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Illinois cleaned up its act against Iowa. After being assessed 12 penalties for 106 yards in its loss to Syracuse, the Illini had only two penalties for 10 yards against the Hawkeyes. . . . Sophomore wide receiver Kyle Hudson has produced first downs on seven of his nine receptions. . . . With 50 yards on 11 carries against Iowa, senior running back Pierre Thomas became the 12th Illini player with more than 2,000 career rushing yards. . . . Coach Ron Zook wants to increase sophomore Rashard Mendenhall’s carries, and Thomas doesn’t have a problem with that. “Rashard is going to be there for a couple more years,” Thomas said. “You want to give him more touches so he has more experience.”

NEXT: SATURDAY AT MICHIGAN STATE, 11 A.M., WBBM-CH. 2.