Hoosier football a 'hike' behind Penn State

I was running a little behind Saturday, so instead of watching the IU-Penn State kickoff from the press box, I watched it on television from home.\nI left after the first offensive play of the game, an IU freshman running back Yamar Washington carry for four yards. In the five minutes it took to get from my house to the stadium, the IU football team had gone three and out and Penn State had already scored.\nNot a good sign.\nBut let's be reasonable. The IU football team was not going to win this game, especially if the first two scores of the game were both set up by the defense. In fact, the first one was scored by freshman safety Buster Larkins who intercepted Penn State quarterback Zach Mills at the 41-yard line. The second score was set up by freshman linebacker John Kerr who returned an interception to the seven yards to the 21-yard line.\nIt took the offense five plays to move the ball 21 yards.\nAnd for the second time in the game, the point-after attempt failed. IU had the lead, but the offense only had 17 yards.\nSad, pathetic, disheartening. Take your pick. The Hoosiers were only down 14-12 going into the second quarter, but with no working offense, the Hoosiers were not going to win.\nEspecially not with the IU defense having to figure out how exactly they were supposed to stop Penn State's amazing running back, Larry Johnson, and how they were supposed to help out an offense that couldn't move the ball.\nThe defense couldn't carry the game, and after halftime, they didn't. But it's not like Johnson really helped the cause at all.\nSo let's talk about Larry Johnson. For the second week in a row, I was envious of how the opposing crowd got to watch such talented players week in and week out. First it was Michigan State's Charles Rogers. This week, it was Johnson.\nBottom line, he was amazing. For the entire game, he rushed for 327 yards.\nIU's total offense had 275 yards.\nYes, those statistics are correct. Johnson rushed for more yards than the IU team had total. In fact, by the end of the first quarter, which Johnson closed out with a 69-yard touchdown run, he already had 100 yards. For Hoosiers fans, that's just embarrassing. But come on, IU does have the second worst rush defense in the Big Ten.\nThe worst is Northwestern. And the Hoosiers couldn't even beat them.\nBut back to Johnson, because, well, he's awesome, fun and just plain gifted. Sure, he was against a defense that definitely was not going to provide much difficulty for him to run around, but that doesn't jade the fact that he is a premier back.\nHe managed to break or put his name on just about every record imaginable. Johnson broke the Nittany Lions single game rushing record with his 327 yards on 28 carries. But get this, it wasn't just the first time he broke it, it was the third. Johnson is the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. For the third time.\nThe four touchdowns he scored were a career-high for the player who put his numbers in Big Ten history books when his 327 yards were the fifth-highest. Ever. \nShould I continue? Because I can.\nJohnson's 327 yards were the second-highest rush yards grossed in the country this year, and not since 1996 has a Big Ten player run for more than 300 yards. Of course the last time that happened, it was against a Mid-American Conference team, not a fellow Big Ten school, but whatever. \nThe list goes on, but for the sake of saving IU a little humiliation, I'll stop. Bottom line is, Johnson has a fantastic running ability, and if anyone should be an out-of-nowhere candidate for the Heisman Trophy, it should be him.\nEven if it all happened against the Hoosiers.