Second half scoring spree spells defeat for IU

Through one half of play Saturday, IU looked like it had turned over a new leaf. The Hoosiers, playing against No. 22 Washington, didn't look anything like a team that lost badly to UConn a week earlier. \nBut that all changed in the second half, as the Hoosiers gave up four touchdowns in less than a quarter and lost 38-13.\nIU coach Gerry DiNardo was unhappy with both halves. \n"We played well, but we didn't play well enough to win the first half," he said. "We played well enough to tie the first half. We lost both halves of the game. We talked about it at halftime. We still weren't playing well enough to win the game. Obviously, we were tied at halftime so we still weren't playing well enough." \nAfter entering halftime tied at 10, IU opened the third with a drive highlighted by a 26-yard scramble by junior quarterback Matt LoVecchio and an interference call on a pass intended for junior wideout Courtney Roby. The drive stalled, however, and IU settled for a 39-yard field goal by junior Bryan Robertson and a 13-10 lead. \nEverything went downhill from there.\nOn the Huskies' next possession, senior quarterback Cody Pickett threw a pass that junior wide receiver Reggie Williams caught slanting from left to right at the Washington 42-yard line. Williams made senior cornerback Duane Stone miss and streaked down the right sidelines for a 71-yard touchdown.\n"(That touchdown) broke our back, but we still need to learn how to finish the game," sophomore defensive end Victor Adenyanju said. "Once we get that down, it will boost our morale."\nIU turned the ball over on its next drive, when a LoVecchio incompletion to sophomore running back Chris Taylor was ruled a lateral and recovered by Washington. The drive stalled, however, and after an IU timeout, the Huskies lined up to punt. But an illegal substitution penalty gave the Huskies a first down and a chance they wouldn't waste. After a 23-yard pass to junior wideout Charles Frederick, freshman tailback Shelton Sampson dashed outside and scored on a seven-yard touchdown.\nFollowing the game, DiNardo was critical of the officiating, particularly the substitution penalty.\n"I think that is intent to deceive," he said. "I don't think that is college football. There was no stoppage of play. They lost control of the game, in my opinion. It was unfair. We were trying to get our players off the field." \nIU then went three and out and a poor punt gave the Huskies the ball on the IU 41. On a first and goal play, Sampson scored his second touchdown of the game untouched on an option pitch from Pickett.\nThe Huskies got the ball back immediately as LoVecchio was intercepted by senior linebacker Greg Carothers on the next play. Again, Washington didn't squander the opportunity. Williams caught his second scoring pass on a fade pattern on the left side of the endzone over sophomore cornerback Leonard Bryant. In only 9:21 of the third quarter, the Huskies transformed a 13-10 IU lead into a 38-13 deficit, effectively putting the game out of reach. \nIU did play well in the first half, even outgaining the Huskies in total yards 186-185. Washington scored first, on a drive characterized mostly by the ground game. The Huskies rushed 10 times for 51 yards before Pickett threw a completion to Frederick in the right corner of the end zone.\nHowever, the Hoosiers answered with their own long touchdown drive. On a 3 and 11, LoVecchio scrambled and slid one yard short of the first down at the IU 49-yard line. DiNardo decided to go for it and Taylor ran for 3 yards and the first down. After a loss, Taylor ran for 11 yards and caught a screen pass for 12 more before barreling up the middle for a 3-yard score. \nThe teams traded second quarter field goals, and IU got another shot when sophomore linebacker Kyle Killion intercepted Pickett with 1:22 remaining in the half. IU drove the ball to the 23, but LoVecchio took a sack and a 9-yard loss on third down. Robertson then missed the 50-yard attempt to end the first half of play.\nOffensively for IU, LoVecchio was 16 of 29 for 199 yards and the interception. Roby led receivers with seven catches for 77 yards and senior tailback Brian Lewis led in rushing with 31 yards. Freshman safety Will Meyers led IU defensively with 13 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Junior safety Herana-Daze Jones also finished with 13 tackles.\nLoVecchio said the team needs to concentrate on playing well for an entire game. \n"There's absolutely no reason for losing," he said. "We can look back and say that we played well in the first half, but that doesn't mean anything. We lost the football game, and we need to get back to work."\n-- Contact staff writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.