IU's offense finally awoke from its season-long slumber against Northwestern Saturday by putting up 531 yards of total offense and 31 points. IU rushed for 327 yards on the afternoon as freshman BenJarvus Green-Ellis and senior Brian Lewis both eclipsed the century mark with 136 and 128 yards, respectively.\nThe offense's season-best performance is clouded by the fact that Northwestern ranks last in the Big Ten in total defense and second to last in rushing defense.\n"Our game plan coming into the game was to run the ball," Green-Ellis said. "The run complements the pass and the pass complements the run, so I was not surprised at all that we ran the ball as much as we did. It's a bad feeling when you run the all as well as we did and you put in all this hard work and still lose the game."\nGreen-Ellis' hard work was most evident in the third quarter when the 6-1, 208 pound running back broke four tackles on his way to a 27-yard touchdown run. Green-Ellis finished with three rushing touchdowns on the day and has five on the season.\nSaturday was the first day IU had two running backs rush for over 100 yards since sophomores Chris Taylor and Yamar Washington did it in Nov. 2002, coincidentally, against Northwestern.
Offensive line improving\nComing into the season, IU's offensive line raised a question mark because of its inexperience. The unit doesn't have any seniors, with junior Chris Jahnke and sophomore Adam Hines being the only returning starters.\nThe '03 season has seen the emergence of sophomore left tackle Isaac Sowells, true freshman center Chris Mangiero, and redshirt freshman right tackle Justin Frye. It can be argued that Sowells is the bell-cow of the offensive line as the 6-3, 310 pounder protects junior quarterback Matt LoVecchio's blind side.\nSowells said Saturday's game was a building block for the young group, especially the running lanes that Green-Ellis and Lewis enjoyed.\n"(The rushing yards) are a big plus for us," Sowells said. "As an offensive line we had over 300 rushing yards. That's unbelievable. We just turned it up. We knew what we were capable of doing."\nGreen-Ellis said he's seen the group progress all season.\n"They're getting better every week," Green-Ellis said. "Saturday, they played excellent. The more that I run with the offensive line as the season goes on, I get better and better. I get the feel for the hole. I get the feel for where they're going to be."\nThe O-line isn't there yet as the group ranks last in the Big Ten, giving up 23 sacks for 135 yards.
Pep Talk\nAs expected after an overtime game, both coaches, IU's Gerry DiNardo and Northwestern's Randy Walker reflected on their respective team's results from the 37-31 Wildcat victory.\nDiNardo said he has no choice but to keep working.\n"As you get later in the season and you lose, it gets harder and harder," DiNardo said. "It's my job to get (the team) back. We are off this week until Wednesday, and we'll get them back. We have no choice."\nWalker gave no apologies for his team escaping Bloomington with a Big Ten road win.\n"I'm not going to apologize for this win," Walker said. "A lot of people want me to. I've already heard that. The fact is we found a way to do the things we needed to do to win. It was unconventional perhaps, but it's a W and we'll take it."
Extra Points\nSaturday's third quarter performance temporarily broke a season-long trend of being outscored in the third quarter. IU outscored the Wildcats 10-0, but the Hoosiers have been outscored 62-26 in the third of the season ... IU is idle this week as the team resumes practice today in preparation for its Oct. 25 home game against Ohio State. Memorial Stadium is sold out for the 11 a.m. game that will be nationally televised on ESPN.\n-- Contact staff writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
