Tommy DeVito went 17-of-25 passing for 196 yards and two touchdowns to lead Illinois to a 24-3 home win over Virginia in a nonconference contest on Saturday.
Chase Brown rushed for 146 yards on 20 carries for Illinois (2-1), which overcame four turnovers and 10 penalties for 71 yards to earn the win and rebound from a loss at Indiana last week.
Virginia (1-1) quarterback Brennan Armstrong struggled, going 13-of-32 passing with two interceptions and no touchdown passes.
Armstrong entered the game having thrown at least one touchdown pass in 18 straight games, but he was under pressure all game from the Illinois defense.
The Fighting Illini registered five sacks and pressured Armstrong constantly.
Illinois outgained Virginia 394-222 and held the Cavaliers to 1-for-16 on third-down conversion attempts.
Illinois reeled off 24 unanswered points after Brendan Farrell opened the scoring by kicking a 42-yard field goal with 11:20 left in the first quarter that gave Virginia a 3-0 lead.
Illinois took a 7-3 lead when Matthew Bailey recovered a muffed punt by Virginia and returned it four yards for a touchdown with 5:38 left in the first quarter.
Illinois took a 14-3 lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass from DeVito to Michael Marchese with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter. The score finished off a three-play, 57-yard drive.
The Fighting Illini then went up 21-3 four seconds into the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown pass from DeVito to Tip Reiman to finish off another short drive that went 69 yards in four plays.
From there, the defenses took over.
The only score of the third quarter came courtesy of Illinois kicker Caleb Griffin, who drilled a 23-yard field goal to give the Fighting Illini a 24-3 lead with 3:32 remaining in the third.
Illinois outrushed Virginia 198-42 and was 5-of-14 on third down.
–Field Level Media
