Game Summary I've been at IU for three years now, and only one other time have I seen a dominating performance by this team comparable to the showing they displayed Saturday afternoon. That was last year against then No. 15 Iowa. For that game, I was sitting in the third row of the 40-yard line of the student section. That was one of the best environments I've ever been in. So as a reporter do I miss sitting down with the fans? Just a bit. But I think the great thing about my job is that you're able to see everything unfold so well from the box. And let me tell you, when Bill Lynch said this team played a sound football game, they played a sound football game.
Several times, we (myself, Kirby and Dollinger), commented on how the Hoosiers were flying to the ball on defense, running succinct routes on offense and simply executing. I'm sure after the Illinois game, there were a lot of doubters wondering whether or not this team would be taking the team field trip to go bowling in December.
But I have to agree with Kirby with what he said about Illinois, and it makes sense why the Hoosiers lost that game. It makes even more sense seeing Illinois beat Penn State. The fact is, Illinois is a terrible matchup for IU. The Hoosiers have a hard time stopping the run. They simply cannot do it. Albert Young and Damien Sims were running all over them yesterday. When you hand the ball off to Mendenhall that many times, yeah, he's going to get 214 yards on the ground - obviously not that much every time, but you get where I'm going. Illinois is also a team that probably has more of a trouble playing from behind due to their inability to execute in the passing game. Let's just say Marcus Thigpen doesn't fumble on the first drive of that game. IU could very well be 5-0 right now. 5-0!!! But instead, the Hoosiers need two more wins and are sitting with four right now.
PT Players Jammie Kirlew: This is a guy who stepped it up big time. Kirlew finished with nine tackles and 3.5 sacks. He finished only 0.5 sacks short of the record, set by Adawale Ogunleye. The defense as a whole had nine sacks, and Kirlew was certainly a big part of that. In his post-game interview, Kirlew said that he certainly noticed the Iowa defenders making adjustments against him later in the game. Didn't matter though, with the way that defense was playing. He was a presence and stepped it up big time.
Josiah Sears: Kirby likes to call him Mr. Excitement - mainly because he has a new man crush on him. So I'm not stealing that nickname, it's all Kirby's. Sears had a solid game Saturday. His seven receptions led the team, and the guy is the fullback. Not to mention, he burst past the goal line on two occasions. And while Kellen Lewis had the somersault, Sears had a hurdle where he definitely got height that wowed everyone in the stadium.
James Hady: Four catches, 113 yards, one touchdown, enough said.
Kellen Lewis: Lewis threw for a career-high 322 yards and three touchdowns. This coming two weeks after he ran for a career high against Akron. The main thing to notice is that while Lewis looked flustered against Illinois, the man looked so unbelievable comfortable in the pocket against Iowa - so comfortable that when he picked up Sears' fumble and ran 71 yards, he thought it would be ok to flip into the end zone. Nicely done, Kellen. Nicely done.
Notable Mentions: Tracy Porter, Austin Starr, Leslie Majors, Andrew Means, Will Patterson.
