CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Matt Brown used his first collegiate start to post Illinois State's first 300-yard passing performance since 2006 but the aerial attack was overshadowed by 384 yards on the ground as Illinois ran past the Redbirds, 45-17, at Memorial Stadium Saturday night.
Brown, a redshirt freshman starting in place of the injured Drew Kiel, completed 27-of-47 passes for 312 yards and two scores - both to Eyad Salem. The mark was the first over 300 for an Illinois State (0-2) quarterback since Luke Drone threw for 305 yards against Missouri State, Nov. 4, 2006. Salem was one of nine Redbirds to catch a pass in the game and finished with a team-best seven catches for 103 yards.
Illinois (1-1) didn't waste any time moving the football on the ground as quarterback Juice Williams scrambled 49 yards on the Fighting Illini's first offensive play from scrimmage. Williams was lost for the game with a strained quadriceps muscle after the play, but it set-up a one-yard touchdown run by Jason Ford to give the Illini a 7-0 lead.
Illinois continued to run the ball with Eddie McGee guiding the offense under center and collected 136 yards on the ground while building a 24-0 lead by halftime. The Fighting Illini made it 31-0 with a 24-yard run by Daniel Dufrene early in the third quarter. Six different Illinois players ran the ball to contribute to the final rushing total. Ford led all rushers with 137 yards on 10 carries.
The Redbirds finally got on the board in the third quarter when Brown found Salem his first touchdown, a three-yard strike. That play was set-up by a 41-yard pass from Brown to Illinois State running back Geno Blow who was wide open coming out of the backfield. Illinois State added a 45-yard field goal by Zach Kutch later in the quarter to make it 31-10.
The 21-point margin was the closest the Redbirds would get as the Illini scored two more times on the ground. Brown found Salem again in the fourth quarter before leaving the game for freshman Matt Lancaster.
Defensively, Illinois State was led by Kelvyn Hemphill's 14 tackles. Redbird cornerback Chris Garrett notched his first career interception in the first half when he picked off McGee in the end zone. It marked the second time in consecutive games that the Redbird secondary has saved a touchdown with an interception. EJ Jones, Nick Broome and Kyle Siskowic finished the game with seven tackles each.
Salem moved into eighth place all-time with 106 career receptions and his two touchdown catches moved him into fifth all-time with 14 career touchdown catches. Ben Graves caught six passes for 65 yards and freshman Tyrone Walker caught five balls for 44 yards.
Illinois State will play at home for the first time this season when the Redbirds host Austin Peay at Hancock Stadium Saturday at 6:35 p.m. Tailgating begins at 3:30 p.m. with live music from Brushfire. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Redbird ticket office at 438-8000 or by visiting GoRedbirds.com.
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