Throw away the records -- please

Originally Published: November 4, 2003

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By Herb Gould
Special to ESPN.com
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When Illinois and Indiana meet in Bloomington Saturday, you can throw away the record books.

In fact, the Illini and the Hoosiers, who are both still looking for their first Division I-A victory, would appreciate it if you did.

While Illinois has lost its six Big Ten games by an average of more than 30 points, Indiana has lost its five Big Ten games by a mere 25 points a game.

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It's not true that this game will attract a crowd that could be shoe-horned into IU's Assembly Hall, which holds 17,456 and is jam-packed for hardwood meetings between these two basketball schools. One thing's for certain, though: With attendance likely to be about 30,000, there will be plenty of good seats available at 52,354-seat Memorial Stadium.

Another thing also is certain. The fans who are expected to stay away in droves are going to miss a dogfight of a pillow fight.

Considering their lengthy injured lists -- these teams do make the charts in something -- this shapes up as a virtual junior-varsity showdown in comparison with their depth charts from earlier this year.

Illinois, which has lost five offensive starters since it was toyed with by Michigan State on Oct. 11, is likely to line up without its top quarterback (Jon Beutjer), its top two tailbacks (E.B. Halsey and Pierre Thomas), its top two receivers (Kelvin Hayden and Lonnie Hurst) and its starting left guard (Bryan Koch). Beutjer, Thomas, Hurst and Koch are out for the season; Halsey and Hayden are doubtful.

On defense, it's difficult to pinpoint how many starters willl be on the sidelines. Because between injuries and a coaching staff that keeps changing its lineup in a desperate effort to find a combination that works, it's difficult to say who many of the starters are.

Indiana had five starters go down with injuries in their loss at Minnesota last week, and they had three other starters who didn't even suit up.

At Indiana, though, the emphasis is on the bizarre, rather than the quantity of injuries. Earlier in the season, while attempting to fire up his team, defensive line coach Joe Cullen gave safety Herana-Daze Jones a head slap. No one was hurt, but Cullen was reprimanded by the IU athletic director. At Indiana, where Bob Knight frequently ended up explaining his side, there's a high sensitivity to contact between coaches and players.

Last week, IU coach Gerry DiNardo was surprised to learn on Friday night that he would be without the services of quarterback Matt LoVecchio for the Hoosiers' game the next day against Minnesota. Despite suffering a concussion the previous week against Ohio State, LoVecchio had practiced all week and apparently was going to play. But upon further review, the IU medical staff did not clear the quarterback to play.

While Indiana took out Division I-AA Indiana Sate 33-3 for its lone victory, Illinois handled Illinois State 49-22 despite being outgained 511-461. That was just one of five 500-yard days by Illinois' opponents, but we can't say whether that's an Illini record. There's no listing for Most 500-Yard Games Allowed, Single Season, in the record book.

We can tell you, though, that Illinois is allowing 498.2 yards per Big Ten game, while Indiana is allowing 467.4. yards. The only other Big Ten team allowing more than 377 yards is Northwestern (426.4).

Cruel observers will point to those statistics as a reason not to watch. But in their defense -- and Illinois and Indiana need all the help they can get there -- that could make the game more watchable.

Indiana, which has scored more than seven points in only two of its Big Ten outings, and Illinois, which has scored more than 14 points in only one of its conference games, are going to fare much better this week.

Another reason to watch is that even though they won't say it, the Illini and the Hoosiers know this is their chance -- their best chance to get a win.

Herb Gould covers the Big Ten for the Chicago Sun-Times.