>>Illini Race Past Western
Wes Lunt threw for 316 yards and a touchdown Saturday to lead Illinois to its second-straight blowout win, 44-0 over Western Illinois.
Lunt had 240 yards by halftime and Illinois (2-0) carried a 30-0 lead to the locker room.
Geronimo Allison was Lunt's favorite target with eight catches for 124 yards.
Western Illinois (1-1) was coming off a 35-3 win over fellow Football Championship Subdivision school Eastern Illinois. But the step up to a Big Ten team was a struggle. The Leathernecks finished the day with 141 total yards.
The win was the second straight for interim coach Bill Cubit after beating Kent State 52-3. Cubit took over after Tim Beckman was fired last month.
The shutout was Illinois' first since a 44-0 win over Charleston Southern in 2012.
>>Illinois State Crushes Morgan State
Tre Roberson tied a career high with four touchdown passes and Marshaun Coprich ran for three scores to lead Illinois State to a 67-14 victory over Morgan State on Saturday night.
It was the Redbirds' highest scoring output since beating Indiana State 69-17 on Oct. 13, 2007.
Roberson completed 9 of 13 passes for 259 yards and Coprich finished with 130 yards rushing on 20 carries. Anthony Warrum had five catches for 126 yards and a career-high three touchdowns for Illinois State (1-1).
Coprich tied Toby Davis' school record for total touchdowns (39) and broke his record for rushing touchdowns (37).
Three Morgan State players combined to complete 11 of 25 passes for 122 yards.
Illinois State's Sean Slattery kicked field goals of 48, 41 and 44 yards.
The Redbirds forced three turnovers and finished with 513 total yards while the Bears (0-2) had just 268.
>>Northwestern Shuts Out Eastern Illinois
As heard on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com, redshirt freshman Clayton Thorson threw his first career touchdown pass and ran one in himself for the second straight game to lead Northwestern to a 41-0 rout of Eastern Illinois on Saturday.
Justin Jackson and Warren Long also rushed for scores as the Wildcats had their way on the ground and in the air against the Panthers.
Thorson completed 11 of 16 passes for 152 yards, including a throw to Austin Carr who ran in his first collegiate touchdown off a pass to complete a 44-yard play early in the second half.
Matthew Harris intercepted Eastern Illinois' Jalen Whitlow twice. His second pick, with 1:08 left in the third quarter, resulted in a wide-open 71-yard touchdown return.
Jake Mitchell added a pair of field goals as Northwestern followed up on a tight 16-6 upset of then No. 21 Stanford last week by limiting Eastern Illinois to 138 total yards.
>>Ohio State Still No. 1 But Not Unanimous
The SEC lost three of its record 10 teams in the AP Top 25 after a week two that saw both Arkansas fall to Toledo in Little Rock, Tennessee let a 17-point lead slip away at home against Oklahoma and Auburn, the SEC West favorite, needing overtime to beat Jacksonville State.
The biggest movement this week was Auburn dropping 12 spots to No. 18 after that win against Jacksonville State. BYU moved up eight spots to No. 19 to make its debut in the top 25.
Northwestern moves into the Top 25 at No. 23 after wins against Stanford and Eastern Illinois.
Michigan State jumped to 4th in the country after a win over Oregon Saturday night. Oregon dropped to No. 12.
