Sept. 25, 1999

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - If there's a Big Ten team with a better rush defense than Michigan State, Illinois coach Ron Turner would like to see it.

On second thought, no, he doesn't. This game was quite enough, thank you.

The Spartans held the Illini to a measly 42 yards rushing Saturday while Lloyd Clemons rushed for a career-high 141 yards and T.J. Duckett scored twice in No. 19 Michigan State's 27-10 victory in a Big Ten opener.

"They're as good a defensive team as we'll probably see," Turner said. "Penn State is about as good as it gets defensively, but I don't know how anybody could be better than this."

Michigan State coach Nick Saban said earlier in the week that he wanted his Spartans (4-0) to be as relentless as Freddy Krueger, the "Nightmare on Elm Street" character who stalks victims in their dreams. And his defense lived up - or down - to that request.

The Spartans are giving up less than 52 yards rushing a game, and still have yet to give up a touchdown on the ground this season. The Illini (3-1) forced four turnovers - three interceptions and one fumble recovery - but all they got out of them was Neil Rackers' 52-yard field goal attempt that hit the left upright and bounced wide.

Illinois didn't pick up a first down in the second half until there was less than three minutes to play in the third quarter. The Illini's only touchdown was practically irrelevant, as Kurt Kittner hit Elmer Hickman for a 1-yard score to cut the Spartans lead to 24-10 with 7:32 left in the game.

Rackers also connected on a 44-yard field goal with 9:42 left in the first half cut Michigan State's lead to 7-3, but he couldn't convert on a 52-yard attempt.

Kittner, who came into the game ranked third in the nation in pass efficiency, was 30-of-54 for 323 yards and one touchdown. He also had a pass intercepted for the first time this season.

"We played real well, but we broke down a couple of times and I really think we could have played better," Michigan State safety Richard Newsome said. "We knew if everybody played with discipline, we could take them out of their offense. We just don't take plays for granted."

Michigan State is 4-0 for just the second time since 1966. They also have now beaten the Illini five straight times, the longest Michigan State winning streak in the series.

"It's not defeating," Kittner said. "We're 3-1. We still have a good record. It's not the end of the world. We'll get past it."

While the Michigan State defense was impressive, the Spartans offense still has some work to do. Their 163 yards rushing is deceptive because Clemons accounted for 141 of those, and the offense lost all four of their miscues.

Quarterback Bill Burke looked sloppy at times but sharp at others. The ball he had intercepted was underthrown, and his longest pass of the day was 25 yards.

But he also threaded a pass between two Illini defenders to Plaxico Burress for a 15-yard pickup in the first half when the Spartans faced first-and-20 after an illegal-blocking penalty. Five plays later, he found Ivory McCoy wide open for a 22-yard score that gave Michigan Sate a 14-3 lead with 6:25 left in the first half.

Burke finished 12-of-25 for 152 yards, with three interceptions.

"The offense is definitely not functioning as well as it could be," Burke said. "We have a long ways to go in maintaining consistency. We have to clean everything up at some point."

Michigan State also scored on Duckett's runs of 2 and 6 yards. Paul Edinger stayed perfect this season, making three extra-point attempts and field goals of 45 and 54 yards.

"We made a lot of mistakes today," Saban said. "(But) it's a Big Ten win, it's a win on the road. We wanted to prove we could play with consistency and be a little more relentless as competitors."