SIU knocks off Big Ten foe

~ The Salukis' win at Indiana marked a first for the Division I-AA Gateway Conference.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Nick Hill threw four touchdown passes and Arkee Whitlock scored on a 9-yard TD run with 5:50 left to lift Southern Illinois to a 35-28 win over Indiana on Saturday.

The Salukis (2-0), a Division I-AA playoff team the last three seasons, ended a 20-game losing streak against I-A foes. Their last win came Oct. 29, 1983 against New Mexico State. It also marked the first time a team from the Gateway Conference defeated a Big Ten opponent.

Indiana (2-1) gave up 254 yards rushing and blew a 14-0 first-half lead. The Hoosiers played without coach Terry Hoeppner, who had brain surgery Wednesday, and also were missing top receiver James Hardy. Hoeppner announced Hardy's two-game suspension Tuesday.

Interim coach Bill Lynch started Kellen Lewis at quarterback. He finished 20-of-40 for 238 yards with one touchdown, one interception and was sacked twice on the Hoosiers' final scoring chance.

The Salukis allowed only 76 yards on the ground.

After a slow start, Southern Illinois' strong running game and Hill's heroics rallied Southern Illinois.

Indiana scored on its first two possessions, and Hill's 5-yard TD pass to Braden Jones just before halftime made it 14-7.

The Hoosiers took a 21-7 lead in the third quarter, and then Hill took over.

He hooked up with Ryan Kernes for a 7-yard TD pass on third-and-goal to make it 21-14 and tied the score with an 8-yard TD pass to Alan Turner late in the third quarter.

After the teams traded touchdowns early in the fourth, Justin Allen made an over-the-shoulder catch for 33 yards on third-and-11. Three plays later, Whitlock was untouched on his touchdown run to give the Salukis a 35-28 lead.

The Hoosiers got to the Salukis' 32 with 3:08 left, but Lorenzo Wims sacked Lewis twice to end the threat.

Hill finished 10-of-18 for 142 yards, while Whitlock carried 23 times for 103 yards.

Syracuse 31, Illinois 21

Taj Smith made his first start count for Syracuse Saturday.

The junior receiver picked up a dropped ball and ran 41 yards for a touchdown and scored again on a 65-yard pass as the Orange ended an 11-game losing streak with a 31-21 win over Illinois.

"We needed it in the worst way and we found a way to pull it off," said Syracuse coach Greg Robinson.

The Orange led 31-7 after three quarters as they also ended a seven-game road losing streak with their first win since beating Buffalo 31-0 the second game of last season.

Illinois (1-2) hurt itself with 12 penalties for 106 yards, including three that stopped a second-quarter drive. After moving 50 yards to the Syracuse 30, the Illini were flagged for an illegal block, holding and a personal foul that left them facing third-and-30. Tim Brasic threw downfield, but A.J. Brown intercepted at the 17.

"Those penalties are ridiculous," Illinois coach Ron Zook said.

The Illini fell behind 31-7 before coming to life late in the game behind the throwing arm of freshman quarterback Juice Williams. He threw TD passes of 76 yards to Rashard Mendenhall and 69 yards to Kyle Hudson and finished 9-of-16 for 227 yards after replacing starter Tim Brasic early in the third quarter.

That fueled talk that Williams could be the starter next week against Iowa.

"I'm not ready to say he's the guy, but I am ready to say he deserves the playing time that he's been getting," Zook said. "Each time he steps on the field he gets better and better. It's exciting to watch him improve."