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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
The IU football team kicked off its spring football season Wednesday with its first official spring practice. The practice, the team's first of 15 this spring, was far from flawless, with dropped passes and fumbles.\nBut, senior Antwaan Randle El said, practice wasn't all that bad, either.\n"The first day went OK," Randle El said. "I'm not just looking at offense and defense, I'm looking at the whole team. I think we got out, and we did some good things. We did some bad things, and of course, we've got to improve, but that will come in the next 14 (practices). I think one of the biggest things we did today was we came out and worked on basically technique -- new guys learning different things, changing positions and that kind of thing."\nRandle El, IU's star quarterback for the past three seasons, was one of those players changing positions. He began this spring practicing with the wide receivers, not the quarterbacks.\nRandle El said the change wasn't a big one for him, because he practiced as a receiver last summer. Perhaps the biggest change was for those battling to replace Randle El as quarterback.\nJuniors Gibran Hamdan and Tommy Jones will battle for the vacated starting spot, and they began Wednesday. They'll also learn from a new quarterbacks coach, Gerald Carr, this spring. \nCarr spent his first practice working with the quarterbacks on different drops -- three-, five- and seven-step. He also said he's concerned with getting the quarterbacks to know the offense as a whole before they work on single parts of it.\nAs for being a new coach working with new quarterbacks, Carr said he welcomes the challenge.\n"I kind of like it myself, because we all get a chance to grow together," said Carr, who coached in the Arena Football League last season. "There's an unbound trust that you must have between a quarterback coach and a quarterback."\nWhile Hamdan, who juggles spring practice with his duties as a first baseman on IU's baseball team, and Jones will battle for the starting spot, Randle El might also play quarterback at times.\nRandle El said a few position changes and new coaches aren't the only differences this spring. The atmosphere, he said, is also different.\n"I think atmosphere-wise, the first practice last year really couldn't compare to this year," he said. "I feel like we're grounded more; I feel like we have more of a team togetherness kind of thing. \n"Don't get me wrong, we're not where we want to be yet. But it's just leadership by the seniors is what I'm seeing, which is good. And we didn't have that last year."\nAnother senior, cornerback Sharrod Wallace, considered the first day a "learning day" and said he thought the players felt good after their first practice. He also said they're eager to play.\n"I think the guys are a lot more eager for the season to approach," Wallace said. "That's it. Guys are just ready to play"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Sophomore forward Lucas Christian scored 11 minutes into the game and the men's soccer team dominated the match Friday in its spring season opener, a 1-0 victory against IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis.\nThe Hoosiers, playing their first of six games this spring, created scoring opportunities early against the Jaguars but failed to convert most of them. The same problem plagued IU last season against IUPUI, when the Hoosiers tallied 25 shots but needed two goals in the final five minutes to win 2-0.\nSophomore Pat Noonan, who created many of IU's chances, called the team's effort "decent."\n"Legs weren't there for a lot of people," he said. "But it was better than last spring to start out. "\nChristian converted the Hoosiers' first legitimate opportunity heading in a cross from senior Ryan Mack at the 33:51 mark, but the team squandered the rest of its chances in the first half.\nSophomore Michael Bock hit the crossbar 30 seconds after Christian scored and missed an open-net shot later in the half. Noonan also missed several shots.\nThe Hoosier defense kept IUPUI from getting many looks at the goal. Junior goalkeeper Colin Rogers didn't touch the ball until 16 minutes remained in the first half.\nThe solid defense was a change from last spring, when the Hoosiers prepared for the fall season with a young, inexperienced defense. Now, freshman David Prall, sophomore John Swann and junior Josh Rife form a defense that, Rife said, has high expectations for next season.\n"We've set a goal that, it might not happen, but realistically there's no reason why we shouldn't give up a goal next fall," Rife said. "We have high standards for ourselves."\nCoach Jerry Yeagley used the game to look at some of his less experienced defenders as well.\nFreshmen Nick McDevitt and Drew Shinabarger played much of the second half as marking backs, and Yeagley played freshmen Nick Donaldson and Justen Spirk in the midfield.\n"I saw some very positive things," Yeagley said. "Some of the new players that had a chance to get some time, some of their stock went up, some of their stock went down"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Little 500 is done, and gone are the concerts and events that fill the week leading to the race.\nBut that doesn't mean campus will be dead this week.\nFollowing a week with performances by hip-hop artists Nelly and Jurassic 5, the IU chapter of The Hip Hop Congress will host a hip-hop awareness festival today in Dunn Meadow.\nThe festival, which runs from noon to 2 p.m., features a variety of events. It will continue with a 9 p.m. show at Vertigo, 107 W. Ninth St. The evening show costs $6, or $5 with a canned food item.\nJunior Ron Gubitz, one of the founders of The Hip Hop Congress, said the afternoon portion of the festival will feature the four aspects of hip-hop -- the breakdancer, grafitti artist, MC and DJ.\nWhile the afternoon session will feature those connected with The Hip Hop Congress, the events at Vertigo will feature local talent not connected with the organization.\nThe evening will begin with an MC battle and conclude with performances by local hip-hop group Holistic and local band Danagas.\nGubitz said six MCs are slated to perform in the MC battle, and he plans to have 10 by the time of the show. He also plans to get another 10 MCs from the crowd.\nThe top three finishers in the battle will receive one-song contracts with Littlestar Records, which works with the Hollywood-based rappsearch.com, a national organization in search of hip-hop talent. Tom Boyd, vice president of rappsearch.com, said each of the top three finishers also receives a trophy and a "beats-to-rap-to" CD.\nThe first-place winner will also attend a regional competition and, if he or she wins it, a final national contest in December. Boyd said the contests usually uncover good talent.\n"I just finished a show in Kentucky," he said. "I've never really equated Kentucky with rap, and it was some of the best talent I've heard yet. And there's no cussing or swearing. It's all positive. There's enough negativity in rap already."\nJunior Nate Ayers, who was in charge of coordinating the two acts at the evening portion of the festival, said the purpose of the festival is to counter that negative vibe.\n"I guess (we're) just trying to invigorate the local hip-hop scene here in Bloomington," he said. "Hip-hop is here and it's for real. We have to start appreciating this art form.\n"And also the myth the media creates about the violence really isn't the case. There's a positive message in hip-hop. We've just got to grab it and write it."\nAlthough The Hip Hop Congress represents hip-hop, Gubitz said it also represents community involvement.\nGubitz said about 15-20 local organizations will be represented at the festival. The organizations will use the festival as a forum to create awareness for their causes.\n"The main thing we're trying to do is create awareness about the different opportunities there are in Bloomington to become active, whether that's with the organizations, with hip-hop or just active in any way," Gubitz said. "We just want to get people interacting, breaking down barriers."\nThe Hip Hop Congress began its quest to break barriers last year, when Gubitz and Jordan Bronley founded the organization in California. Two men had started a similar organization with the same name and saw Gubitz and Bronley's Web site.\nThe four joined their organizations to form The Hip Hop Congress, and the group is represented at several locations on the west and east coasts, as well as at IU.\nGubitz said the IU chapter of The Hip Hop Congress has been planning today's awareness festival since second semester began, and a group of about 50 people has been working to put the festival together.\nFor more information on The Hip Hop Congress or the Hip Hop Awareness Festival, visit www.hiphopcongress.com or contact Ron Gubitz at ron@hiphopcongress.com.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
All eyes remain on Antwaan Randle El and Tommy Jones this week, following a poor offensive performance in the season opener against North Carolina State. During and since the game, commentators and fans have wondered aloud if the new offensive plan would work.\nBut quarterback, coach Cam Cameron said, isn't IU's prime concern.\n"I know the number one thing we've got to solve is our punting problem," he said. "I can promise you. It doesn't matter who your quarterback is. You are not going to be able to overcome our punting performance in that last game."\nRyan Hamre punted the ball so poorly against North Carolina State that he's dropped from first to middle-of-nowhere on the depth charts.\nAfter having two punts blocked -- one for an NC State touchdown -- Hamre lost his job to Randle El against the Wolfpack. Randle El averaged 35 yards on three punts in that game, upping the team's punting average to 19.6 yards.\nRandle El is slated to start at punter against Utah, while freshman kicker Bryan Robertson and senior J.R. Drummond may also punt.\nRandle El, who already returns punts on top of playing receiver/quarterback, said he's got the hangtime down but doesn't have much distance.\nHe's not working too much on it, either.\n"When I say practice, I get two or three punts and that's it," he said. "I don't stay out kicking forever. I've got to punt it 30, 35 yards and let it hang for a while. Kicking it far and high, that's something you've gotta work at a whole lot.\n"I'm not going to mess with my technique. I'm just gonna keep kicking it. Whether it goes end-over-end, as long as it goes far and high, that's all that really matters."\nTweaking the charts\nPunter isn't the only position change the Hoosiers made in the past two weeks. Several players have slipped down the depth charts, while others have changed positions.\nDefensively, senior Kemp Rasmussen will start at defensive end against Utah. Rasmussen spent last season as an end but switched to defensive tackle this past spring. \nIn the secondary, junior-college transfer Willie Northern won the free safety starting spot from Ron Bethel this week, but Cameron has already said that at least six defensive backs will rotate at the four safety and corner positions.\nThe biggest offensive change is at receiver, where Travis Haney and L.J. Parker became the 1-2 split ends, respectively. Against the Wolfpack, Henry Frazier and Glenn Johnson were the top two split ends. Rashon Myles, a fullback, is getting his first start as well.\nNo tomorrow\nTommy Jones said everything is back to normal with IU's football routine, little more than a week after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington disrupted college football along with everything else in the nation.\nBut the attacks did serve as a reminder.\n"A lot of people take life for granted, things like that," Jones said. "We go out there and practice, we're not guaranteed tomorrow. Before this happened or after, you're never guaranteed tomorrow.\n"You just gotta go out and make the best of it. I think guys are starting to see that more now and realize we can be a good team. We've gotta go out there, work hard and play together, and it will come"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
MADISON, Wis. -- So this is what good defense looks like.\nThis here, just past midfield, senior Sharrod Wallace running step-for-step with Wisconsin's Lee Evans and breaking up Brooks Bollinger's bomb on the first play of the game, is how pass coverage is supposed to go.\nAnd here around the 35-yard line, this is what coach Cam Cameron meant the past couple weeks when he talked about defensive backs making aggressive tackles on short pass routes. He meant, on third and one, Wallace sticking Wisconsin fullback Chad Kuhns before he has a chance to finish catching the ball.\nAnd turnovers?\nLook no further than the fumble Wallace recovered on Wisconsin's third drive, or the one he caused on its sixth.\nIn all, the Hoosiers recovered three fumbles, intercepted their first pass of the season and recorded five sacks in a 63-32 shellacking of Wisconsin.\nThe IU defense, for the first time this season, played well. And it did so from the first play from scrimmage.\n"The first play showed that we just got to be attacking and go all out, and that's the thing we did today," said Wallace, who was as instrumental as anyone in IU's defensive dominance. "There were a lot of emotions at that point, so I think it did set a tone."\nIf the first play didn't set a tone, surely the stick Wallace laid on Kuhns did.\nBoth plays led to Wisconsin punts, which in turn led to IU touchdowns. The Badgers either punted or turned the ball over on their first six drives.\nIn those drives, Wisconsin gained 47 yards, gave up three sacks, lost two fumbles and had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown.\nEach of IU's big defensive plays stemmed from what Cameron preached to his players all week: play aggressive. IU played soft defense in its first three games, giving receivers cushions to break big gains.\n"I told them basically, 'Guys, we've tried that other way and that doesn't work,'" Cameron said. "'Standing out there thinking too much, playing hesitant, it doesn't work. So just turn yourselves loose. I want to see every guy try to go make a play, and if you get beat, it's on me. Go make a play.'\n"There's no fun in playing the game hesitant."\nThe Hoosiers had plenty of fun at Camp Randall Stadium, holding a team that averaged more than 200 rushing yards per game to 106.\nAs for the passing game, Cameron told Wallace and sophomore Michael Hanley they wouldn't have much help. Cameron put his two cornerbacks in single coverage and left the rest to them.\n"Sometimes I don't get real specific in our game planning to put too much pressure on people, but I did say that the key to this game would be the play of Sharrod and Michael Hanley," Cameron said. \n"I'll give both those guys credit. They took the challenge."\nSo did senior linebacker Justin Smith.\nSmith, who finished with 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a sack, often kept the Badgers running east-west, dominating the middle of the field.\nHe, too, said aggressiveness was key.\n"We came today, not to play," he said, "but we came to fight"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Antwaan Randle El plays a lot of roles on the football team. He's the quarterback, the team's second-leading rusher, the punt returner and sometimes a punter.\nRight up there with his football duties are his off-the-field tasks. One of those is being a captain, which requires keeping his teammates level-headed.\nAfter IU's 56-21 victory against Northwestern Saturday, Randle El said that some of the Hoosiers got "fat" after the team's blowout victory at Wisconsin. This week, he's trying to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again.\n"We told them right after the game, we reminded them what happened after the Wisconsin game," he said. "And I told them that we cannot dwell on this win too much longer. I said to take it in stride, but you've got to kind of get it out of your head and move on.\n"We started doing that yesterday, so, we'll be prepared for Michigan State."\nTaking it vertical\nWhile Randle El's moves have been as shifty and deceptive as ever this season, he hasn't encountered much success as a punt returner.\nHe tackled the task for the first time this season, but faking a defensive end on the option isn't the same as dodging a defender with a 40-yard head start. Through seven games, Randle El has returned 12 punts for an average of 8.8 yards; his longest return was 15 yards.\nNot terrible numbers, but are they good enough to satisfy Randle El?\n"No, man," said the senior quarterback, whose moves can be even quicker on the turf at Michigan State. "I gotta get out of the gate one of these games and just hit it. And why not do it on turf? I gotta find a lane and get vertical more.\n"It's not like the option. It's a punt return; if you hit it vertical, then you have a chance."\nComparing and preparing\nIU gave up 513 yards against Northwestern, but the Hoosiers did limit the Wildcats to three touchdowns and cause four turnovers. Much of that success stemmed from preparing for Northwestern's spread offense and making according defensive adjustments.\nNow the Hoosiers must prepare for Michigan State's T.J. Duckett, who's fresh off a 211-yard rushing performance against Michigan.\n"He's a faster Ron Dayne is what he is," coach Cam Cameron said. "Everybody in the country knows, especially everybody in the Big Ten, this kid could have played and started in the Big Ten as a junior in high school. You talk about guys going from high school to the NBA, here's a guy that could have given up his high school career and gone ahead and played in college.\n"He was that good in high school."\nIn preparation for Duckett, who's ran for 844 yards this season, IU might turn to junior tailback Jeremi Johnson.\nAt 5-foot-11, 265 pounds, Johnson is the Hoosiers' closest match to the 6-1, 249-pound Duckett. Johnson said he wasn't sure if he'd be called on to imitate the Spartans' leading rusher, but he'd be happy to help.\nHe, too, had his opinion on Duckett's worth.\n"He's pretty similar to me, but he's a tailback and runs the ball about 25 times a game," said Johnson, who has 284 yards and three touchdowns rushing. "I think he's a great back. I think he's better (than Dayne), to me. I've seen him just flat-out out-run people. He's a great athlete from what I've seen."\n40-40 club\nWith three passing touchdowns against Northwestern, Randle El became the first player in NCAA Division I history to pass for 40 touchdowns and score 40 touchdowns.\nThe three passing strikes upped Randle El's career touchdown total to 40, and his nine-yard touchdown run was the 41st of his career. He's also caught a touchdown pass.\n"I didn't even know about it till after the game," Randle El said. "Then they told me it was on ESPN, Chris Berman, L.A. Times and all that. I guess that's part of it. I've been blessed to do a lot of different things as far as stats go.\n"I'm still staying away from it until the season ends as far as looking back at it and all that. I thank God for the seasons that I've had, but let's try to get the 50-50 club before it's over with. We gotta do some scoring"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Finally.\nAt last, an IU football team won a game without having to score 40 points. Without having to gain 500-plus yards. Without trading touchdowns and hoping to score the final one.\nIU beat Purdue 13-7 Saturday because of defense.\nFinally.\n"It feels so great to be a defensive player on this team right now," junior safety Joe Gonzalez said. "The offense has bailed us out a lot of times. They've put a lot of points on the board. The offense shouldn't have to do that.\n"And for us to hold Purdue to seven points and minus eight yards rushing, it's a huge confidence-booster. It just feels unbelievable."\nThe feeling sank in as seconds ticked off the clock and players sprinted to Purdue's sideline to claim the Oaken Bucket, the trophy awarded to the winner of the IU-Purdue football game every season.\nIn winning the bucket for the first time since 1996, the Hoosiers had by far their best defensive performance of the season. The seven points and negative eight rushing yards allowed were both season lows, as was the 255 total yards given up.\nAnd the offense, while scoring far below its 30 points average, gave the defense enough of a cushion to preserve the victory.\nLevron Williams opened the scoring on IU's first drive, turning a short gain around the left side into a 52-yard touchdown romp. The senior tailback cut back toward the middle of the field after a big block by junior fullback Jeremi Johnson and outraced a Purdue defender to the corner of the end zone.\nSenior quarterback Antwaan Randle El scored IU's final touchdown early in the second quarter on a 10-yard run, but sophomore Adam Braucher missed the extra point. The 13-0 lead held up into halftime.\nPurdue came out with a different look in the second half, relying solely on the passing game, but IU's secondary proved up to the challenge. \nFreshman quarterback Kyle Orton threw 48 passes in the half and 62 overall but completed only 31 for 263 yards. Many of Orton's completions were short pass routes, and the Hoosiers were quick to the ball, often preventing first downs.\nAnd when the Boilermakers did run in the second half, they weren't successful.\nTheir first run of the half, three minutes into the third quarter, ended in a fumble recovered by IU junior cornerback A.C. Carter. The Boilermakers had started the drive at their own 24-yard line and were in field goal range at IU's 23.\nPurdue's second run of the half was perhaps the most pivotal play in the game.\nDown 13-7, the Boilermakers threw the ball 14 straight plays before giving it to junior tailback Montrell Lowe on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Lowe took the handoff, ran left and dove toward the goal line.\nThat's where he met Martin Lapostolle.\nA true freshman, Lapostolle plays as a linebacker in goal line situations. Against Purdue, he played one play and made the biggest tackle of the game. He stopped Lowe about a foot short of the goal line. \n"Man, that's the biggest play of the whole game right there," senior linebacker Justin Smith said. "Martin's the MVP. I kept telling him that in the locker room."\nWhat else does this team love?\nWinning a game. Because of defense.\n"We finally got it done on defense," senior defensive end Kemp Rasmussen said. "We were finally the reason we won a game. It's about time. We've been criticized a lot over the last few years. It feels really good to finally be the reason we won a game"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
The formula for success at IU last season wasn't an effective one: Score at least 40 points or lose.\nAnd that formula seemed to be the case again early this season.\nThe football team won only one of its first six games, and the lone victory was a 63-32 offensive onslaught against Wisconsin.\nBut somewhere between a late October loss to Iowa and Saturday's victory against Kentucky, IU learned how to win.\nNot how to score 40-plus points and win. Just how to win.\nThe Hoosiers won four of their last five games, and three of those victories were close ones -- the kind IU football teams haven't won since Cam Cameron arrived five years ago.\nIU outfought Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., and shut down dangerous Purdue and Kentucky offenses to end the season.\nThe team that beat Kentucky 26-15 Saturday isn't the same one that lost to North Carolina State in its season opener.\n"I think we learned how to win," senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El said. "That was the biggest thing. And not just offense doing well and defense playing average, and not offense not playing well and then defense playing exceptionally well.\n"I think we together realized it takes offense, defense, special teams, and we just continued to put it all together."\nThe turnaround started after a bye week Oct. 27. IU beat Northwestern after the bye and gradually played better as a team each week.\nPersonnel changes also helped. Cameron revamped his defense before the Northwestern game, and the new look worked.\nFreshman Herana-Daze Jones stepped up as a linebacker, as did safety-turned linebacker Ron Bethel, a junior. Junior A.C. Carter filled Bethel's role at safety, and senior Marcus Floyd also helped the secondary as a starting cornerback.\n"It's just guys were sitting the bench at the beginning of the season," said Floyd, who started the season as a backup. "They really were hungry and wanted to play. Then when we got an opportunity to play, we were hungry, and we were coachable.\n"We just wanted to go out and help the team. We saw some of mistakes that the guys in front of us were making, and we said we're not gonna make those mistakes when we got into the game."\nThe defense indeed cut down on mistakes during the last five games. Points-wise, the last two games of the season were IU's best defensive performances.\nNow the trick is to get next season's team to build off of the late-season surge.\n"It means a lot to finish off the year with two wins, not only for us as seniors leaving but also for the guys coming back," senior center Craig Osika said. "That gives them momentum going into the offseason to know that we did turn it around this year. We proved that it can be done.\n"It's great for the whole program. It's great for the coaches. It's great for us. It's great for the underclassmen"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Four wins in its last five games proved the football team started heading in the right direction this season, but it didn't convince Athletics Director Michael McNeely to keep Cam Cameron as head coach.\nMcNeely fired Cameron Wednesday afternoon.\nCameron finished his five-year tenure at IU with a 18-37 (12-28 Big Ten) record and no bowl appearances. The lack of improvement over the past five years led to McNeely's decision.\n"Five years is an important measuring standard for a program to demonstrate a high level of competitiveness and consistency, both on the field and in the classroom," McNeely said. "It is not an either-or proposition. Leadership is the key. We have not achieved the high level of success on the field that we should and do expect.\n"Further, there is not compelling evidence that the current direction of the football program will yield a higher level of competitive success."\nCameron won't be around to experience more success at IU, but his assistant coaches might.\nMcNeely said the assistant coaches will continue to recruit and will remain a part of the staff until a new head coach is hired. It will be up to the new coach to decide who to keep and who to let go.\nSo for now, returning players can feel comfortable knowing the entire system hasn't left.\n"The first thing I thought was, 'No way.' I couldn't believe it," junior safety Joe Gonzalez said. "Then all these things start racing through my head, like, 'Is it just coach Cam? Am I gonna have to learn a new defense?' This would be the third new defense in what would be four years for me.\n"So many things were flying through my head." \nMcNeely's life just got a bit more hectic, as well.\nThe search for a new coach starts immediately, and McNeely said he hopes to name a new coach "during the course of the next month."\nAlthough McNeely named a list of qualities that any athletics director would want out of any coach, the main thing he's looking for is a coach who will put fans in the often-empty stands at Memorial Stadium.\n"We want someone who has experience in generating a strong support for the program in terms of interest, in terms of coming to the game, in terms of feeling connected to the program, and I think that one place that starts is the relationship with the local schools throughout the state," McNeely said. "That's our core fan-base, and that's where many of our future student-athletes will come from."\nMcNeely met with IU President Myles Brand Wednesday morning and gave Brand his recommendation. Brand accepted the recommendation and echoed McNeely's sentiments that a coach must have players excel both in the classroom and on the field.\n"I greatly appreciate Cam Cameron's many contributions to Indiana University," Brand said. "He personally has represented IU well, and his players have succeeded in many arenas. But I accept our athletic director's assessment that the team's on-field performance has been disappointing during Cam's tenure. One consequence has been a low level of fan support, as measured by game attendance.\n"We expect our coaches to field highly competitive, winning teams, whose student-athletes succeed in the classroom, graduate and are good representatives of the university. It is not an either-or situation. IU expects a high level of performance in all of these areas"
(11/28/01 5:47am)
Ask critics of Cam Cameron and IU football about job security, and they'll tell you Cameron doesn't have much of it.\nAsk Cameron, and he'll tell you, well, quite a bit.\nThe words "Cam Cameron" and "firing" have exchanged paths quite a few times over the past couple seasons, but the coach himself is anything but worried about his status as head coach at IU.\n"I've talked to every recruit about it," Cameron said. "We're on the best recruits we've ever been on here at Indiana. And one of the reasons, I firmly believe, is because I tell them, 'Now have you heard they say that we're going to be fired?' Nobody outside of 100 miles has heard that.\n"You go outside 100 miles of Bloomington, the recruits haven't heard all that stuff. They think we're good. So I bring it up, just because I know eventually it's goning to be used against you. And I don't want someone to create a doubt and have a kid afraid to mention it to me. I'm not going to let speculation determine my future, I'll guarantee you. I'm going to address it."\nThe recruits apparently aren't alone in viewing IU as a quality program.\n"An ESPN announcer told me, 'Cam, it's amazing. I see you guys as a national program and a national school,'" Cameron said. "I say, 'Why do you say that?' He says 'Because everywhere I go, I hear good things about Indiana football and Indiana University. Until I get here. Then I come to Bloomington, and everybody talks negative. It's interesting, you're one of the few schools I see as a national school and not a local school.'\n"I go all over this country and recruit, and people feel good about us around the country. And where they feel the least good about us is right in our backyard. And it shouldn't be that way. It should not be that way. I'm not pointing a finger at anyone. I'm just saying that's the way it is."\nBut with a 17-36 career record heading into this weekend, Cameron hasn't won as many games as some local fans might like. His teams haven't fared well in the Big Ten, either, finishing no higher than seventh heading into this season.\nStill, local negativity doesn't faze Cameron. Neither does the possibility of getting fired.\n"I can just tell you -- that firing stuff people talk about -- all the guys I admire have been fired and have come back and have won," he said. "And usually when they came back and won, it was at a place that was committed to them. Completely.\n"Because we all know, it comes down to players, and it comes down to commitment. There's a lot of guys that can coach. That's my stance on all that conversation that's going on out there. The Cameron family and the Indiana football program, we can deal with it."\nTwo-sport star?\nSenior tailback Levron Williams will finish his collegiate football career Saturday when IU plays Kentucky.\nBut his athletic career at IU won't be over if things work out his way.\nWilliams has excelled this season at IU, ranking near the top of the nation in both rushing and all-purpose yards per game. Now he might want to test his worth as a basketball player.\n"I'm not sure," Williams said. "If (Coach) Mike Davis lets me walk on, then I'd try to do it. As of right now, I don't know, because I've got to get his approval. I haven't talked to him this year, but I talked to him last year."\nShould Williams get the OK from Davis, senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El said he thinks his backfield partner will succeed.\n"Levron's always wanted to play ball over there," said Randle El, who played basketball himself as a freshman. "He's better than anybody they got over there. Levron can play."\nBetter than anybody?\n"Yeah. They say they got a new guy over there that I haven't seen play, but ..."\nAim to the left\nIU's kicking woes continued against Purdue, with sophomore Adam Braucher missing both an extra point and a field goal. The Hoosiers have now made only 2-of-9 field goals and 31-of-38 extra points.\nFive of those field goals have been wide right. And not wide by much.\n"We have not kicked the ball any way, shape or form what's acceptable," Cameron said. "I keep telling (Braucher), aim to the left further. We've missed five field goals one foot to the right. Aim two feet to the left.\n"That sounds like an over-simplification, but ... Jack Nicklaus made a living aiming down the left-center of the fairway. He didn't aim down the middle because he knew his ball was going to go to the right a little bit. Aim to the left a little more. If we're going to miss one this week, let's miss it to the left"
(11/19/01 4:51am)
STATE COLLEGE, Penn. -- Cam Cameron's motto -- score one more or hold them to one less -- works well when IU scores one more. The Hoosiers average just less than 30 points a game.\nBut IU needed to hold Penn State to one less Saturday, and the Hoosier defense that made big plays in back-to-back victories heading into this weekend looked more like the one that ranks next-to-last in the Big Ten in points allowed.\nThe Nittany Lions converted 9-of-13 third downs, and three players set career highs in a 28-14 Penn State victory that deflated IU's bowl hopes. The Hoosiers are 3-6 with two games remaining.\n"(Third downs are) something that we've had trouble with all year, except for the last two games," senior defensive end Kemp Rasmussen said. "Somebody's got to step up and make a play, and today, nobody did. Myself included."\nWhile the Hoosiers struggled to make plays, three Nittany Lions had career days.\n• Junior quarterback Matt Senneca set career highs for passing yards (278) and total offense (325), and his 27-yard run in the fourth quarter was also a career best.\n• Sophomore split end Tony Johnson tied a career high with five catches and had his first 100-yard receiving day with 132.\n• Larry Johnson, a junior and Tony Johnson's older brother, set a career high with three touchdowns in the game.\nMany of the plays that trio made hurt IU even worse because they came on third down.\nTony Johnson alone had 103 yards receiving on third down, including a 32-yard gain on third-and-18 late in the first quarter. The reception gave Penn State a first-and-goal and led to a touchdown. Johnson caught a 60-yard pass on Penn State's next drive, again leading to a touchdown.\n"That's the critical down," IU head coach Cam Cameron said. "Especially early, they get 14 points early in the game when they were in third-and-long and third-and-long long.\n"And that's what you're trying to do. You're trying to get people in those positions and then at that point, keep the ball in front of you and then come up and make the play."\nSenior quarterback Antwaan Randle El said not all of the blame lies on the defense. The offense and defense have fed off each other's big plays over the past two weeks, and neither group held of its end of the bargain.\n"I think the second half, (our defense) came out and they got them stopped the first time," Randle El said. "And we get the ball. That's kind of how we feed off each other. They got them stopped; if we come down and score, then it's a totally different ballgame."\nStill, Randle El and Co. can do nothing about the big yardage given up on third downs and the occasional missed tackles.\nOn Penn State's final touchdown, a shovel pass, Larry Johnson broke at least three tackles before out-running two IU defenders for the score.\n"We need to give some credit to Penn State," Rasmussen said. "They played well. Those backs, they've got three talented backs that make you miss. We've gotta tackle better; we've gotta play our assignments better.\n"We just made too many mistakes to come up with a win"
(11/14/01 4:57am)
Antwaan Randle El and Levron Williams don't have much use for records.\nAsk senior Randle El about being the only NCAA Division I player to throw for 40 touchdowns and score 40 more, and he'll tell you there will be plenty of time to reflect on it in January.\nAsk Williams, a senior tailback, about rushing for 280 yards and six touchdowns against Wisconsin earlier this season, and he'll credit his offensive line.\nBut it's hard not to notice the numbers both players have put up this season.\nWilliams has ran for more than 250 yards in a game twice this season and is sixth in the nation in rushing yards per game, with 136.63. Add his receiving and kick return yards, and Williams leads the nation in all-purpose yards per game. He's also third in scoring.\n"Just knowing that I can go out there and put up those kind of numbers with help, it's a great feeling, because everybody contributes to that," said Williams, who broke the 1,000-yard mark last weekend against Michigan State. "Antwaan can run it, I can run it or Jeremi (Johnson). And the offensive linemen are doing their job. They've been doing it all year.\n"They open up holes; we run through them."\nRandle El is running into record books in the process.\nBesides being the only player in the 40-40 club, he's also the only player to throw for 6,000 and rush for 3,000 yards in a career. At his current pace, Randle El will end the season as the only player to account for 2,500 yards in four separate seasons, as well.\nAnd the records he's eclipsed this season have fallen despite his not playing to his potential, he said.\n"I feel like I still haven't had my break-out game as far as throwing and running at the same time," he said. "We've had some games where if I threw the ball a little better, we had a better chance to win and if we had our running game a little better, we had a better chance to win.\n"Until I put it together as far as being able to throw and run at the same time and make the plays that I've been making, then I don't feel like I had that breakout game yet, and I don't feel like this is the best season for me yet."\nWhile he might not have had a breakout game by his standards, Randle El has put up strong numbers the past two weeks.\nIn a 56-21 victory over Northwestern, he threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 78 yards and another score. He followed the performance with 149 yards and one touchdown rushing against Michigan State.\nRandle El also broke another NCAA mark against the Spartans, becoming the all-time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback. He now has 3,645.\nThe record is one of many Randle El's broken both this season, but again, it's nothing he gets too excited about.\n"It means a lot, but at the same time, I take it in stride, stay humble about it, because I would trade it all in to go to a bowl game," said Randle El after the game. "I love the records and stats and that kind of thing, but you've got to keep going."\nWith Williams by his side, the duo might keep breaking records in the process.
(11/12/01 6:15am)
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Cam Cameron has given up on conventional methods of playing football.\nNow in his fifth season as IU head coach, Cameron has tried what's supposed to work. This season he's trying something else.\nThe different approach worked Saturday in a 37-28 victory over No. 22 Michigan State.\nThe Hoosiers faked a field goal, faked a fake punt and relied solely on the rushing game in winning their second straight game.\n"The minute we try to start winning by the book here at Indiana, they will fire me," said Cameron, whose Hoosiers are now 3-5 (3-3 Big Ten). "They will fire me, because we're not gonna win that way.\nIf we had lost by two points, or three points, you would have run me out of town for faking that field goal. But that sent a message to our team of how we're gonna play, because we're gonna have to play football that way, and no other way."\nPlaying Cameron's way meant running the ball down the Spartans' throats and mixing in a trick play or two.\nIU established the ground game early, when senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El took the ball around the right end for a 57-yard touchdown less than four minutes into the game. Randle El changed the play at the line of scrimmage, one of several successful audibles he called throughout the day.\n"We got into the right play a lot of times," he said. "That's big. If I can get my offense in the right play every time we come to the line, then we've got a great chance of winning the game."\nAfter Randle El opened the scoring, IU had trouble finding the right play again until the second quarter.\nThe Hoosiers went three-and-out on their next two possessions, while the Spartans (5-3, 3-3) scored back-to-back touchdowns and took a 14-7 lead. IU then went on a 20-play, 86-yard drive that lasted nine minutes.\nThe drive started in the first quarter and stalled early in the second quarter, but one of Cameron's not-so-conventional plays kept the drive alive.\nOn fourth-and-seven at the Michigan State 36-yard line, Randle El lined up in punt formation. He faked a run to the right before pooch punting down the middle of the field.\nAfter the ball bounced, the Spartans' Duron Bryan touched it, and IU sophomore cornerback Michael Hanley recovered it at the 17. Senior tailback Levron Williams scored four plays later, tying the score at 14-14. \nThe touchdown was one of three Williams had on the day. He finished with 251 yards, the third-highest total Michigan State has ever allowed to one player. IU's 489 yards rushing were the second-highest team total given up by the Spartans.\n"That's what we pride ourselves on, the rushing," senior center Craig Osika said. "We tend to think that we have the best offensive line in the Big Ten. The rushing statistics show that we're the No. 1 rushing offense in the Big Ten.\n"When we do everything right and knock guys off the ball, we're able to get that kind of yardage."\nIU got its biggest chunk of yardage late in the second quarter, when Williams glided 80 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown and a 28-21 IU lead two minutes before halftime. The Hoosiers had another chance to score after forcing Michigan State to punt, but a fake field goal was unsuccessful.\nIU continued to run with relative ease in the second half, but twice the Hoosiers put together long drives and came up empty-handed. A drive midway through the third quarter ended with a missed field goal, and one in the fourth ended with a fumble at the Michigan State 5-yard line.\nOn first-and-goal, Randle El ran left and tried a late pitch to Williams. Williams got hit as he caught the ball, and Josh Thornhill recovered for the Spartans.\n"Stupid play," Randle El said. "And I don't normally say 'stupid,' but that was just a bonehead play."\nStupid, maybe, but the Hoosiers kept plugging and get redemption, as freshman linebacker Herana-Daze Jones intercepted Spartan sophomore Jeff Smoker on the ensuing drive, and Williams finished the scoring two plays later.\nAfter trotting through the end zone, Williams cupped his ear with his hand and aimed it at Michigan State fans. The celebration drew a personal foul and 15-yard penalty.\nThe victory gives IU a chance to win three consecutive games for the first time in Cameron's tenure. The Hoosiers travel to Penn State Saturday.\n"It's very possible," said Randle El of the opportunity to win three straight. "Penn State's a great football team. They're on a roll right now. They're basically in the same position we are. It's gonna be a fight."\nJust don't plan on it being a conventional one.
(11/02/01 6:10am)
Justin Smith has carried much of the defensive load for IU this season.\nThe senior linebacker has 63 tackles through six games, 22 more than any other player. He leads the team in tackles for loss and has single-handedly stopped opposing offenses at times.\nHis job just got a lot tougher.\nIU lost three linebackers in the past week; all three are out for the season.\nSophomores Brandonn Baker and Robert Brown and freshman Yamar Washington all discovered the past two weeks their seasons are over. Washington broke his lower leg; Brown has a shoulder injury that will likely require reconstructive surgery and Baker's career is over because of a congenital condition in his spine.\nThe injuries leave IU coach Cam Cameron with a handful of true freshmen to evaluate.
(11/02/01 6:09am)
There are two ways to look at IU's meeting with Northwestern tomorrow.\n• The Wildcats lost their last two games, proving the defending Big Ten champs are beatable.\n• Those two losses mean they'll be hungry for a victory.\nEither way you size it up, two teams with two-game losing streaks meet at Memorial Stadium Saturday, and both need to win.\nThe Wildcats, who just two weeks ago were ranked and tied for second in the Big Ten, have tumbled to 4-3 (2-3 Big Ten) after losses to Penn State and Purdue.\nThe Hoosiers (1-5, 1-3), meanwhile, have dropped two straight to Illinois and Iowa after walking all over Wisconsin.\nWhile the Hoosiers know Northwestern will be itching for a victory, tight end Kris Dielman said they aren't worried.\n"I still think it works to our advantage, because we're going to come out ready to play, regardless of who it is."\nThe Hoosiers can't be too ready for Northwestern, a team that thrives on the no-huddle and quick play-calling. The Wildcats often use their duo of running back Damien Anderson and quarterback Zak Kustok to beat defenses with quick snaps.\nAnderson, a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, is averaging just more than 100 yards and one touchdown per game, and Kustok has the fourth lowest interception percentage in the nation.\nAdd receivers Sam Simmons and Jon Schweighardt to that mix, and you've got an explosive combination -- one that ranks second in the conference in total offense.\n"It's almost in some cases the lesser of two evils," IU coach Cam Cameron said. "You're talking about Anderson, you're talking about Kustok, you're talking about Simmons, you're talking about Schweighardt.\nLinebacker Justin Smith said the Hoosiers might have found a formula to slow the Wildcats, using a bye week to prepare. The defense has made several personnel changes because of both injuries and schematic reasons.\n"A lot of the personnel that we've been using that they changed it to, in my opinion, have been working really well together," Smith said. "We've kind of changed a little bit of our defense just because Northwestern is a spread, so we're getting our fastest guys on the field.\n"We've got a really good scheme going into this week that I feel very confident about."\nNow Cameron wants to implement that scheme for a full 60 minutes.\nIt's become commonplace for the Hoosiers to play well for a half or three quarters, then fold late in the game. That trend might spell trouble against Northwestern, a team with a knack for winning down-to-the wire ballgames. The Wildcats already beat Michigan State this season on a last-second field goal.\n"It's really no different than the other games," Cameron said. "It's a 60-minute game. It's not a 30-minute game. It's not a 45-minute game. The game with Northwestern is never over until it's over"
(10/31/01 5:26am)
The best thing that ever happened to Henry Frazier was being told he played like "crap."\nThat's the critique Frazier received after his performance in IU's season opener. Coach Cam Cameron told Frazier, a senior receiver, that he played soft, that he wasn't recruited to play the way he did against North Carolina State, a game in which he dropped several passes. Cameron compounded his critique by sending Frazier from first team to scout team.\nFrazier said he's glad Cameron did it.\nThe demotion left Frazier with two options: Feel shafted and pout or earn his spot back.\nHe chose the latter.\nAfter four weeks with the scout team and another two slowly returning to the rotation at split end, Frazier demonstrated against Iowa he's worthy of the starting spot he once held. He caught five passes for 92 yards against the Hawkeyes Oct. 20, and he'll start Saturday against Northwestern.\n"It helped me out in so many ways," said Frazier of Cameron's decision to bench him. "It helped me with my football. It helped me out with putting things into perspective. That was the best thing that anyone's ever done to me, because no one's ever done that to me before.\n"He basically just told me what I needed to hear."\nFrazier said he needed Cameron to come down hard, but he wasn't so sure six or seven weeks ago.\n"As the time went on, I gradually understood why they did what they did," he said. "But I was pretty much angry for the first couple weeks. And after that, I just flipped it around to something positive, something that'll motivate me, because if I stay angry, I'll never get back to where I need to be."\nFrazier knew where he needed to be -- on the field -- because he knew where he wanted to be.\nHe knew, on a team that lost its top three receivers from a year ago, he'd be counted on to lead a young receiving corps, and he figured he'd thrive in his position.\nWhile his plans took a detour after the first game, he isn't shying away from his preseason goals, one of which was to catch eight touchdowns.\n"I still have goals which I think are attainable," he said. "And I still see myself as one of the best receivers in the Big Ten, but I know I have a lot of work to do to get back since I've been out three games, four games."\nFinishing as one of the conference's top receivers will be a tougher task now, but Frazier can still count on being one of quarterback Antwaan Randle El's favorite targets.\nRandle El threw to Frazier once against Wisconsin -- a late-game deep route -- and looked for him consistently on IU's fourth-quarter scoring drive against Illinois. Against Iowa, Frazier's 92 receiving yards were the most by a Hoosier wide receiver this season.\n"I think he's our fastest receiver," Randle El said. "And that brings a lot to the table. Corners have to play you off a little bit. You can do a lot more things. He's gotta continue to catch the ball well, and he'll be fine.\n"I think he stepped up and played well against Iowa. A couple plays I still think he should've kept his feet and kept running, but he'll get better as we go along. We need him to play well these next five games."\nRandle El may like Frazier's speed, but Cameron's more impressed with other qualities.\n"It's about heart and effort and toughness in this game," Cameron said. "He's gotten tougher, and he's competing harder. And that's what we need out of every guy, especially a senior"
(10/17/01 5:19am)
Senior Justin Smith admitted he was tired Saturday against Illinois. He said he couldn't breathe at times.\nSenior Levron Williams didn't feel much better. He was banged up much of the game and gave up his kick return duties because of a thigh bruise.\nMuch of the other Hoosiers felt the same, saying the 35-14 loss to the Fighting Illini was a fight indeed. \n"Toward the end of the game, (I was) just sore and tired," said safety and junior Joe Gonzalez. "I know coach said, 'If you're not sore right now, then there's something wrong.' It was a hard, hard fight."\nThe Hoosiers have spent the past few days recovering from the game. With Sundays spent looking at game film and Mondays as off-days, Tuesday was the week's first practice.\n"Physically, we keep track of number of snaps," said coach Cam Cameron. "We'll rotate more guys through in practice, especially in the defensive line.\n"And then you might start to shorten practice 5-10 minutes. You don't shorten your team periods, but shorten some of your individual time, try to get them off the field a little sooner."\nWhile several Hoosiers have minor injuries and soreness, at least one player is dealing with a different type of injury.\nLinebacker and sophomore Brandon Baker didn't play Saturday because of a congenital narrowing in his spinal area. Cameron said Baker's condition, which was discovered last week during a full physical exam, doesn't appear to have come as a result of football.\nHe also said Baker, whose mother works in medicine in Houston, will have several doctors look at the condition before deciding on his playing status.\nHeart of the "D"\nSmith continues to be the backbone of IU's defense. Against Illinois, Smith tallied 12 tackles, giving him double-digit tackles for the third consecutive game -- all Big Ten contests.\nIn all, Smith has 54 tackles in five games, including eight for a loss. His tackle total ranks sixth in the Big Ten. \n"The guy's having an All-Big Ten season," Cameron said. "If he could take his level of play to another notch, he may wind up being an All-American. He's really having a tremendous year."\nBut Smith isn't the only player anchoring IU's defense.\nGonzalez has become the secondary's leading tackler, often converging on runners who get past either the defensive line or linebackers. Gonzalez's 34 tackles are second on the team.\n"You look for your leadership right down the middle of your defense, and it starts with your middle linebacker and your safeties," Cameron said. "Joe's a good, solid football player, extremely bright. You can't have too many of those kind of good, tough, hard-nosed football players."\nIdentity crisis?\nIU went from one end of the spectrum to the other with a 63-point performance against Wisconsin followed by offensive struggles against the Illini.\nThe Hoosiers will need their Oct. 6 identities back against Iowa, who's averaging 32.2 points per game. Despite last weekend's game, they remain confident.\n"Most of the team is seniors," said wide receiver and senior Henry Frazier. "We've been there before. We've been up and we've been down, and we know that every game isn't perfect. Some games you're going to score 63, and some games you're going to score six.\n"So I'm not concerned at all. I know we have a high-powered offense that's capable of scoring 50 points again next week"
(10/15/01 5:24am)
This is the encore?\nA 35-14 loss to Illinois, is the follow-up to last week's offensive awakening at Wisconsin?\nThe IU offense that romped for 631 yards one week ago managed 359 Saturday, and it virtually disappeared late in the game. The defense didn't do much better, letting Illinois run at will.\n"In the fourth quarter, they got to where they just pounded us," coach Cam Cameron said. "There's no other way around that."\nThere's no way around much of what IU did in the second half.\nNot the 31 total yards it gained in the third quarter. Not the disappearance of its run defense. And not the 21 consecutive points allowed. \nThe downward spiral started with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter.\nIllinois quarterback Kurt Kittner had a touchdown pass called back because of offensive pass interference, but on the next play -- a third and goal from the 18-yard line -- he connected with Walter Young in the corner of the end zone.\nThe play gave Illinois a 14-6 lead, weakening IU's defense -- the Illini scored every drive thereafter.\nIt was also Illinois' last pass of the game. The Illini relied on the run in the fourth quarter, and IU, despite stopping the run in the first half, couldn't even slow it down. The Hoosiers gave up 204 rushing yards after halftime.\n"You play so well and play almost mistake-free football (at Wisconsin), then you come and you make a lot of mistakes from a defensive perspective," senior cornerback Sharrod Wallace said. "You can't do that. You've got to go out there and understand what you've got to do and execute it."\nStill, the defense kept Illinois in check for the first half, and senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El said that should have been enough.\n"I like the way our defense played," Randle El said. "Granted, later on in the game, Illinois got going a little bit, but if we go down and score when they get them stopped and it's still 7-6, then it changes the whole complexion of the game. The offense has to execute better."\nThe offense couldn't execute at all in the second half.\nIU ended the first half with an eight-minute, 88-yard drive that stalled at the 1-yard line. Freshman Bryan Robertson, who had his first extra-point kick blocked, missed a 28-yard field goal, and the Hoosiers couldn't move the ball again.\nThe inability to run the ball outside hurt the offense.\n"We're not a big power, inside down-hill running team," Cameron said. "When we're at our best, we're on the perimeter. We know that."\nIllinois knew that.\nThe Illini took away the outside running game, containing Randle El and covering senior running back Levron Williams. And when the option game got shut down, IU could do nothing to compensate. It couldn't run the ball up the middle, and Randle El's passing was lackluster for 18-of-36 for 165 yards.\nMany of those passes came on IU's last drive, when the Hoosiers trailed 28-6. Randle El found senior Henry Frazier in the end zone and converted the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 28-14, but Illinois recovered the ensuing onside kick and drove 51 yards for its final touchdown, capping a performance by IU that looked nothing like the one it had one week ago.
(10/12/01 5:43am)
Sixty-three points meant celebration and broken records last Saturday.\nTomorrow, they mean nothing.\nThose 63 points IU scored against Wisconsin may not have been forgotten, but coach Cam Cameron said they aren't being dwelled on, either. He said his players feel the same way heading into their homecoming game vs. Illinois. \n"You can't turn the corner with one game," junior offensive tackle A.C. Myler said. "But we made a lot of improvements. We fixed a lot of things that held us back -- the little things, the almost things.\n"We look forward to correcting some more of those things Saturday and just continually getting\nbetter every week. Were still 1-3. Were not 3-3 or 5-3. Were still 1-3, and we have a long way to go."\nWhile 3-3 isn't on the agenda yet, Illinois is the next step in getting there.\nThe Fighting Illini come to Bloomington off a 25-14 victory against Minnesota and are one of several conference teams lurking just outside the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls. Led by quarterback Kurt Kittner, they're 4-1 for the first time since 1991. \nCameron said he expects Kittner to be prepared to take over the game if necessary. Last week, Wisconsin got down early and couldn't stay in the game relying on the pass, but Kittner, who's averaging nearly 265 yards passing per game, has three dangerous targets in Brandon Lloyd, Carey Davis and Walter Young.\nLloyd has 30 catches for 554 yards and four touchdowns, and Davis and Young have combined for another 37 receptions. \n"We really have to zero in because offensively they create a lot of problems that Wisconsin didn't," Cameron said. "I'm really impressed with the way Illinois' receivers are playing. Almost quoting them, they are a threat to go the distance on every play."\nThat offensive arsenal might lead to another high-scoring game. Last season, Illinois beat the Hoosiers 42-35, with the scoring stemming from each team's quarterback.\nKittner was 21-of-29 for 277 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Antwaan Randle El led IU with 209 yards and four touchdowns on the ground; he threw for another 130.\n"When that fourth quarter comes, there's gotta be no mistakes, you've gotta be flying around just like it's supposed to be in the beginning of the game," said Randle El, whose last-second hail mary fell incomplete against Illinois last season. "So we know, especially with Illinois, it may come down to the fourth quarter. It may come down to the last play.\n"And we just gotta make sure we're ready for that."\nOne advantage IU does have heading into its homecoming game is home field. The home team has won the IU-Illinois game in each of the past five seasons.\nComing off the big victory over Wisconsin is a bit of an advantage, too. Cameron's focus is on the present, but now his players have seen what they're capable of.\n"We weren't too down at (0-3), and now we're not going to get carried away the other way either," Cameron said. "We know it's one game, but yet, we now have a view, something that everyone can remember, of what we can be.\n"Sometimes until you can actually see it, it's strictly a leap of faith. It's more than a leap of faith now, because they've seen it, they've done it. Now it's a matter of duplicating it"
(10/11/01 4:02am)
Levron Williams knew after the Wisconsin victory that he'd had a career game.\nTeammates congratulated him. Reporters talked about records he'd tied and broken. Coaches praised his efforts.\nThe rest of the college football world took notice Monday.\nWilliams, who ran for two career highs -- 280 yards and six touchdowns -- against the Badgers, was named Big Ten offensive player of the week for his efforts. He also earned Big Ten player of the week honors from USA Today and www.collegefootabllnews.com. ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski named him national player of the week.\nWilliams, a senior tailback, admitted the game was the biggest of his college career. He also shared his achievements with his blockers.\n"It means a lot to me," he said. "That's what you need. You need running backs to have a (breakout) game or something like that. It just feels great knowing that I got 280 against a powerhouse team.\n"I couldn't get it without my offensive line. They made the holes for me."\nAfter the big game, Williams leads the Big Ten and is second in the nation in all-purpose yards per game with 214.8. He's also first in the conference and fourth nationally in scoring, with 13.5 points per game, and second in the conference and 14th nationally with 119.2 yards rushing per game.