“Any time you get an interception for a touchdown, it gets addicting and somebody else wants one next time,” MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said.

“(Senior linebacker Brandon) Denson almost had one. It just comes down to making plays. It was a great break on the ball and he’s a good football player.”

Fortener’s 45-yard return was MSU’s first defensive score since Johnny Adams returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown against Purdue last November.

“They’d been running out routes on us all day and I just kind of cheated over a little bit on that one and read it good,” Fortener said.

“He threw it a little bit high and I just made a good play on the ball and leapt up before he got it.”

But Fortener’s interception wasn’t all the Spartans’ defense did well in the victory. In a game that MSU head coach Mark Dantonio credited Narduzzi and his staff for doing an “outstanding job,” the team recorded six sacks on the day, held Illinois starting quarterback Eddie McGee to 2-of-11 passing for 31 yards before he was replaced by Juice Williams in the third quarter and limited the Illini to 152 yards of total offense through three quarters.

Illinois finished with 272 yards of offense.

Senior defensive end Trevor Anderson led the way in the sack department for MSU with 1.5 and six other Spartans recorded at least half a sack.

“Each week, they’re progressively getting better and they’re getting more pressure on the quarterback,” junior linebacker Eric Gordon said of the defensive corps.

“With the D-Line getting back in the backfield a lot, it helps out the DBs and us linebackers.”

Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Jerel Worthy is becoming a force with each progressive week. Saturday, he recorded three tackles with a sack to bump his season numbers to 17 tackles and a team-leading 4.5 sacks.

“I’ve been giving him praise every time somebody asks me about him or even if they don’t ask me about him,” Anderson said. “He’s a good football player. He’s got some quickness that you don’t really see out of a lot of 300-pounders.”

Avoiding the letdown

The Spartans now are 3-0 following Michigan week, including wins over Purdue (2007), Wisconsin (2008) and now Illinois.

Under former head coach John L. Smith, the Spartans were 0-4 in the week following the U-M game, losing by an average of 16.25 points per game.

“After an emotional game, I think it’s good to get your players back, get them thinking about the next challenge,” Dantonio said. “We were able to do that.”

Anderson said there was no doubt the team would show up against Illinois.

“We celebrated Saturday night, celebrated a little bit Sunday. Come Monday, we’re watching Illinois film,” Anderson said.

“It’s kind of like the next play. We play for the next play, play for the next game.”