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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Lovie Smith has made no secret that Illinois defense was the strength of the team.On Saturday, the Illini proved him right, rolling up six sacks and pulling in a pair of decisive early interceptions in a 52-3 win over Murray State.Quarterback KD Humphries threw the two interceptions on the Racers first two drives, and both led to Wes Lunt touchdown passes and an early 14-0 Illini (1-0) lead.Its critical, its (a) winning edge, said Smith, who was coaching his first game at Illinois and first game as a college head coach. A lot of guys talk about it, but our guys believe in it, and thats the first step: to get people to buy into it.Illinois crushed the Racers run game, limiting Murray State to -10 yards on 26 carries.Murray State coach Mitch Stewart said he did not believe his team was overwhelmed by the idea of playing a Big Ten school, or facing a coaching staff led by a coach who led the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.I forgot my phone before the game, I was going to get a selfie with (Smith), Stewart joked.With Illinois defense keeping Murray State (0-1) in check, Illini quarterback Wes Lunt threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns heading to the bench in the third quarter.Kendrick Foster also ran for a pair of 56-yard touchdowns for Illinois. He carried the ball just four times for 118 yards.A year ago the Illini had just seen coach Tim Beckman fired, and Smith became their third coach in less than a year after Beckman-replacement Bill Cubit was fired.Smith said the win, no matter the opponent, meant a lot to the team .Were going to enjoy wins, period, no matter who its against, Smith said. But we realize its one, and tomorrow well be right back at it.THE TAKEAWAYMURRAY STATE: Stewart talked before the game about his hope that his team would not give in to nerves. Early, the Racers looked a little overwhelmed with dropped passes, stumbles by receivers and Humphries dangerous throws, including the two first quarter interceptions. In addition to pressure from Illinois, Humphries early struggles may have reflected that, Stewart said.His footwork was awful back there. I think he was just antsy, Stewart said.ILLINOIS: Illinois showed it can force turnovers, as Smith preaches, and turn them into points. And its clear the Illini have some big-play capability. But even with 287 rushing yards, Illinois never really opened the holes in the Murray State defense Smith has said he wants to see for starting tailback KeShawn Vaughn. The sophomore finished with 49 yards on 17 carries. And tougher opposition is on the way in North Carolina and Western Michigan before the Big Ten opener against Nebraska.FOSTERS CHOICETwo days after Illinois season-ending loss to Northwestern last November, Foster announced on Twitter that he planned to leave Illinois in search of more playing time. The redshirt junior later reversed course.Foster is the No. 2 running back on the Illini roster, but he had a career day Saturday. After his second long touchdown, he knelt on one knee.I was just so thankful. Im just finally getting the opportunity to display my talent and show what Peoria, Illinois, produces, the 5-9 back said.KEY NUMBERSMURRAY STATE: Those two early interceptions were Murray States only turnovers of the day, but they were big. Safety Julian Hylton intercepted Humphries less than a minute into the game, setting up a 5-yard Lunt scoring pass to Malik Turner. The Racers second possession ended with a Humphries interception by the other Illini safety, Taylor Barton. That pick was followed by a 68-yard Lunt-to-Turner strike and a 14-0 lead. The pass was Lunts longest college touchdown.ILLINOIS: Smith says linebacker Hardy Nickerson, the son of defensive coordinator Hardy Nickerson, is the quarterback of his defense. And the younger Nickerson looked the part Saturday. He had 11 tackles, a sack and one tackle for loss.INJURY REPORTIllinois starting center Joe Spencer missed the game with an unspecified injury. Smith declined to talk about it in detail but said its not a long-term injury.UP NEXTMURRAY STATE: The Racers open their home schedule against Missouri State on Saturday.ILLINOIS: Illinois faces a tough test and its first Top 25 opponent of the season when North Carolina visits Champaign on Saturday. The Tar Heels handled the Illini last season in Chapel Hill, 48-14.---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAPAssociated Press college football coverage: http://www.collegefootball.ap.org/ Cheap Air Max 270 Free Shipping . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Cheap Air Max 270 Wholesale .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. http://www.wholesaleairmax270australia.com/ . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Air Max 270 Australia . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Air Max 270 Australia Sale . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. The house that South Africa built to become the No.1 ranked Test team in the world had its foundations in winning away from home. They went 15 series and nine years undefeated in contests from the UK to the UAE before India outspun them exactly a year ago. A dramatic decline, a period of deep introspection and the mapping of a new direction followed and even though the top of the table is a long way away, South Africa want to start heading there by doing what they used to do best: rack up results on the road.The record we had away from home was remarkable. That was something we were incredibly proud of and then that changed. We went to India and we lost 4-0 there. We also lost a lot of experienced guys. But I think its going to be tough for any team traveling to India in the next two or three years. I expect that India are going to keep the No. 1 ranking certainly for the next year with all the home tests theyve got, du Plessis said But you cant just rely on playing well in your home conditions. The team thats No. 1 needs to play the best away from home. Thats something we need to start building up again.Australias (lack of ) home advantage has been a major theme in the build-up to this series, not least because it starts in Perth. The venue is not only so similar to the Wanderers that many in the South African squad feel completely at home, it is also the only Australian ground where South Africa have not lost a Test. South Africa also have a chance to climb to No. 3 on the Test rankings if they sweep the series 3-0.Still, South Africa remain a little wary of an Australian side who, like them, have returned from an away tour where they were embarrassed by the conditions as much as by the opposition, and may look to familiarity to restore their reputations.They will take comfort in the fact that they are playing in home conditions. When we went to India and we were a little bit scarred, we took comfort in coming home, du Plessis said.In the next breath, however, he warned Australia that they may not able to make amends for their mishaps in Sri Lanka purely because they are home, and he would know. South Africa lost their home series against England after their India thrashing because their form had fallen too far. It took time.dddddddddddd Some of the guys were not in form. That may be the case (for Australia as well).Australia have appeared reticent in the pre-series exchanges, refusing to indulge in slanging matches. Theyve left it to South Africa to issue threats about who they are targeting and how there may come a time to turn on their nasty sides. Du Plessis seems unsure about whether the silence will last and what will happen if it doesnt.When Ive played against Australia in the past they were probably the most verbal team in the world. That doesnt mean its bad or good. All it means is that is how they play, du Plessis said. Personalities determine how you play in that space. The kind of players Australia have now under Steven Smith, is similar to ours. Its about respecting the opposition and letting the cricket do the talking. If it goes away from that, I dont know how thats going to have an effect in the series. We will just have to soak it up and work hard to get momentum on our side.If that sounds overly serious for a captain who should be setting the tone in spicing things up, thats because du Plessis knows he needs to be sensible in his approach as South Africa seek a third successive series in Australia. They are not the group of 2012 or even 2008, when their team was structured by an experienced batting group. The bulk of senior players in this squad are in the pace pack. Although they are the ones who will ultimately be responsible for taking the wickets that could lead to a series win, the rest will need to pull their weight.If you look at the top six that came over four years ago, I think I was the only guy who hadnt played 30-odd test matches, he said. Test cricket is all about experience. Thats something we have in the bowling department with Dale, Vernon and Morne. Kagiso is a nice, young talent and our spinners are brand new to Test cricket. I think the Australian team are in a similar space at the moment. They havent had that similar amount of experience as the team had that dominated for so long. Theyre also a few young guys, a few very experienced guys. The teams are very evenly matched. ' ' '