Football tries to stay alive

Kurt Kittner didn't shy away from criticizing his performance last weekend in Illinois' 14-10 loss at Michigan State. The Illini junior quarterback said even his mom could have made some of the throws he couldn't.\n"Not good," Kittner said of a 13-for-29 passing performance that gained 104 yards. "I am very disappointed in myself. I feel like I played like a freshman again."\nThis is how most of the season has gone for Illinois (4-4, 1-4 in Big Ten play). Much like the Hoosiers, the Illini had big plans this year. After an 8-4 season a year ago, Illinois had its eyes set on a possible Big Ten title. \nBut after a tough loss to Michigan to open its conference schedule, the Illini have been caught in a downward spiral. Illinois has lost four of its last five games and are suddenly in danger of missing the bowl season altogether.\nBesides Kittner's play, Illini coach Ron Turner said he has been disappointed in the way Illinois has squandered chances to win football games.\n"It comes back to us," Turner said. "We have to take advantage of opportunities when they are there to score points."\nThe Hoosiers know what it's like to miss opportunities. IU lost three games in the closing moments of the fourth quarter that they could have easily won, including last week's 27-24 loss to Penn State in Indianapolis.\n"They've had a lot of close ballgames, and we've got three ballgames that were extremely close, where if you make a play here or make a play there and take advantage of an opportunity, you're looking at a completely different set of circumstances," coach Cam Cameron said. "I think they're in the same position."\nIllinois still has a good shot at becoming bowl-eligible, but it must win tomorrow because it will soon play Ohio State and Northwestern, both ranked teams. The Hoosiers are still bowl-eligible but will need to win both.\n "I think this becomes the next opportunity for both of our ballclubs, which is to go in and win, play as well as we can possibly play and make the plays that need to be made," Cameron said. "That's what the ballgame will come down to."\n IU beat Illinois last year in Bloomington in a fourth quarter rally that ended in a 34-31 Hoosier win last October. In that game, junior quarterback Antwaan Randle El ran for three touchdowns and kept the Hoosiers in the game before throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to junior running back Levron Williams on IU's first overtime possession.\nEven though Randle El defeated the Illini last year, Cameron said he doesn't expect Illinois to change its defensive scheme for the game.\n"They may adjust something in their secondary, but I think most people will be reluctant to just come in with some magic defense to try to stop any one person," Cameron said. "If you take everybody else away, obviously, he's going to try to create some things, which he has done numerous times."\nThe Illini will try to steady their offense with junior running back Rocky Harvey and sophomore running back Antoineo Harris, who have each run for more than 500 yards this season and accounted for seven touchdowns.\nTurner will be looking for Kittner to return to the form that had some people touting him as a Heisman Trophy candidate at the beginning of the year.\n"I've never seen an athlete at any level not have an off day," Turner said. "He had an off day. I'm confident he'll bounce back."\nThe Hoosiers are looking at this game from the standpoint that it is just one more step toward a bowl berth. Instead of collectively looking at the final three games, IU is solely focused on Illinois.\n"We've still got three games to play, no matter how you look at it," Cameron said. "It's not a one-game season. One of our goals would be to play in post-season. This game gets you one step closer to that. That's why we're not focusing on three games. We're focusing on one game"