Hoosiers look for respect

Utah is giving the IU football team no respect. \nFor that matter, neither is the rest of the country.\nThe Utah Web site doesn't even bother to spell IU's head coach's name right. Gerry DiNardo turned into "Jerry" DiNardo in their press release. A "G" into a "J" is not a significant mistake, but still, if Utah was showing any respect for the undefeated Hoosiers, one would think they would care enough to make sure a name was spelled right.\nCBS Sportsline predicted Utah would win by three points, 22-19. \nEven IU fans who post messages continuously on the IU football fan Web site, predict that Utah will probably be the victors in this game. They don't even keep with the three-point spread; a few have predicted a blowout for Utah.\nAnd to quote ESPN.com, "More Mountain West respect should be on the way after Utes dispose of Indiana." Ouch, that's not mincing words at all is it?\nIU is getting no love from anyone for this third meeting with the Utes. Perhaps last year's game hasn't completely been forgotten. But then again, why should it be?\nIU had a lead going into the fourth quarter of the 2001 game, but someone forgot to tell the Hoosiers that having the lead didn't mean an automatic win. Too bad, maybe IU would have shown up.\nInstead, Utah scored 14 points early in the quarter and denied IU the chance to tie the game on a two-point conversion attempt. The Utes won 28-26, and headed to a bowl game while the IU team sat at home watching the bowl games on television, wondering what could have been.\nIf only they bothered to show up for the fourth quarter. \nBut it's a new year, with a new coach (Again, Utah, that's Gerry with a G!) and a new defense. Unfortunately, going out to Salt Lake, the Hoosiers are without what they need most: An offense.\nFollowing Saturday's game, DiNardo said quarterback Tommy Jones could have played better. Word to that. Jones' statistics basically mirror Utah's quarterback Lance Rice's; Jones attempted just two more passes than Rice and both had 165 yards. But a consistent, unstoppable Jones is needed more than ever. \nAs of now, Jones is without his leading rusher Brian Lewis, who is questionable for Saturday's game. Lewis suffers from a sprained ankle. Not good news as Jones and the IU offense faces a Ute defense that held it's first opponent, Utah State, to three points, 162 total yards, including minus-9 rushing yards, and an interception. \nUtah's leading rusher was Marty Johnson, who rushed for 176 yards on 30 carries, and contributed over half of the 282 total rushing yards the Utes racked up last Saturday. In short, Johnson rushed for 76 more yards than the Hoosiers had total. Oh boy.\nWith a defense that needs to prove the first game wasn't a fluke and an offense without a consistent quarterback or dominant running back, CBS Sportsline was being nice. Just a three-point spread? Looking at the statistics and comparing IU to Utah, that number should be multiplied by 10 billion. That is the biggest cause of concern for the IU football team and its fans.\nThen again, so is Utah's spelling abilities.