advice.The civil police were also contacted and arrived about 90 minutes

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)davidmercerAP Custom Stars Jersey China . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Authentic Custom Stars Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http://www.customstarsjersey.com/ . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Cheap Custom Stars Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Cheap Stars Jerseys . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. A New Zealand athlete and his journalist girlfriend holed up in their apartment in Rio after military police at the centre of an alleged abduction showed up at their door, but they later tweeted that they are safe.Jiu-jitsu champion Jason Lee says members of the Policia Militar pulled him into a car on Sunday and forced him to withdraw money from two ATMs.A report was made to the Policia Civil (civil police), who Lee said assured him his personal information could not be accessed by the military police. (The civil police handle criminal investigations; the military police are responsible for public order.)But on Monday afternoon, the Lee and his girlfriend found the Policia Militar at their door.Doorman just called to say Policia Militar - the police who kidnapped my boyfriend - are downstairs. They should not have our address, Lees girlfriend, Laura McQuillan, tweeted.We have contacted the NZ Ambassador and are awaiting further advice.The civil police were also contacted and arrived about 90 minutes later.In anoother tweet, McQuillan said the office of Rios state secretary for security told her that the military police who came to the apartment were from internal affairs, although several of her questions and concerns about the visit had yet to be answered.ddddddddddddLee tweeted later Monday: We are safe. Thanks for the msgs from everyone overseas and locally. I will reply to you all when time allows. Thanks for the support!McQuillan also tweeted: We are ok & grateful for the support of NZ Embassy, Civil/Tourist Police & State Secretary for Security! No further comment at the moment.A New Zealand Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed Lee contacted the embassy in Brasilia on Tuesday morning.The embassy has contacted other authorities on his behalf, they said.Lees account has been described by Australian Olympic team boss Kitty Chiller as very disturbing.The AAP contributed to this report. ' ' '