Notebook: Chappell nears top 5 in career IU passing yards

Adding four single-game school records to his name in the offensive shootout that was Saturday’s 42-35 IU loss to Michigan meant IU senior quarterback Ben Chappell felt it physically afterward.

“I was pretty sore,” Chappell said Monday. “I’m more sore today.”

The result — in addition to the tightly-contested loss in which he directed 98 offensive plays and 35 first downs — is Chappell moving up in the IU career record books.

Chappell began the season with the eighth-most passing yards in school history and has since moved to sixth with 5,326 career yards. Chappell passed Babe Laufenberg (4,256) and Tim Clifford (4,338) before the Akron game and needs 75 yards to pass Trent Green for fifth.

Antwaan Randel El holds the all-time school record in passing yards with 7,469 — a number Chappell could pass in the regular season if he averaged 268 passing yards per game through the end of the season.

IU sideline showed major difference, Evans said
IU senior safety Mitchell Evans noticed quite a change in the sideline demeanor for the Hoosiers on Saturday.

“One thing I noticed was a big difference — a big turnaround — in our sideline. They were a lot more into the game,” Evans said.

It wasn’t just players and coaches trying to pump up the crowd on critical defensive downs, either.

Injured players, including Evans’ secondary teammate junior safety Chris Adkins, who is out with an ankle injury, were assisting the starters.

“On the sideline, they were coming up to me and saying, ‘Hey, this is what I’m seeing out there,’” Evans said. “That’s good that the guys who aren’t on the field are paying attention and supporting the team.”

Donnell Jones remains option for IU at outside linebacker
A late change in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game moved junior Donnell Jones from safety to outside linebacker when IU started the game in a nickel defense.

“Going into the season, we thought that against the good spread teams where we needed more speed on the field, he’d be a good nickel man for us,” said IU head coach Bill Lynch.

The position — technically an outside linebacker — allows the 225-pound Jones to utilize both his size and speed in the position. Michigan’s overall team speed fit the
description.

However, when Adkins was hurt during preseason camp, Lynch opted to move Jones back to safety and change the formation.

“You’ll see him playing both the rest of the year, depending on who we’re playing,” Lynch said.


Times finalized for OSU, Arkansas State games
In pair of separate announcements, a few details concerning IU’s next two games were confirmed.

Saturday’s contest at Ohio State will be featured on ESPN and will be one of about 13 games this year to be featured in the new ESPN 3D format. Kickoff for the game will be at noon.

When the Hoosiers return to Memorial Stadium on Oct. 16, their homecoming contest against Arkansas State will kick off at noon in a game televised on ESPNU.