BTN.com staff, October 8, 2011
Nathan Scheelhaase threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 95 yards and one touchdown, leading No. 16 Illinois to a 41-20 victory over Indiana on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Illinois' (6-0) offense dominated, ripping off huge chunks of yardage. The Fighting Illini burned Indiana's (1-5) defense for six plays of more than 20 yards. With 5:20 to go in the first quarter, Scheelhaase found A.J. Jenkins open for a 77-yard touchdown pass, Illinois' longest play on the day. The score cut the Hoosiers' lead to 10-7.
Indiana racked up 316 total yards, including 217 yards passing while completing 17 of 36 attempts. The Hoosiers' rushing attack contributed just 99 yards to the total, with the tally coming on 41 carries.
The Fighting Illini racked up 525 total yards. In addition to Scheelhaase's efforts through the air, Illinois also rushed 53 times for 314 yards.
Also: BOX SCORE | PLAY-BY-PLAY | AP RECAP
Read our in-game quarter-by-quarter recaps below.
FOURTH QUARTER: Illinois racked up 106 rushing yards in the fourth, and the Fighting Illini finished off Indiana 41-20.
The Hoosiers closed the gap to 34-20 when Tre Roberson kept it himself for a two-yard touchdown run to cap off an 82-yard drive.
Illinois opened up the lead, 41-20, after Jason Ford ran one yard to paydirt to end
THIRD QUARTER: Illinois ran for 95 yards in the quarter, and the Fighting Illini now lead 34-13. Indiana has given up the last 20 points.
Illinois expanded its lead to 34-13 thanks to a nine-play, 54-yard drive that ended when Nathan Scheelhaase scrambled for a nine-yard touchdown run. The Fighting Illini threw just two times on that possession.
Illinois will start the fourth quarter with the ball on the Hoosiers' 49-yard line.
SECOND QUARTER: Illinois scored 13 points in the quarter, and the Fighting Illini now lead 27-13. Illinois threw for 95 yards and ran for 78 yards in the quarter.
The Fighting Illini are currently on a 13-point run.
Indiana made the score 14-13 after Mitch Ewald kicked a 20-yard field goal to finish off a one-yard drive. The Hoosiers started in good field position at Illinois' four-yard line when Indiana recovered a fumble.
The Fighting Illini opened up the lead, 20-13, after marching down the field for a nine-play, 74-yard drive that ended when Nathan Scheelhaase threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Jon Davis.
Illinois added to its advantage when Scheelhaase tossed a 67-yard touchdown to A.J. Jenkins , capping off a five-play, 97-yard drive to give the Fighting Illini the lead, 27-13.
Illinois' Jenkins hauled in two catches for 92 yards in the quarter to put him over 150 yards receiving for the game. Jenkins has 170 yards on the day so far.
The Fighting Illini will receive to start the second half.
FIRST QUARTER: A.J. Jenkins had a productive quarter for No. 16 Illinois. He caught two passes for 78 yards and one touchdown and the Fighting Illini lead 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Illinois got things going through the air in the quarter, passing for 78 yards. The Fighting Illini are currently on a 14-point run.
Indiana made the score 7-0 when Shane Wynn returned a kickoff for a touchdown. The Hoosiers made their lead 10-0 when Mitch Ewald drilled a 44-yard field goal on the last play of a six-play, 31-yard drive.
A 76-yard drive that ended when Nathan Scheelhaase tossed a 77-yard touchdown to Jenkins helped Illinois narrow the deficit to 10-7.
The Fighting Illini made the score 14-10 when Illinois recovered a fumble in the endzone.
Indiana will start the second quarter with possession on its own 40-yard line.
Editor's note: Working with our partners at Stats LLC and Narrative Science, we update this story with game details after every quarter. Bookmark it now and come back throughout the game as this game story grows and we sprinkle selected tweets in, too.
http://twitter.com/#!/IlliniFootball/status/122714543762841600
