IU goes on the road to face Western Michigan

At his weekly press conference Tuesday, IU coach Bill Lynch could think of no better phrase to describe Kalamazoo, Mich., than as a “hornet’s nest.”\nOr at least that’s how he envisions the environment his football team will find itself in at 8 p.m. Saturday, when the Hoosiers take their 1-0 record to Western Michigan.\n“We have a real challenge on our hands this week, and I think our players understand that, and I know our coaching staff does,” Lynch said. “I spent a lot of years coaching in the Mid-American Conference, as did a lot of our staff, and we know that to go to Western Michigan, they’ve had this thing circled for a long time. It’s a very good football team.”\nThe Hoosiers opened the 2007 season with a 55-7 blowout win over Indiana State, scoring the most points by an IU team in an opener since a 1969 victory over Kentucky. Saturday night, the Hoosiers will play a team with a slightly higher talent level – and a little more speed – than the Sycamores.\n“They have a very good secondary with a lot of guys coming back this year,” said junior wide receiver James Hardy. “They have a lot of confidence in their corners and they think that we won’t be able to get off the press. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but I think we’re ready for it.”\nLast season, the Broncos finished the regular season with an 8-4 record, good enough to secure a spot in the International Bowl in Toronto against Cincinnati. Western Michigan went on to lose the game 27-24. After their home opener, the Broncos continued the losing trend by suffering a blowout of their own – a 62-24 loss at No. 3 West Virginia.\nLynch said Western Michigan’s competitiveness is not reflected by the box score from their game last week. But the Broncos are a team IU knows well.\n“Bill Cubit has been a really good head coach for a long time,” Lynch said. “I’ve known him a long time; his football teams are always well schooled and very tough to defend, because they’ll give you about as many formations as you’ll see all season in one game.”\nIn addition to the fact that much of the IU coaching staff spent at least a portion of their careers in the MAC conference, playing the Broncos will be a rematch of last year’s 39-20 IU victory at Memorial Stadium. \nHowever, this Hoosier team bares distinct differences to the one that played the Broncos a year ago. Leading the offense was now-senior quarterback Blake Powers, who has since been replaced by sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis. Back then, Lewis was nothing more than an unknown commodity, sitting behind Graeme McFarland in the depth chart.\nThough IU faces a fast defense this weekend that returns most of its starters from last season, Lewis said the talent within the Hoosier receiving corps will be good enough to counter the Broncos’ defense.\n“It’s nothing to really worry about; we’ve got a lot of speed on our side of the ball too,” Lewis said. “Obviously, we’re pretty deep at wide receiver, and we’ve got a lot of guys who can run around and catch the ball. I guess it will be a finesse vs. finesse match up.”\nBut this is also a defense that was seventh in the NCAA in turnover margin last year, forcing 12 fumbles and picking off 24 passes. Against the Football Championship Subdivision Sycamores, the Hoosiers fumbled the ball six times.\nForcing turnovers – while making sure the Hoosiers avoid them – is on Lynch’s priority list as well.\n“The ball can’t be on the ground when we’re playing,” Lynch said. “It’s a point of emphasis and on the other side, see if our defense can strip it and get it out. Anytime you go on the road to a tough situation, you have to take care of the football. If you can get some turnovers that can certainly be a big help.”