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.
