I drove 15 hours to see IU play football, and all I got was this lousy performance.\nSure IU's 34-10 loss to UConn wasn't the lowest moment in team history. It might not even rank in the Bottom 10. But it certainly was one of the more excruciating displays of football that I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing.\nI'm not sure what caused IU to play so poorly. Maybe they were intimidated by the UConn-record crowd of 38,109 that showed up to the inaugural game at Rentschler Field. Or perhaps they were impressed by the Huskies stylish uniforms, which were designed by Aeropostale. (Really… I'm not sure if this means Abercrombie and Fitch will be designing Rutgers uniforms next year).\nOr maybe UConn will end up winning the national championship. (Just had to throw that one in).
KEYS TO THE LOSS\nBasically, everything that could wrong for IU on this trip (not to mention for the writers covering it for the IDS) did go wrong. The second play from scrimmage was a Brian Lewis fumble. That's about as ominous as you can begin a season outside of giving up a kickoff return.\nIt was all downhill from there, as IU's players appeared to have dipped their hands in a bucket of concrete before the game. Normally dependable sophomore fullback John Pannozzo dropped four passes that hit him right in the numbers.\nEvery time that IU threatened to score in the second half, their hands would do them in. One play after a potentially momentum turning interception by junior Josh Moore, sophomore Chris Taylor fumbled at the UConn 21. After grabbing a 50-yard pass from junior Matt LoVecchio, junior wide receiver Travis Haney fumbled at the seven. (Though he did get clocked, which explains the drop). \nEven when IU was in position to add a meaningless touchdown at the end of the game, they dropped a 4th-and-goal pass in the end zone.\nIU's offensive line provided many holes throughout the course of the game -- unfortunately they were for the UConn defensive line, not IU's running backs. To top it off, things will be getting worse sooner than they get better for the young O-line, which must deal with Washington and Michigan in the next four weeks.
STRATEGY SESSION\nCoach Gerry DiNardo said he wanted to go conservative in the first half -- and he sure did. The Hoosiers passed the ball all of seven times and ran 26 times. That's more conservative than Pat Buchanan. I agree that it is important to control the tempo of the game, but the opponent shouldn't be able to know what you are doing every time.\nUConn coach Randy Edsall expressed surprise at IU's insistence on running.\n"I guess they thought they could wear us down," Edsall said.\nAlso, until the offensive line gets more experience, I don't think LoVecchio should line up under center. Or even in the shotgun, for that matter. If he lined up as far back as the punter, he might have enough time to find a man downfield. We'll call it the "cannon" formation.
IU MVP\nEvery game this season, I will be picking an IU MVP. Even in the ugliest situation, you have to give somebody a pat on the back. For this week I am going to go with junior kicker Bryan Robertson. Sure he only had two opportunities to score, but he capitalized on both of them. Freshman kickoff specialist Troy Grosfield also had a nice game, booting the ball into the end zone on two of his three kickoffs.
