Illinois Fighting Illini vs Indiana Hoosiers Match Player Stats On Oct 08, 2011

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 8, 2011

Nathan Scheelhaase erupted for 306 total yards of offense and threw his hat in the Heisman ring, pacing Illinois to a 41-20 thumping of Indiana at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

The 16th-ranked Fighting Illini remain undefeated (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) and improved to 45-22-2 all-time versus the Hoosiers (1-5, 0-2 Big Ten), including a 15-13-1 record in Bloomington. The last time Illinois was 6-0 was 1951, when it last won the national championship.

Scheelhaase kept the IU defense guessing all game, connecting on three touchdowns passes while adding 95 yards and a score on the ground. For the day, Illinois rushed for 314 yards, getting 50-plus rushing yards from four different players.

The Hoosiers opened the game with a bang, getting a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown from Shane Wynn. Indiana had the early momentum, until Illinois’ Whitney Mercilus sacked quarterback Dusty Kiel and forced a fumble that was scooped up a taken 66 yards for a touchdown by Tavon Wilson.

Kiel, who started ahead of injured Edward Wright-Baker, was replaced by third-stringer Tre Roberson in the second half. The two combined for 217 yards passing. Roberson scored his first career touchdown on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Illinois receiver A.J. Jenkins caught six balls for 186 yards, including two scores of 67 and 77 yards in the first half.

Illinois picked up two fumbles and grabbed one interception and now has forced at least one turnover in 21 straight games going back to Nov 14, 2009.