Illini 27, Hoosiers 14

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall was too strong for the mistake-prone Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.

Mendenhall rushed for a career-high 214 yards and one touchdown, scored another on a TD reception and the Fighting Illini defense forced four turnovers and blocked a punt in a 27-14 victory at Indiana.

The Illini (3-1, 1-0) won their first Big Ten opener since 1993 by snapping a two-game losing streak to the Hoosiers, prompting coach Ron Zook to raise his arms as he walked off the field in front of the Illinois fans.

Indiana (3-1, 0-1) entered the game with the nation's seventh-best rushing offense but did little right. The Hoosiers managed only 134 yards rushing, gave up six sacks and fumbled the ball three times in its worst performance of the season.

Kellen Lewis, the nation's top runner among quarterbacks, ran 17 times for 35 yards and finished 26-of-51 for 263 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

But it wasn't nearly enough against Illinois, which used the combination of Mendenhall and Juice Williams to continually frustrate the Indiana defense.

Mendenhall ran 27 times and easily surpassed his previous career best of 162 yards set last October against Penn State.

Williams finished 13-of-28 for 98 yards with two TDs and two interceptions and kept the Hoosiers defense on its feet by running 11 times for 32 yards.

Illinois controlled the game from the start. Jason Reda kicked two early field goals and when Williams threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Michael Hoomanawanui early in the second quarter, it was 13-0.

Lewis answered late in the half with a 7-yard TD pass to James Hardy to get Indiana within 13-7.

Williams still had 2:04 left on the clock, enough time to methodically lead Illinois on a 68-yard scoring drive. The final play was a swing pass to Mendenhall, who made a nifty cut in the flat to get free for a 15-yard score and a 20-7 halftime lead.

Illinois sealed the win with 12:45 to go when Mendenhall powered in from 6 yards out, following an Indiana fumble, for a 27-7 lead.

Lewis threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to James Bailey, who slithered through the middle of the Illinois defense on his way the end zone, cutting the deficit to 27-14.

Indiana, which rallied from a 25-7 deficit last year in Champaign for a 34-32 victory, had a chance to come back again late. But Lewis was picked off in the end zone with about a minute left, and the Illini held on.