Illinois’ offense: Bust in the wind
Hawkeyes’ defense shuts out Illini, who only gain 198 yards
CHAMPAIGN — The wind whipped at a consistent 25 mph Saturday, making the 37- degree temperature at Memorial Stadium feel 10 degrees colder and making any ball in the air — punt, pass or kick — an adventure. But Iowa knows how to handle this kind of game.
The Hawkeyes struggled to a seven- point halftime lead before turning the game over to LeShun Daniels Jr. and the defense on the way to a 28- 0 win over the Illini.
The shutout was the first for Iowa ( 7- 4, 5- 3 Big Ten) since a win over Ball State in 2010. Illinois had only 198 yards of offense, had as many first downs — 10 — as punts and never pushed inside the Iowa 30.
Watching the defense work motivated the offense to put points on the board on a day when they were tough to come by, Hawkeyes quarterback C. J. Beathard said.
“They’ve been flying around and hitting guys and getting to the ball the last couple of weeks,” said Beathard, who was 9- for- 17 for only 80 yards with an interception. “They’ve stacked a couple of really good games together defensively.”
Daniels had 159 yards on 26 carries, including second- half touchdowns of one and 50 yards.
Even with quarterback Wes Lunt back from an injured back and starting his first game since early October, Illinois ( 3- 8, 2- 6) struggled to deal with the conditions and the Hawkeyes’ defense.
“We dropped the balls when we got it to the receivers,’’ Illinois coach Lovie Smith said. ‘‘ It wasn’t a good day for our offense — we couldn’t get the running game going.’’
The wind was the only reason Riley McCarron dropped deep on punt returns, joining Desmond King as a second return man to deal with the unpredictable flight of the ball, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. And having McCarron back there paid off late in the first half.
Standing at his 45, he waited for the low, wind- driven punt from David Reisner to find him. When it did, he broke right and found little but open space on the way to a 55- yard touchdown and the 7- 0 halftime lead.
The takeaway
Iowa: Coming off a big win over Michigan, the Hawkeyes struggled through the first half. McCarron’s touchdown looked for a while like it might be the game’s only points. But Iowa’s defense kept its foot on the Illini for four quarters, denying them points even off a pair of first- half turnovers and keeping Lunt to 137 yards and an interception on 19- for41 passing.
Illinois: The Illini had first- half chances. But they failed to turn two turnovers and some good field position into points in their last home game. Lost in the final score is a solid effort from a defense that Iowa wore down as the game went on. Iowa had 136 yards at halftime, had turned the ball over twice and, minus McCarron’s punt return, hadn’t scored.
Wind tunnel
Think the stiff wind wasn’t a factor? Iowa was so concerned about it that Ferentz chose to play with the wind at his team’s back rather than receive the ball to open the third quarter. And the decision paid off. The Hawkeyes forced Illinois into a three- and- out to open the half, then comfortably drove 77 yards for Daniels’ first touchdown and a 14- 0 lead.
Who needs to throw?
Four times in his career at Iowa, Beathard has thrown for fewer than 100 yards. All four times the Hawkeyes have won, at Wisconsin and Nebraska in 2015 and the last two weeks over Michigan and Illinois.
Lunt to Grant
Lunt and Illinois receiver Zach Grant were high school teammates at downstate Rochester, just outside Springfield, and won two state titles playing at Memorial Stadium. Grant came into the game with only 17 catches, but the connection between the two seniors was one of the few things that worked. Grant had eight catches for 65 yards and said the connection felt a little like high school again.