Oberlin’s Hugh Thornton paved the way for freshman running back Donovonn Young, who ran for a pair of touchdowns, while Nathan Scheelhaase ran for two more on Saturday in a 56-3 blowout over South Dakota State.

Illinois hadn’t won this big since 1944, in a 79-6 crushing of Illinois-Normal played in front of 5,000 fans.

The 42,000 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday saw the Illini (2-0) score on seven consecutive drives between their first possession early in the opening quarter and a punt with 22 seconds left in the third, when they were already up by a comfy 46 points.

Illinois rolled up 519 yards of offense and allowed the Jackrabbits (1-1) just 96.

swalker@MorningJournal.com