Hoosiers 'bowled' over by Illini

CHAMPAIGN, IL -- The Hoosiers' bowl chances took a big hit Saturday when Illinois manhandled IU 45-14. IU needed three wins in their final five games, and the struggling Illini looked like a good place to start. But the Hoosiers came out sluggish and could never recover from the early lead the Illini built.\nIllinois senior running back Antoineo Harris walked all over the Hoosiers on his way to outgaining the entire IU offense in the first quarter with 66 yards compared to IU's 43 yards. While IU went three and out on their first two possessions of the game, the Illini (3-5, 2-2 Big Ten) marched down the field and scored two touchdowns.\nThe first touchdown came on a 31-yards pass play from junior quarterback Dustin Ward to junior wide receiver Brandon Lloyd. Harris added a 1-yard run to push Illinois' lead to 14-0.\nCoach Gerry DiNardo said he was very disappointed in the way his team opened the game. \n"The biggest disappointment was I didn't think we played well or maybe not even played hard at any point during the game," DiNardo said. "I think that's the first time I have felt that way so it's a disappointing way to come and play."\nThe Hoosiers (3-5, 1-3) continued to struggle in the second quarter. IU punted twice more and turned the ball over twice, once on a fumble by senior quarterback Gibran Hamdan and once on downs.\n"I didn't think we executed very well at all," DiNardo said. "I didn't think Gibran was accurate at all. They pressured us. I didn't know that our protection was very good. It didn't look like we were very sharp at all."\nHamdan finished the first half 14 of 26 for 148 and the one fumble. He said he was unable to help the offense move the ball down the field in critical pass situations. \n"I had a very bad day today," Hamdan said. "We had people open, and I was missing the throws. So, that falls on me. But obviously my performance was enough for us to succeed."\nThe Illini scored three times in the second quarter to push their halftime lead to 35-0. DiNardo said the team's tackling was very poor. Sophomore linebacker Herana-Daze Jones said the team played terrible and was surprised they came out flat.\n"They just came out and played harder than we did," Jones said. "It was just us. We didn't get the job done today. We didn't play with no emotion, no fire."\nAny hope of an IU comeback was quickly given up as Illinois scored on the opening possession of the second half. Illinois coach Ron Turner said he thought his team was very focused before the game.\n"I was real pleased with the attitude, focus and determination of our team today," Turner said. "It was a team win, and whether you look at it offensively, defensively or from special teams. I think our players really came to win. They executed what we ask them to do very well."\nHamdan was relieved of his quarterbacking duties and replaced by senior quarterback Tommy Jones. DiNardo said he felt Jones deserved a chance to play.\n"We went out and tried to make some plays and get things going in the second half," Jones said. "We got some plays, but we've got a lot to work on."\nDiNardo said he would sleep on the decision on who would be quarterback next weekend. An announcement should come Tuesday.\nIllinois added a fourth quarter field goal by junior Peter Christofilakos. IU got on the board late with 3:24 left in the fourth on a touchdown run by freshman Yamar Washington. Later Jones connected with freshman Tyke Spencer on a 44-yard pass for a touchdown.\nDiNardo said the team is probably down, but they have to put the game into perspective. He said the team has to get ready for the next game.\n"They're probably in the tank I hope," DiNardo said. "It's my job to get them out next week. But it's one loss. It's certainly ugly, and it's certainly a bad day. We going to go back to work tomorrow and get a game plan for Northwestern"