Illinois proved that bigger does mean better as the Illini used its size advantage at the line of scrimmage for a blowout victory.

The Illini ran behind its offensive line, which had a 44-pound per man advantage compared to the Panthers front four, for a total of 345 yards on 48 carries and six touchdowns that led to its 42-17 victory.

“It’s hard to put up that many rushing yards on anybody, I don’t care who you’re playing,” Illinois head coach Ron Zook said. “I thought our offensive line would be better and it was.”

The last time Illinois had six rushing TDs in a game was a 63-21 victory over Virginia in the 1999 Micronpc.com Bowl.

“We knew coming in we were going to give up a big size advantage and they would be better on the offensive line and it showed,” Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said. “It was just a big time front seven problem.”

Eastern’s defense only made the Illini punt the ball away twice all evening and its pair of turnovers in the second half ended any chance of a comeback.

“It was self-inflicted wounds on offense and turnovers,” Eastern acting head coach Mark Hutson said. “There were a lot of positives tonight in all phases and we can build off that, especially against a Big Ten team. But there was also a lot of negatives.”

The Illini used its trio of tailbacks, led by senior Pierre Thomas, who had 126 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. The last time the Lynwood native rushed for the century mark was Oct. 1, 2005, when he had 100 yards on 15 carries at Iowa.

“You could’ve drove a van through the holes the offensive line created,” Thomas said. “All of three of us hit them hard, too.”

The momentum completely shifted toward the Illini after freshman cornerback Vontae Davis intercepted a jump ball pass in the corner of the end zone that was intended for senior wide receiver Ryan Voss.

The 14-point swing was completed as the Illini went 80 yards in just over two and a half minutes to make the score 35-14.

“It felt good coming out of my hand,” Donato said. “Voss and I are usually pretty good at that but the defensive back made a great play on that one.”

The Illini (1-0) began the scoring when senior tailback E.B. Halsey ran a draw play up the middle and took it down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown. After the Panthers buried a punt inside the 10-yard-line, Illinois used a 12-play, 90-yard drive culminated by a 9-yard touchdown run by Thomas to go ahead 14-0 in the first quarter.

Eastern’s offense finally got started in its third drive as Donato found junior wide receiver Micah Rucker in the corner of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass.

“The gameplan was in that we were going to test them, especially their young corners,” Hutson said.

On consecutive pass plays, Rucker got behind Davis for a total of 58 yards. The Minnesota transfer ended the evening with 105 yards on four catches and a touchdown.

“He got beat twice that’s for sure,” said Zook about Davis. “Great corners take chances and that’s what you’re gonna get with a young guy like Vontae.”

The Illini’s third touchdown came from its third running back, as sophomore Rashard Mendenhall ended a 12-play, 61-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. During that series the Illini brought in freshman quarterback Isiah Williams and the All-American recruit ran the ball three times for 26 yards.

The Panthers (0-1) caught a break late in the second quarter when Williams took off on a scramble on the first play of his second drive. Williams avoided a sack and gained about 10 yards up the middle before Eastern linebacker Donald Thomas popped the ball loose and safety Seymour Loftman recovered it at the Illinois 33-yard line.

Eastern quickly converted the turnover into points when wide receiver Justin Duhai lofted a pass on a trick play that Voss wrestled away from Illini cornerback Alan Ball for a 33-yard touchdown that cut the score to 21-14.

Donato ended the game 8-of-14 for 134 yards and a touchdown but threw two interceptions and was taken out of the game for transfer Cole Stinson with 13:57 left in the game.

Stinson finished 3-of-7 for 20 yards in less than a quarter of action.

Eastern will have its home opener next Saturday against Indiana State at 6 p.m.