BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Gerry DiNardo expects his Indiana players to keep practicing and playing hard, even in the midst of what appears another lost season.

Three days after the Hoosiers endured perhaps their most embarrassing loss of the year and again were mathematically eliminated from bowl contention, DiNardo walked into his weekly news conference Tuesday and said he anticipated no change in Indiana's effort.

"These are tough times," he said. "I talk to the kids about this being an extraordinary job, and it takes extraordinary people to get it done."

DiNardo is in his second season as Indiana's coach, but many of his players have been through this scenario before.

With four games left, Indiana (1-7, 0-4) already is assured its ninth consecutive losing season. It hasn't reached a bowl game in a decade, hasn't finished higher than fourth in the Big Ten since 1991 and doesn't own a winning record against any conference opponent.

It's enough to make many people lose hope.

DiNardo is not among that group and is doing everything he can to make sure his players aren't, either.

"There's a picture frame outside the football office that's reserved for the next bowl team," he said. "We want them to work on that. We want them to practice and play as if they will have an impact on that."

Indiana's bleak season isn't about to get any easier.

The Hoosiers start the final third of the year with a trip Saturday to No. 24 Minnesota, where it is 9-28-1 all-time. Although the Hoosiers have won nine of the last 12 meetings with the Gophers, Indiana hasn't won in Minneapolis since Oct. 2, 1993.

After a home game against Illinois, the Hoosiers visit Penn State -- a team they've never beaten -- and return home to face No. 18 Purdue.

The losing has had an impact.

At halftime of Saturday's 35-6 loss to Ohio State, DiNardo said the locker room was as "bad as it's been all year." When players returned Sunday, DiNardo didn't see much difference.

"It was fairly typical of a Sunday after a loss," he said of the team's attitude. "It was pretty quiet."

A win certainly would help.

Until then, DiNardo's biggest challenge will be keeping his players' focused.

On Tuesday, he acknowledged that if there is a drop-off in effort -- at practice or in games -- he would not hesitate to change the lineup.

"We're going to explain the plan to them and will make them work hard in practice and make them work hard on game day," he said. "If they don't, we'll make changes. But that really not been a problem with us."

That includes quarterback Matt LoVecchio, who has struggled with only two touchdown passes this season. Backup Graeme McFarland needed just six passes to throw his first career touchdown Saturday.

DiNardo, though, reiterated Tuesday he's not about to make a quarterback switch.

Instead, he wants the Hoosiers to focus on winning.

Indiana has dropped 11 straight road games, and if DiNardo can keep his players' working hard and playing hard, he believes the Hoosiers can change their track record.

"It has been nine years since we've had a winning season," he said. "Obviously, its going to be a difficult thing to do. But we will get it done."

Originally published Wednesday, October 29, 2003