Late collapse ends bowl dreams

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Late in the third quarter with the Hoosiers driving downfield, senior quarterback Matt LoVecchio ran for a first down, putting IU in the red zone and in position to increase its lead. Instead of getting up, LoVecchio laid dazed and confused on the turf, the same emotions the team felt after letting another fourth quarter lead and any hopes of a bowl bid slip away in a 26-22 loss to Illinois Saturday afternoon. \nThis isn't the first such collapse for the Hoosiers this season. In IU's Big Ten opener against Michigan State, the Hoosiers squandered a 20-7 lead as the Spartans outscored IU 23-0 in the second half en route to a 30-20 victory.\nThe Hoosiers had a similar episode against the Northwestern Wildcats. Clinging to a 17-14 lead, IU had the ball with 3 minutes, 24 seconds left, and needed to run out the clock. Instead, the Hoosiers went three and out. The Wildcats would eventually tie the game on a field goal in the waning moments of regulation and go on to win in overtime.\nHaving another debacle during Big Ten play is disheartening, junior linebacker and Illinois native Paul Szczesny said.\n"The same thing happened against Michigan State and it is just disappointing. We had high expectations for the rest of the season," Szczesny said. "We had a chance to make plays and we didn't. That's the bottom line. No matter where the ball was, they were running the ball and all we had to do was stop the ball and the game would have been over."\nStopping the ball was a problem in the fourth quarter for the Hoosiers, as the Illini doubled IU in yardage in the final period, 110-55. \nThe running game for Illinois had mild success through three quarters, tallying 106 yards. In the fourth quarter, Illini sophomore running back Pierre Thomas provided the spark for Illinois, gaining 94 yards in the period, including a 44-yard scamper that cut the lead to two with five minutes left.\nThe breakout quarter from Thomas wasn't a surprise, Illinois coach Ron Turner said.\n"He doesn't like being tackled," Turner said. "When Pierre (Thomas) is on, he is on. I could see it coming this week in practice." \nThough the defense couldn't hold the Illini out of the end zone, the IU offense struggled in the fourth quarter as well, once LoVecchio was knocked out of the game with a possible concussion.\nInserted into the game was Blake Powers, a redshirt freshman from Brandenburg, Ky. Powers had thrown just 11 passes coming into the game, before being summoned off the bench in the third quarter.\nAfter being considered a viable candidate to start the season at quarterback, throwing two interceptions in the fourth quarter wasn't how Powers envisioned his first significant playing time, he said.\n"I was called on to step up and lead. I was mentally ready and I don't think it was nerves," Powers said. "Those plays weren't anybody's fault but mine, because everybody did what they were supposed to do but me."\nLosing to Illinois is more than just another painful loss for the Hoosiers; the loss takes IU out of bowl contention, even if the team wins its last two games.\n"We saw a trophy in the distance and that trophy isn't there anymore," sophomore tight end Chris Rudanovic said. "We'll play hard, but now just for pride. We had our eyes on finishing out the season and making it to a bowl game. That was our goal, but not anymore."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Click at daaclick@indiana.edu.