Illinois Outlasts Texas State, College Roundup

(Champaign, IL) -- V'Angelo Bentley returned a pick 45 yards for a touchdown to cap a 17-point fourth quarter as Illinois beat Texas State 42-35 on Saturday. Wes Lunt threw for two scores and Josh Ferguson ran for two as the Fighting Illini improved to 3-1. Illinois is at Nebraska this Saturday.

College Football Roundup

Northwestern picked up its first win on Saturday by downing Western Illinois 24-7. The Wildcats play at Penn State next. Meantime Northern Illinois fell 52-14 at Arkansas on Saturday and is now 3-1. Notre Dame had the weekend off and returns Saturday against Syracuse.

At Charleston

Eastern Illinois set one rushing record and tied another as the Panthers won their 13th straight Ohio Valley Conference game with a 63-7 win over Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon at O'Brien Field.

EIU improved to 1-3, 1-0 in the OVC as the Panthers opened defense of their back-to-back OVC regular season titles.  APSU dropped to 0-3, 0-1 in the OVC as the Governors have now lost 15 straight games dating back to the 2012 season.  EIU returns to action next Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Ohio.  The win was the first collegiate win for first year EIU head coach Kim Dameron.

Quarterback Jalen Whitlow rushed for 137 yards on 15 carries with a pair of touchdowns.  He broke the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a game previously held by Joe Davis in 1968 against Bradley University.  Whitlow passed for 159 yards going 13-of-15 with two touchdowns.

The Panthers as a team rushed for 413 yards on 63 carries with six touchdowns as the tied the school record for rushing yards in a game set last season against Jacksonville State.  Ten different EIU players rushed the ball with Jimmy Lera adding two rushing touchdowns.  AJ Woodson and Malik Harrison each added a rushing touchdown as EIU played without Walter Payton Award candidate Shepard Little, out with an injury.  The six rushing touchdowns were the most for the Panthers since scoring seven on the ground against Indiana State in 2007.

Eastern Illinois junior quarterback Jalen Whitlow and junior defensive back Antonie Johnson were both winners of adidas Ohio Valley Conference Athlete of the Week Awards following the Panthers OVC opening win over Austin Peay.

Whitlow was named the co-Newcomer of the Week while Johnson won Special Teams Player of the Week.   EIU won its 13th straight OVC game with a 63-7 victory over APSU.   EIU plays at Ohio next Saturday with a 1 p.m. (Central) kickoff.

Whitlow, the transfer from Kentucky, set an Eastern Illinois record for rushing yards by a quarterback in carrying the ball 15 times for 137 yards (9.1 ypc) and two touchdowns in the team’s 63-7 victory over Austin Peay. The previous record had been 134 yards by Joe Davis in 1968. Whitlow was also efficient as a passer, completing 13-of-15 passes (86.7%) for 159 yards and two additional touchdowns. Overall EIU rushed for 413 yards (tying a school record set a season ago) and finished the day with 620 yards of total offense (10th-best in school history). Whitlow currently ranks fourth in the OVC in rushing (70.8 yards/game).  He shared Newcomer the Week honors with Dy'Shawn Mobley of Eastern Kentucky.  Whitlow and Mobley were teammates at Kentucky last season.

Johnson blocked a punt at the 12-yard line and recovered it in the end zone in the third quarter to extend the Eastern Illinois lead to 49-7 on its way to a 63-7 victory over Austin Peay. It was the first blocked punt for a score for the team since the second round of the FCS Playoffs a year ago. Johnson also added two solo tackles on defense.

Southeast Missouri's Kyle Snyder and Paul McRoberts were the co-Offensive Players of the Week helping SEMO beat No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana in the final seconds.   Ronnie Vinson of Tennessee State was the OVC Defensive Player of the Week as the Tigers beat Tennessee Tech.