Antoneo Harris (RB) ran for a career high 4 touchdowns against the Indiana Hoosiers on Oct. 26, 2002. Harris scored on runs of 1,4,5, and 28 yards in the victory. Dustin Ward (QB) made a solid start throwing for 193 yards on 16 of 23 passing with 2 touchdowns. The Fighting Illini will look to keep their bowl hopes alive with a victory over the 21st ranked Penn State Nittany Lions (5-3) on Nov. 2, 2002.
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The pressure is squarely on the shoulders of Ward/Beutjer to not allow a major dropoff in production and leadership at QB. Remember, while Kittner tossed 14 interceptions, a number of which occurred early in some games, he always demonstrated the poise and a short memory to shake off the mistakes and rally the troops. The key here is the ability of the new QB to get the ball in the hands of the highly skilled Lloyd early and often. On defense, the Illini have star power with Schumacher, Morton and Wilson, but the front four must make up for the graduation loss of Brandon Moore and Terrell Washington, while the new-look safety tandem presents some interesting possibilities with Jackson coming off the injury list and the highly regarded juco transfer, McGill. While the Illini definitely have some key pieces to the puzzle in place, the one missing link, Kittner, is huge. Just how critical his loss turns out to be will ultimately dictate the Illini's success in 2002.