Hoosiers set to spoil Champaign Homecoming

Last year, Illinois spoiled IU's Homecoming with a 35-14 win en route to the Big Ten Championship and a berth in the Sugar Bowl. This year, the Hoosiers are obliged to try and return the favor as Illinois takes them on for its Homecoming in Champaign, Ill.\nIn this year's addition, there will be a lot on the line for both teams. The Hoosiers (3-4, 1-2 Big Ten) are trying to fight their way into the bowl picture, and the Fighting Illini (2-5, 1-2 Big Ten) are trying to salvage a season that has gotten off to a slow start.\nComing into the season, Illinois had to overcome the loss of the second-most productive passer in school history, Kurt Kittner, as well as All-Big Ten center Luke Butkus.\nBut, with eight starters returning on offense and seven returning on defense, coach Ron Turner's team was expected to roll past early season opponents Missouri, Southern Mississippi and San Jose State. Instead, the Illini dropped the games by scores of 33-20, 23-20 and 38-35, respectively.\n"Early in the year we weren't playing together with mental toughness down after down," Turner said.\nIllinois does come into this week's game with a couple of advantages. Their last game was a 38-31 overtime win over Purdue, and last week they had a bye that gave them an extra week of preparation for IU.\n"They are obviously a little ahead of us on the game plan," coach Gerry DiNardo said.\nIf the Hoosiers are to pick up their first win in Champaign since 1979, their game plan will include improving their red zone efficiency. IU was 1-for-6 inside the 20-yard line against Iowa last week, which added to three points and three turnovers.\n"Lack of a run game and penalties have been the most difficult thing (to overcome) in the red zone," DiNardo said.\nSenior quarterback Gibran Hamdan said he blames his decision making for contributing to IU's red zone woes last week.\n"My decision making wasn't as good in the red zone as it was out in the field, and that is something that I need to work on," Hamdan said. "My decision making in the red zone doubles in importance as it does when you are out in the middle of the field."\nIU's secondary will face a challenge of its own when facing Illinois' highly touted wide receivers, junior Brandon Lloyd and senior Walter Young. Lloyd, who is a semi-finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the nation's top receiver, has 801 yards on 44 receptions and six touchdowns. Young has 23 catches for 367 yards and four touchdowns.\n"They just roll up the yards and points and score over 30 points a game," DiNardo said.\nJunior Dustin Ward will start the game as quarterback for the Illini, but he might not finish it. Ward has been flip-flopped with fellow junior Jon Beutjer throughout the year.\nBeutjer, a transfer from Iowa, has experience against the Hoosiers. He quarterbacked the Hawkeyes in a 45-33 loss to IU in 2000, but passed for 380 yards and four touchdowns.\nFor IU, the game at Illinois' Memorial Stadium will mark the second time this year that the team has played a game on artificial turf. The other experience on the carpet for the Hoosiers resulted in a 40-13 loss to Utah.\nLike Utah's surface, Memorial Stadium's field is not made of AstroTurf but AstroPlay, a synthetic mixture of polyethylene and rubber granules that is supposed to be closer to grass.\n"It is going to be important to go out there in warm ups and understand what you can do on the turf, and what kind of things you might not be able to do that you would be able to do on grass," Hamdan said.\nIn addition to the team rivalries, Saturday will also produce a sibling rivalry. IU safeties coach Curt Mallory will see a familiar face this weekend -- Illinois safeties' coach Mike Mallory, his brother. Both are sons of former IU coach Bill Mallory.\nThe game kicks off at 1 p.m.\nSaturday's game can be heard on WIUS 1570-AM.