AKRON, Ohio -- In their first convincing victory of the season, the IU football team dominated throughout much of the game en route to a 38-21 victory in their first road contest of the year.
The Hoosiers (3-0,0-0) held a 17-14 lead going into the half and pulled away in the second half with 21 unanswered points.
IU opened the game with a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Ray Fisher and added a Nick Freeland field goal to take an early 10-0 lead.
Akron refused to back down, however, and the Zips struck back with a 49 yard touchdown pass and a blocked punt which they recovered in the end zone to go on top 14-10. IU quarterback Ben Chappell gave the Hoosiers back the lead going into half with a 10-yard strike to Mitchell Evans.
The Hoosiers then went on to score three touchdowns to open the second half, and Akron scored a garbage time touchdown in the waning minutes.
IU quarterback Ben Chappell finished 18-28 for 163 yards and two scores through the air. Running back Darius Willis led the team in rushing attempts with 15, going for 66 yards and his first career score.
Defensively, safety Austin Thomas had two interceptions, defensive end Greg Middleton had six tackles and one sack, and the Hoosiers finished with four takeaways.
The Hoosiers will travel to Michigan next week for its first Big Ten game of the year.
Stay with idsnews.com for more on IU's 3-0 start to the 2009 season.
