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Illini receiver Jarred Fayson scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of Saturday's game.
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Oct. 23, 2010
Final Stats |
Quotes |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 1 
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Photo Gallery 2
Postgame Interviews: OC Paul Petrino | RB Mikel Leshoure | LB Nate Bussey | CB Patrick Nixon-Youman | Bandit Justin Staples
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase turned 123 yards of passing into a pair of touchdowns and the Fighting Illini returned interceptions for two more Saturday in a 43-13 rout of Indiana.
Illinois (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) led 27-10 at the half and held on through a sloppy, mostly defensive second half, all with the help of five Indiana turnovers.
The Illini talked all week about two keys to the Indiana game: blunting the effectiveness of quarterback Ben Chappell and, after losing the turnover battle and the game a week earlier at Michigan State, finding a way to separate the Hoosiers from the ball.
In a first half they couldn't have drawn up much better, the Illini did both.
Chappell averages just shy of 310 yards a game and is almost never sacked. He spent the first 30 minutes Saturday under pressure and, while sacked just once--a loss wiped out by a face mask penalty--he was hurried and hit often.
The senior quarterback had 178 yards at halftime, and Indiana had 227 total yards to Illinois' 164.
But the Illini forced three first-half turnovers, two of them Chappell interceptions and all of which led to points.
The first was a pick by defensive back Tavon Wilson deep in Hoosier territory that set up a Derek Dimke field goal for a 3-0 first-quarter lead.
The second and third were due in large part to Justin Staples, playing in the freelance pass-rushing position Illinois calls a bandit.
First, Staples stripped the ball out of Wildcat quarterback Dusty Kiel's arms, wrestling it away for linebacker Ian Thomas to grab at the Indiana 23. The Illini turned that into a 17-yard touchdown pass from Scheelhaase to Jarred Fayson and a 17-7 lead midway through the quarter.
Minutes later, Staples hit Chappell as the quarterback threw the ball, forcing it off target for backup defensive back Patrick Nixon-Youman to pick off on the run. Nixon-Youman glided 68 yards down the left sideline for another TD and, with 7:07 to play in the first half, a 24-7 lead.
A pair of late field goals made the score 27-10 at the half.
Illinois padded its lead at 29-10 with a third-quarter safety, blocking a Chris Hagerup punt in the Hoosier end zone.
Indiana pulled backed to within two touchdowns at 29-13 on Mitch Ewald's 21-yard field goal with 1:53 to play in the third quarter, but the Hoosiers never looked like they had the pieces still missing from a comeback in them.
The Hoosiers last four possessions ended with a punt, a pair of interceptions - one of them another return for a touchdown, this one 66 yards by Jonathan Brown - and the end of the game.
Chappell finished 26-48 with 279 yards and a touchdown for Indiana (4-3, 0-3) but threw three interceptions that buried the Hoosiers. Receiver Ted Bolser had four catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.
