UNRIVALED

For the first time since 1993, Kentucky entered Bloomington with an undefeated IU team awaiting their arrival. \nAnd for the first time in four years, the Hoosiers won, 38-14.\n"It wasn't a perfect game by any stretch, but it was beautiful," IU head coach Terry Hoeppner said. "We just whipped the Wildcats."\nSaturday's win over Kentucky marked several other firsts for the IU football team. The Hoosiers started off a season 3-0 for the first time since 1994. With the win, Hoeppner became the first IU head coach to debut at 3-0 since 1905.\n"(Being 3-0) is where we intended to be," Hoeppner said. "I know the recent history with this series, and I know we're not going to play it again in the near future. I told my guys, 'We need a thank you performance.'"\nSenior running back Chris Taylor notched his first 100-yard rushing game of the season, tallying a career-high 179 yards on 17 carries. His performance marked the first time since Nov. 22, 2003, that a Hoosier player ran for more than 150 yards.\n"I was very determined, and I felt like we were going to have a breakout game tonight," Taylor said. "The running backs all wanted to go out and produce during this game. Our challenge for the week was that we wanted to get five yards per carry, and we wanted to (prove to other teams) that we can run the ball."\nSaturday's game also marked the first reunion between IU sophomore quarterback Blake Powers and Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson since the 2001 Kentucky Class AAAA football playoffs. In that game, Powers and his Meade County team defeated Woodson's North Hardin, 14-7.\nPowers bested Woodson again Saturday, going 17-for-22 passing with 135 yards and four touchdowns. Powers also notched his 11th touchdown this season. Last season, quarterback Matt LoVecchio had 13 touchdown passes. Current Pittsburgh Steeler Antwaan Randle El set IU's record for touchdown passes in a season with 17 in 1999.\nPowers connected with freshman wide receiver Brandon Walker-Roby for a 9-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, marking Walker-Roby's first reception as a Hoosier. Walker-Roby, half-brother of the Tennessee Titans wideout Courtney Roby, was just one of seven different IU receivers to catch a Powers' pass.\n"We have a very talented receiving corps," Powers said. "They are young, and they are only going to get better. They really played well tonight, and it is a good feeling as a quarterback to know that you can throw it to any of your four receivers, and they are all going to come up and make big plays."\nFreshman place-kicker Joe Kleinsmith put IU on the board early in the game with a 22-yard field goal, his first as a Hoosier.\n"It felt awesome," Kleinsmith said. "I knew from then on I wasn't going to miss. I just felt so much more confident and that's going to stay with me now."\nAnd now, after starting off 3-0 for the first time in 11 years, the Hoosiers have their first week off this season, one Hoeppner said will be anything but a rest.\n"We have a bye week this week, but nobody is taking a vacation," he said. "We will give the team a couple of days off and then hit the practice field hard next week"