Oct. 26, 2002

Recap?|? Final Stats?|? Notes

Illinois Head Coach Ron Turner

On the team's performance:
"I was real pleased with the attitude, focus, and determination of our team today. It was a team win, and whether you look at it offensively, defensively, or from special teams, I think our players really came to win. They executed what we ask them to do very well."

On this week's practices:
"We practiced very well on Sunday, as good as we have. We had a good practice on Tuesday and a real good practice on Wednesday. I wasn't pleased with Thursday's practice, but maybe that was a good thing because I think we got their attention so when they came yesterday, I saw a different look in their eye, and they were extremely focused at the walk through yesterday."

On running back Antoineo Harris:
"When you can run the football it opens up so much, and fortunately we came out and were able to establish a run and hit some passes to go along with it early. That obviously really helps."

"I know he's very motivated. He was motivated all spring and all summer because he wanted to have a chance to be the feature back and get the ball in his hands, and we've been able to do that the last couple of weeks. He's a great competitor and has a tremendous work ethic, and he's doing a great job for us."

On quarterback Dustin Ward:
"I think he saw the field really well today, and I think that he threw with a little more accuracy and consistency today. Hitting that one to Brandon was huge, and he made a great throw there. I think hitting that one to Walter gave him a lot of confidence too."

On today's win:
"Hopefully, it will be a big boost. We needed to get a win, and it didn't matter how we got it. We really needed it because obviously we've got a lot of tough games coming up. We're playing a very, very good Penn State team next week, but we look forward to the challenge. When you play in this league, every week is a tough game no matter who you're playing, but that's what you expect playing in this conference."

Indiana Head Coach Gerry DiNardo

On the game: "The biggest disappointment is that we did not come to play. We did not play well or hard at any point during the game. We had a good week of practice, and I thought we would be ready to play today. I was very surprised with our effort today."

On Indiana's offensive performance:
"We did not execute at all. Our protection against the rush was not good and Girban (Hamdan) was not accurate with his throws."

On the QB situation:
"I felt that Tommy (Jones) deserved a chance to play. Girban (Hamdan) did not play well at all, so I felt we needed to make a change. I don't know who will be the starter next week, we will have to evaluate the situation tomorrow then make a decision."

On the rest of the season:
"We have to go back to work. This is just one loss, we have to learn from the mistakes we made today and move on."

Indiana QB Girban Hamdan

On his performance:
"I had a very bad game. I couldn't make the critical plays and move the team down the field. I missed some throws to open receivers and just did not execute."

On the Illinois defense:
"They played very well today. They didn't surprise us with anything; we just did not execute well at all. I thought our game plan was good, and we had a good week of practice. We just had another slow start and never got going on offense."

Indiana Wide Receiver Courtney Roby:

On the season:
"We have a long season ahead of us still; this team has not quit all year. We have to come to practice and work on our mistakes and get ready for the next game."