Junior quarterback Wes Lunt threw four touchdown passes as Illinois stormed to a 52-3 victory over Kent State in the season-opening contest for both squads at Champaign, Ill., on Saturday.

The Fighting Illini scored 28 first-quarter points to take control of a game that was originally scheduled for Friday but was pushed back a day due to lightning. Senior running back Josh Ferguson rushed for one touchdown and also caught a scoring pass as Illinois won its first game under interim coach Bill Cubit.

Junior quarterback Colin Reardon was intercepted three times and passed for 156 yards for Kent State. The Golden Flashes were limited to 245 yards -- 59 rushing -- and did not get on the board until redshirt freshman kicker Shane Hynes converted a 43-yard field goal with 8:30 remaining.

Lunt tossed touchdown passes of 2 yards to junior tight end Tyler White and 34 yards to sophomore wideout Marchie Murdock in the opening four minutes as Illinois scored 14 quick points. Ferguson scored on a 21-yard reception to make it 21-0 and added an 11-yard scoring run with 1:53 left in the quarter.

Senior receiver Geronimo Allison hauled in a 34-yard scoring pass to boost the margin to 35 early in the third quarter. Freshman running back Ke'Shaw Vaughn scored from the 1 to make it 45-0 with 9:02 left in the third quarter.

Cubit was promoted to coach when Illinois fired Tim Beckman on Aug. 28 for allegedly tampering with medical decisions and pressuring players to compete while injured. Cubit had been the Illini's offensive coordinator the past two seasons after serving eight years as Western Michigan's coach.