Quarterback Chappell recalls humbling visit to Champaign

Ben Chappell vividly remembers his first start in an IU uniform.

“We were pretty dinged up, and they got after us,” Chappell said, lamenting how it turned out.

The senior quarterback was just a sophomore in 2008 when the Hoosiers traveled to Champaign, Ill. for their fourth Big Ten game of the season. The Hoosiers, then on a four-game losing streak, took the field as a 2-4 team.

By the time they left, the Fighting Illini had poured a scoring output of 55 on the Hoosiers in a 42-point loss, 55-13.

“It was my first start, so I’ll never forget it,” Chappell said. “But hopefully it turns out a little better this time.”

IU’s quarterback probably prefers to remember his last dealings with the Illini at Bloomington’s own Memorial Stadium last year.

IU trailed just once — a total of four minutes, 32 seconds — by a mere four points before piling on 24 unanswered points on Illinois before the away club found the end zone just once more with 4:48 remaining.

Chappell guided the Hoosiers that night with 333 yards through the air on 23-of-38 passing. Three of those completed passes went for touchdowns.

Saturday in Champaign, the Hoosiers will face an Illini lineup that’s changed more than just a few faces.

Former Illinois quarterback Juice Williams has graduated and turned the reigns over to Nathan Scheelhaase. The redshirt freshman has played the role of second fiddle in the offense, though.

Illinois ranks sixth in terms of rushing offense within the Big Ten courtesy of average ground attack, hitting 200.3 yards per game.

Running back Mikel Leshoure has averaged 113.3 yards on more than 21 carries per game. Scheelhaase has helped too, running for 48 yards per game so far.

But Scheelhaase has committed some mistakes in the passing game.

With three interceptions a week ago at Michigan State, the quarterback now has seven for the year on a team with the worst turnover margin in the conference.
Those issues could play into the hands of the Hoosiers.

Earlier this week, IU coach Bill Lynch made note that his team’s defense — just ninth-best in the 11-team Big Ten — showed improvement against Arkansas State last Saturday at home.

“We rallied to the ball, kept the ball in front. We had good pursuit,” Lynch said Monday, noting that missed tackle and assignment counts for the IU defense had decreased.

A focus this week in practice, Lynch said, was solving issues the appeared in earnest for the first time this season during kickoff coverage.

In the 36-34 win against Arkansas State, IU allowed two fourth-quarter kick returns of 62 and 50 yards. Sandwiched between them was a touchdown drive by Arkansas State after a 15-yard personal foul on IU.

The special teams play wasn’t worth losing sleep over, Lynch said.

“It’d be different if we’d gone through six games of just really poor kick coverage,” Lynch said. “Then I’d be a lot more concerned. We just didn’t cover well on Saturday. We’ve got to correct that and make sure we have the right scheme and people in place and move forward.”

Should the Hoosiers accomplish their goal and win their first road game in the Big Ten since 2007 at Iowa, Chappell might be reminded of another memory from the series between the state universities that share a common border.

In 2006, IU prevailed at Illinois courtesy of a game-winning field goal by then-kicker Austin Starr while Chappell — then a non-traveling, redshirting true freshman — sat in Bloomington and watched his teammates celebrate the win.

“I watched it all on TV,” Chappell said. “It was exciting to see all the guys get excited after a game-winning field goal. It’ll probably be a similar type game this year.”