an 8-6 decision to No. 14 Emery Parker in a bout that was as even as the rankings suggest.

Rutgers true freshman Brandon Paetzell got a proper introduction to the lively crowd at the RAC with a thrilling finish to his 125 bout.

Trailing 1-0 until an escape with about 35 seconds remaining in the third period, Paetzell finished off the comeback with a two-point takedown just before the clock expired to force overtime.

Illinois lost a replay challenge, which only allowed the crowd to explode a second time when Paetzell's 3-1 decision was cemented.

As if feeding off the momentum, Scott DelVecchio scored a quick takedown to take the surprising lead over No. 4 Zane Richards.

The score was tied 5-5 at the end of the second period but Richards scored three third-period points and had riding time, which was enough to hold off DelVecchio when he scored a late two-point reversal.

Coming off a third-place finish at the Midland Championships, No. 6 Anthony Ashnault methodically took care of business with an 11-0 major decision that included a remarkable five minutes of riding time.

Ashnault, who was out of practice because of a 48-hour flu, improved to 15-3.

Goodale went with Giraldo over the higher-ranked 149-pounder Ken Theobold. Giraldo built a 3-1 lead but lost 5-3 as Illinois closed its deficit to 7-6 knowing it had two of its biggest weapons waiting in the wings.

"Every tournament we've been in, Giraldo has done a little better," Goodale said. "I know how good Kenny is. I know how dangerous Kenny is. I know how hard he wrestles. That's a very difficult decision for this staff: To not wrestle Kenny Theobold. But Giraldo earned that start tonight."

Out of the intermission, Illinois' two-time defending national champion Isaiah Martinez one-upped Ashnault -- his counterpart as the decorated star in the lineup -- by scoring five points. Martinez recorded a 24-8 technical fall against Willie Scott.

It was the first of three straight wins for Illinois (1-1, 0-1).

"We've got two guys who haven't won very much at the back of our lineup," Goodale said, "and it's coming down to them."

Matthew Correnti -- a true fresman just like Paetzell -- stopped the streak with a 16-12 decision at 197 pounds, setting up Gross to steal the spotlight.

Rutgers caught a break because Illinois did not wrestle nationally ranked heavyweight Brooks Black.

It was the second all-time meeting between the schools. Illinois prevailed, 24-9, at home on Jan. 9, 2015.

Rutgers opened its Big Ten schedule by beating Maryland before the New Year but is just hitting the grind, with a visit to No.4 Ohio State set for Sunday followed by next Friday's match at No. 3 Penn State.

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.