University of Illinois
1-0
Kent State
0-1
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Illinois | 28 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 52 |
@IlliniFootball Blows By Kent State, 52-3
September 5, 2015 | Football
Wes Lunt threw four touchdowns on 11-of-19 passing.
Champaign, Ill. - Everything went Illinois' way in a 52-3 victory Saturday over Kent State.
The defense narrowly missed its first shutout since September 2012. The Golden Flashes managed to kick a field goal in garbage time, but couldn't find the end zone. Kent State got within a yard of the goal line late in the second quarter, but a false-start penalty took a touchdown off the board and Illinois blocked a field-goal attempt two plays later.
That's generally the way things went for Illinois in its first game under interim coach Bill Cubit. From fourth-down conversions (2 for 2) to Kent State penalties (11, including two that negated touchdowns), when the Illini needed a break, they got one.
Quarterback Wes Lunt helped Illini by throwing four touchdowns on 11-of-19 passing to help open up a 38-0 lead at halftime.
How the game was won: Kent State was clearly overmatched, but turnovers quickly eliminated any chance of making this a respectable box score. Three times in the first half the Illini offense scored one play after intercepting Kent State quarterback Colin Reardon. A muffed punt recovered by Illinois in the first quarter provided another short field and a touchdown. Four of the team's first five scores came off of turnovers. The average starting field position for those drives was the Kent State 27-yard line.
Stat of the game: Illinois scored 45 points on its first 42 plays. Field position and big-chunk plays helped the Illini open up a big lead in an efficient offensive showing. Cubit's group finished with a modest 342 yards and didn't top the 300-yard mark until the final six minutes of the fourth quarter. The Illini scored 14 points on short fields in the first four minutes and never looked back.
Team Stats
KENT 0, ILL 7
ILL - White,Tyler 2 yd pass from Lunt,Wes (Zalewski,T. kick) 4 plays, 38 yards, TOP 1:33
KENT 0, ILL 14
ILL - Murdock,M. 34 yd pass from Lunt,Wes (Zalewski,T. kick) 1 plays, 34 yards, TOP 0:06
KENT 0, ILL 21
ILL - Ferguson,Josh 21 yd pass from Lunt,Wes (Zalewski,T. kick) 4 plays, 28 yards, TOP 1:39
KENT 0, ILL 28
ILL - Ferguson,Josh 11 yd run (Zalewski,T. kick), 1 plays, 11 yards, TOP 0:05
KENT 0, ILL 35
ILL - Allison, G. 34 yd pass from Lunt,Wes (Zalewski,T. kick) 1 plays, 34 yards, TOP 0:07
KENT 0, ILL 38
ILL - Zalewski,T. 43 yd field goal 4 plays, 4 yards, TOP 0:54
KENT 0, ILL 45
ILL - Vaughn,Ke'Shawn 1 yd run (Zalewski,T. kick), 11 plays, 73 yards, TOP 5:58
KENT 3, ILL 45
KENT - HYNES, Shane 43 yd field goal 10 plays, 26 yards, TOP 2:29
KENT 3, ILL 52
ILL - Mays,Sam 27 yd pass from Crouch,Chayce (Reisner,David kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:21
