LIBERTY BOWL : Illinois Fights Out of Bowl Slump in Big Way

Illinois looked into Marcus Crandell’s eyes and saw a way to turn around its postseason luck.

The Fighting Illini defense, noticing that East Carolina’s sophomore quarterback tipped his hand by staring at his intended receivers, intercepted four of Crandell’s passes Saturday in routing the Pirates, 30-0, in the Liberty Bowl.

“Once we started getting a feel for him, we were breaking on him every time he threw it, sometimes even before it was thrown,” said Illinois linebacker Kevin Hardy, who had an interception.

Illinois (7-5) had lost seven of its last eight bowl games but took control quickly against the Pirates (7-5).

Johnny Johnson passed for a career-high four touchdowns. He completed 18 of 30 passes for 250 yards with touchdown passes of 17, 73, five and nine yards, tying the Liberty Bowl record set by Purdue’s Mark Herrman in 1980 against Missouri.

“Our offensive line did a great job,” Johnson said. “I barely even got dirty. . . . I had time to throw all day.”

The Illini, whose defense ranked ninth in the nation, handed East Carolina its first shutout of the season. The Pirates had been averaging 27.5 points per game, but turned the ball over five times.

“All the mistakes we made were due to the pressure they put on us,” East Carolina Coach Steve Logan said.

East Carolina, playing in only its third bowl game since 1965, never established its offense, finishing with 271 yards.

The Illini rolled up 389 yards while holding the ball for more than 35 minutes.

Crandell, eighth nationally in total offense at 253 yards a game, completed 20 of 41 passes for 179 yards.