If you predicted the Hoosiers to start 1-3 this season, you're a smarter man than me. This one was just terrible.
If you didn't watch it on ESPN3, IU fell behind 21-0 at halftime, couldn't move the ball to save its life. And it should have been worse. North Texas fumbled twice and botched a chip shot field goal attempt in the first half.
Ed Wright-Baker threw a pick early in the third quarter, and the Mean Green went ahead 24-0 after a field goal. Neither team did anything the rest of the third. Then, a virtually hapless IU defense got a break. Freshman safety Mark Murphy intercepted a pass and took it to the end zone to cut the lead to 24-7 with 11 minutes left.
The Hoosiers recovered an onside kick, but couldn't do anything with it. Then Dusty Kiel replaced Wright-Baker at QB, and threw two long touchdown passes -- mostly because of bad North Texas defense. But that made it 24-21 with a little over a minute left, and IU failed to recover an onside kick.
Without further ado, what we learned this week:
1. QB controversy alive and well...EWB looked awful on Saturday night, and Kiel came in and did some good things. Basically, right after we thought EWB had a firm hold on the stating position, the QB battle is alive again. I wouldn't be surprised to see Kiel in there against Penn State next week. If you can't score against one of the nation's worst defenses, you don't deserve to start.
2. Receivers in trouble?...IU coach Kevin Wilson said Damarlo Belcher didn't travel and Kofi Hughes and Duwyce Wilson played sparingly in the first half due to injuries. I don't know if I'm buying that. He kind of hinted in his postgame comments that it's a preparation thing. It was just odd not to see three of IU's top players out there early in the game.
3. No energy on the road...IU has played away from Memorial Stadium twice this year, and both times they looked lifeless on the sideline. Seriously, the Hoosiers showed no energy the whole game. It's like they're afraid to lose the games people expect them to win, so they tense up. I would expect to see a lot more energy on the sideline when the Hoosiers go up to Wisconsin in a few weeks.
4. Kevin Bush quit...The defensive end and military man quit the team, according to Wilson. Wilson said he just didn't have the same desire to play anymore, and he wasn't getting playing time anyway. Bush is a good guy, so it's hard to lose him.
5. It's going to be a long, long year...if what we saw on Saturday continues. I know that's kind of stating the obvious, but I didn't expect IU to be 1-3 going into the Big Ten season. I mean, really, North Texas? The question now is becoming: Will IU win another game this season?
