CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois opened the Lovie Smith era with a dominant 52-3 win over Murray State in front of 48,644 fans at Memorial Stadium. A big-play attack from the Illini offense led to three touchdowns of 50+ yards in the first half as Illinois built a 35-3 halftime lead.
Wes Lunt threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns and Kendrick Foster ran for a pair of 56-yard touchdowns to give new Illinois coach Lovie Smith his first win, 52-3 over Murray State.
Ahead of his first game at Illinois, Smith preached defense and takeaways, just as he did in a long career as an NFL head coach.
On Saturday, the Illini heeded his words early and took control of the game.
A pair of first quarter interceptions off quarterback KD Humphries led to two touchdown passes from Lunt and a quick 14-0 lead.
Illinois sacked Murray State (0-1) quarterbacks Humphries and Cameron Birsesix times and held the Racers to 165 total yards. With -10 rushing yards on 26 carries, Murray State's run game was all but invisible.
Lunt to Turner
On his third pass of the game, senior quarterback Wes Lunt got the Illini on the board in the first quarter, connecting with junior Malik Turner for a five-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. The following drive, the pair hooked up for a 68-yard touchdown, giving the Illini an early 14-0 advantage.
Lunt finished the day 15-of-21 passing for 226 yards and 3 TDs, while Turner hauled in three passes for 83 yards and 2 TDs. This was the junior receiver's first multi-touchdown game of his career.
Foster for 56 (twice)
After Illinois managed just 35 rushing yards as a team in the first quarter, junior running back Kendrick Foster exploded for 112 yards in the second quarter. In the last five minutes of the half, the Peoria, Illinois, native broke two 56-yard touchdown runs, giving the Illini a 35-3 halftime lead.
Foster finished the day with 118 yards on four carries and two scores, his first multi-touchdown game of his career. He set the Illinois record with 29.5 yards per carry, breaking Abe Woodson's mark of 25.3 (3-78) set against Iowa State in 1955.
Foster's previous career high for rushing yards in a game came last November against Minnesota (56).
Nickerson's Debut
Senior linebacker Hardy Nickerson made an immediate impact in his Illinois debut, leading the team with 11 tackles (8 solo). Going back to his time at Cal, Nickerson has recorded double-digit tackles in nine straight games. In his last three games, the linebacker has totaled 38 tackles (16, 11, 11).
A Lot of Love for Lovie
48,644 fans piled in to Memorial Stadium for Lovie Smith's debut, the highest mark for a Fighting Illini nonconference game since September 17, 2011, against Arizona State (50,669). The number is also the highest in a home opener since September 11, 2012 against Southern Illinois (52,217).
Team Notes
- Illinois opened its 127th season with a 52-3 win over Murray State. The Illini are 598-566-51 all-time and 80-42-5 in openers.
- The crowd marked Illinois' best nonconference attendance since Sept. 17, 2011 against Arizona State (50,669).
- Illinois' best home-opener attendance since Sept. 11, 2010 against Southern Illinois (52,217).
- Illinois head coach Lovie Smith returned to college football for the first time since the 1996 Florida Citrus Bowl, when he was an assistant at Ohio State.
- Lovie Smith earned his first victory as Illini head coach.
- Illinois is 57-27-4 when opening at home. The Illini have won their last 11 season-openers at Memorial Stadium dating back to 1997.
- Illinois has 19 consecutive home-opening wins, the fourth-longest active streak behind Florida (26), Oklahoma State (21) and Wisconsin (20). (updated at 7:10 p.m…Florida game in progress)
- Illinois held Murray State to -10 yards rushing. Last time an opponent had negative rushing yards against Illinois was Western Michigan (-6) in 2012.
- Illinois scored on five of seven first-half drives. Only one scoring drive was longer than 2:00. Only one scoring drive was more than four plays.
- 10 Illini caught a pass and six Illini rushed the ball. Seven Illini were targeted twice or more, while only TE Caleb Reams was targeted as many as five times.
Individual Notes
- Wes Lunt's 68-yard touchdown pass to Malik Turner in the first quarter was the longest play of both players' career.
- LB Hardy Nickerson led Illinois with 11 tackles. He has 10+ tackles in seven of his last nine games (including games at California).
- RB Kendrick Foster's 29.5 yards per rush set an Illinois record. The previous record was 25.3 by Abe Woodson vs. Iowa State in 1955 (3-76). Foster had two 56-yard touchdown runs and set a career high with 118 total rushing yards on four carries.
- RB Reggie Corbin ran seven times for 71 yards and one touchdown in his first career game.
- Seven Illini true freshmen played in the game: RB Tre Nation, DL Tymir Oliver, DL Kenyon Jackson, LB Jake Hansen, OL Darta Lee, WR Dominic Thieman, LB Dele Harding
- OL Darta Lee became the first Illini true freshman to start on the offensive line in the season opener in at least 20 seasons.
- WR Malik Turner led the Illini with 83 receiving yards and two touchdowns, both in the first quarter.
- DL Gimel President led Illinois with 2.0 sacks and 3.0 TFLs. Carroll Phillips also registered 3.0 TFLs.
