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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The wind whipped at a consistent 25 mph Saturday, making the 37-degree temperature at Illinois Memorial Stadium feel a good 10 degrees colder and making any ball in the air -- punt, pass or kick -- an adventure.But Iowa knows how to handle this kind of game.The Hawkeyes struggled to a 7-0 halftime lead before turning the game over to LeShun Daniels Jr. and the defense on the way to a 28-0 win over the Illini.The shutout was the first for Iowa (7-4, 5-3 Big Ten) since a win over Ball State in 2010. Illinois had just 198 yards of offense, had as many first downs -- 10 -- as punts and never pushed inside the Iowa 30.Watching the defense work motivated the offense to put points on the board on a day when they were tough to come by, Hawkeyes quarterback C.J. Beathard said.Theyve been flying around and hitting guys and getting to the ball the last couple of weeks, said Beathard, who was 9 of 17 for just 80 yards and an interception. Theyve stacked a couple of really good games together defensively.Daniels had 159 yards on 26 carries, including second-half touchdowns of 1 and 50 yards that put the game away.Even with quarterback Wes Lunt back from an injured back and starting his first game since early October, Illinois (3-8, 2-6) struggled to deal with the conditions and the Hawkeyes defense.We dropped the balls when we got it to the receivers. It just wasnt a good day for our offense as a whole -- we couldnt get the running game going, Illinois coach Lovie Smith said.The wind was the only reason McCarron dropped deep on punt returns Saturday, joining Desmond King as a second return man to deal with the unpredictable flight of the ball, Ferentz said. And having McCarron back there paid off late in the first half.Standing at his own 45, he waited for the low, wind-driven punt from David Reisner to find him. When it did, he broke right and found little but open space on the way to a 55-yard touchdown and the 7-0 halftime lead.THE TAKEAWAYIowa: Coming off a big win over Michigan, the Hawkeyes struggled through the first half. McCarrons touchdown looked for a while like it might be the games only points. But Iowas defense kept its foot on the Illini for four quarters, denying them points even off a pair of first-half turnovers and keeping Lunt to 137 yards and an interception on 19-of-41 passing.Illinois: The Illini had first-half chances. But they failed to turn two turnovers and some good field position into points in their last home game of the season. Lost in the final score is a solid effort from a defense that Iowa wore down as the game went on. Iowa had 136 yards at halftime, had turned the ball over twice and, minus McCarrons punt return, hadnt scored.WIND TUNNELThink the stiff wind wasnt a factor? Iowa was so concerned about it that Ferentz chose to play with the wind at his teams back rather than receive the ball to open the third quarter. And the decision paid off. The Hawkeyes forced Illinois into a three-and-out possession to open the half, then comfortably drove 77 yards for Daniels first touchdown and a 14-0 lead.Ferentz remembered making a similar move once, in 2003 against Michigan State.It didnt work out too well up in East Lansing, he said. They promptly drove 80 yards.WHO NEEDS TO THROW?Four times in his career at Iowa, Beathard has thrown for fewer than 100 yards. All four times the Hawkeyes have won, at Wisconsin and Nebraska in 2015 and the past two weeks over Michigan and Illinois.LUNT TO GRANTLunt and Illinois receiver Zach Grant were high school teammates in Rochester, Illinois, just outside Springfield, and won a pair of state titles playing at Memorial Stadium. Grant came into the game with just 17 catches this season, but the connection between the two seniors was one of the few things that worked Saturday. Grant had eight catches for 65 yards and said the connection between the two felt a little like high school again.Now thinking about it, it did a little bit. It was nice to get rolling for sure, he said.UP NEXTIowa: The Hawkeyes close at home against No. 19 Nebraska next Saturday.Illinois: Illinois finishes up at Northwestern next Saturday.---More AP college football coverage: collegefootball.ap.orgFollow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAPDetroit Tigers Gear . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Cheap Tigers Jerseys . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. Tigers Jerseys 2020 .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Custom Detroit Tigers Jerseys . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation.Since representatives for unified middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin and secondary titlist Daniel Jacobs have been unable to make a deal for a mandatory fight for the past three-plus months, the WBA on Wednesday formally ordered a purse bid.The purse bid, which is open to all WBA-registered promoters, will take place Dec. 19 at the WBA offices in Panama City, Panama. The winning bidder will gain promotional control of the bout.Golovkin, 34, is entitled to 75 percent of the winning bid and Jacobs, 29, will receive the remaining 25 percent. The minimum bid is $400,000, but the winning bid likely will be several million dollars.K2 Promotions managing director Tom Loeffler, Golovkins promoter, has been locked in talks with Jacobs adviser Al Haymon for months, but they have not been able to make a deal. But Loeffler, with a well-earned reputation as a deal-maker, said he remains hopeful they will reach a deal before the purse bids are unsealed.Still planning to have a deal done with Jacobs before the bid deadline, Loeffler, who was traveling in Germany, told ESPN by email after the purse bid order was announced.Haymon does not speak to the media and a spokesman for him declined to comment.Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York, knocked out Sergio Mora in thhe seventh round of their rematch on Sept.dddddddddddd 9 to retain his secondary belt for the fourth time. The next day, Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) stopped Kell Brook in the fifth round in London to retain his title for the 17th time as he scored his 23rd knockout in a row. The camps initially hoped to have a deal done in time for the fight to take place Dec. 10 in New York, but when they could not reach an agreement they decided to push the fight into 2017.The new target date is March 18 at New Yorks Madison Square Garden. Golovkin, a Kazakhstan native, is based in Santa Monica, California. He is under contract to HBO, and there is talk that the fight could wind up on HBO PPV rather than the HBO network as originally planned.The big hang up in negotiations appears to be the purse split. The Jacobs camp asked the WBA to adjust the split from the usual 75-25 to 60-40 in Golovkins favor. However, the WBA rejected the request.Although Loeffler has said many times their side is willing to cut Jacobs in for more than the 25 percent he is entitled to, he would not go as high as 40 percent for Jacobs, who is not the proven draw that Golovkin is. ' ' '