SATURDAY’S BIG TEN GAMES

Illinois 31, Kent State 24

CHAMPAIGN, ILL.

Illinois defeated Kent State to extend its home-opener win streak to 21 games, the fourth-longest in the nation. Illinois quarterback AJ Bush Bush passed for 190 yards on 23 attempts, and rushed for 139 yards on 21 carries. Reggie Corbin carried 10 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns for the Illini (1-0), while Mike Esptein and RaVon Bonner added rushing touchdowns. Woody Barrett, announced by first-year Kent State coach Sean Lewis as the starting quarterback at game time, was 28-of-41 passing for 270 yards and two touchdowns. He threw an interception late when Illinois linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips picked off a short pass into the end zone that would have tied it with less three minutes remaining. Barrett also was the leading rusher for the Golden Flashes with 18 carries for 117 yards and one touchdown. Mike Carrigan rushed for 62 yards on eight carries and a touchdown for Kent State (0-1).

Rutgers 35, Texas State 7

PISCATAWAY, NJ

Raheem Blackshear and Jonathan Hilliman had two touchdowns apiece to lead Rutgers past Texas State. Hilliman did almost all his damage on the ground with 60 yards on 15 carries and Blackshear, a fellow running back, led Rutgers in catches with seven for 56 yards and a touchdown to go along with 62 rushing yards and a score. Freshman quarterback Art Sitkowski had an up-and-down day for Rutgers, going 20 for 29 for 205 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. The second was a pick-6 by Kordell Rodgers, returning it 51 yards to make it 21-7 midway through the third quarter. Right before halftime with a 21-0 lead, Sitkowski threw a red zone interception — his first of the day — after leading his team down the field from its 1-yard line Texas State was led by sophomore quarterback Will Jones III, who was making his first collegiate start. He went 6 of 19 for 79 yards and an interception while also rushing for 33 yards on 14 carries before being replaced by freshman Tyler Vitt in the fourth quarter.

Iowa 33, Northern Illinois 7

IOWA CITY, IOWA

Nate Stanley threw for 108 yards and a touchdown, coach Kirk Ferentz passed mentor Hayden Fry as Iowa’s all-time leader in wins and the Hawkeyes rolled past Northern Illinois. Ferentz, in his 20th season as Iowa’s head coach, now has 144 victories with the Hawkeyes (1-0). Fry, who counted Ferentz among his assistants for nearly a decade, went 143-89-6 in 20 seasons before Ferentz took over in 1999. After a very sluggish start, Stanley found Noah Fant for a 1-yard TD reception midway through the third quarter to make it 10-0. Ivory Kelly-Martin’s 2-yard run pushed Iowa’s lead to 17, and Toren Young’s 6-yard TD rush put the Hawkeyes ahead 24-0 early in the fourth quarter. Marcus Childers threw for 105 yards and a late TD for Northern Illinois (0-1), which had won four of its last five against Power Five opponents.

Indiana 38, FIU 28

MIAMI

Peyton Ramsey threw for three touchdown passes to lead Indiana to a victory over Florida International. The Hoosiers overcame a 7-0 first quarter deficit and scored three unanswered touchdowns. Ramsey completed 20 of 27 for 156 yards. Indiana broke a 7-7 tie and took the lead for good on Jonathan Crawford’s 33-yard interception return for a touchdown with 4:01 remaining in the first quarter. Backup Michael Penix replaced Ramsey in the second half and threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Mike Majette. Penix led the Hoosiers on another scoring drive which ended on Logan Justus’ 36-yard field goal for a 38-21 lead with 9:58 remaining in the fourth quarter. Florida International’s Anthony Jones rushed for 88 yards on 15 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 36 and two yards.

Associated Press