CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Next to Jason Ford's name in the Illinois media guide are the letters FR, for freshman.

Take a peak at the T-shirt under his jersey, and, after Saturday night, you'd have to wonder if you'd find a big yellow S.

Ford, a true freshman from Belleville, was nothing short of super Saturday in the Illini's 55-13 win over Indiana, his first college start. The win improved the Illini to 4-3 and 2-2 in the Big Ten and breathed life into their bowl hopes.

Ford ran for 173 yards on 19 carries — 9.1 a pop — and scored three touchdowns.

"Jason got hot and I said let's leave him in there and let him go," Illinois coach Ron Zook said. "You can see he runs hard. He's physical and he's hard to bring down."

Ford said he spent the first half of the season running robotically, but Saturday found a rhythm.

"I'm nervous before every game but going into the first couple of plays I just got real comfortable," he said.

Indiana, losers now of five straight and, at 2-5 and 0-4 in the Big Ten staring at the prospect of a losing season, saw more than enough of Illinois' offense, including Ford and quarterback Juice Williams.

"They have weapons everywhere, starting with Juice," Hoosier coach Bill Lynch said. "They have big, strong wide receivers, they have good backs and they've got a great scheme. They are capable of exploding, and they showed that tonight."

The Hoosiers played without quarterback Kellen Lewis, nursing a high-ankle sprain. Stand-in Ben Chappell threw for just 168 yards and was sacked three times.

Ford started in place of junior running back Daniel Dufrene. Dufrene hasn't been bad. He entered the game with 478 yards rushing, and better than 5 yards a carry.

But Dufrene has been no Rashard Mendenahll, the tailback who bounced off tacklers broke around ends on his way to the Rose Bowl — taking the Illini with him — before leaving a year early for the NFL.

And Saturday, Ford showed a little Mendenhall.

On a 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, he spun off a would-be tackler who looked to have him stopped and pushed into the end zone.

And on his 41-yard score early in the third quarter, the one that made the score 34-7 and likely turned Hoosier fans' thoughts to basketball, Ford outraced the Indiana defense around the right end of his line and was gone.

No one touched him.

Zook said earlier in the week that had a good feeling about Ford, who had 15 yards rushing coming into the game.

"He's a tough, strong guy, and once again, some guys you just have a feeling about and confidence in," the coach told reporters. "I have a lot of confidence in Jason."

He played in Ford's shadow Saturday, but Illinois quarterback Juice Williams picked apart the Hoosiers with 16-of-22 passing for 271 yards.

He struck early for Illinois, tossing a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Michael Hoomanawanui that was set up by a 60-yarder to Will Judson.

Williams finished 16-of-22 for 271 yards and three touchdowns. By recent standards he had a quiet night. He piled up a combined 934 yards the previous two weeks, in an upset loss to Minnesota loss and a win at Michigan.

But Williams had his pick of targets against Saturday an out-manned Hoosier pass defense.

Judson flew past cornerback Chris Adkins for the 60-yard pass that set up the opening touchdown, and, similarly receiver Jeff Cumberland blew by linebacker Justin Carrington for a 20-yard TD late in the first quarter.

Illini receiver Arrelious Benn, who caught seven balls for 130 yards and a touchdown, said that, after a quiet first quarter, the Hoosier secondary seemed to lose track of him.

"In the beginning of the game they started double teaming me but I finally got open," Benn said. "I guess they forgot about me."

Indiana, which came into the game after a 45-9 home loss to Iowa, has given up 100 points and 971 yards in its past two games.

By halftime Illinois had opened up a 28-7 lead that the Hoosiers, minus Lewis, were ill-equipped to overcome.

Zook said earlier in the week that he was sure Lewis would play, and the Illini assumed they'd see him.

"That changed a big part of our defensive scheme," Illinois defensive lineman Corey Liuget said of Lewis' absence. "We had things installed for him, we were going to get after him a little more."

Bryan Payton led the Hoosiers with 66 yards rushing and a touchdown. He scored on a 25-yard run with just over a minute left in the first quarter that made the score 14-7.