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Speaking to his players after practice today, Bill Lynch tried to fire them up by telling them this Saturday's game against Purdue will be a sellout - the first of the year at Memorial Stadium. Upon hearing this, the players let out a roar and proceeded to head to the locker room.
From the IU Media Relations Department:
Ray Fisher seems very unimposing in person.\nAt 5-foot-9, the sophomore wide receiver stands several inches shorter than the average cornerback. But what separates Fisher from other receivers his size is his ability to make other people flat out miss tackles in the field. \n“I just go with the flow,” Fisher said. “Whatever comes to my head, I just do. It’s just an instinct.” \nThrough the first 10 games of the season, Fisher is the team’s second-leading receiver. Catching 40 balls for 394 yards and four touchdowns, he has nearly doubled his production from last year. \nFinding a way to impact the team has not been a problem for Fisher. On a team that already has a strong receiving corps, Fisher has become a threat at the slot position, which makes it hard for defenses to match up against him while creating favorable match-ups for junior wide receiver James Hardy on the outside.\nWhen he gets the ball, Fisher uses his height – or lack there of – to his advantage. Fisher’s stature allows him to have a low center of gravity, therefore making it easier to slide between tackles and avoid being brought down.\n“He has the ability to make plays,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “He’s a good receiver, but he’s got great speed, quickness, and he’s got a little bit of toughness in him.”\nWhen he was recruiting Fisher, Lynch began calling him “Big Play Ray.” The nickname has come to accurately depict a substantial amount of the plays Fisher has made this year.\nOne of the Hoosiers’ more common play calls this season has been a screen pass to Fisher, which he says is his favorite route. Catching it in the flat, Fisher uses his speed to turn upfield and make plays.\nLast week, he transformed an ordinary screen pass into a 60-yard touchdown. The play hasn’t always worked out though. Against Akron on Sept. 15, Fisher tried to avoid the defensive pursuit, resulting in a 17-yard loss.\n“I thought I could make a big play,” Fisher said. “But instead, I made a big loss. My life is on the edge on the football field. Whatever comes to my head I just do, and I don’t second guess it anytime.”\nWith blocking being an important part of the screen pass, senior offensive lineman Charlie Emerson noted that, with Fisher, the concept of blocking differs a bit.\n“Obviously, you block until the whistle,” Emerson said. “But Ray has shown this year that he can make some spectacular plays on his own without any blockers around him. Having him back adds an extra element to our offense.”\nTwo weeks ago, Fisher missed the Hoosiers’ trip to Madison, Wisc., because of an injured foot. Disappointed, he had to sit and watch the Hoosiers lose 33-3, Fisher worked hard to rehabilitate his foot and now says it’s at 100 percent.\nTwo weeks removed from the injury, Fisher and the Hoosiers will travel to Evanston, Ill., to play a team that uses the same type of offense IU does. Because the Wildcats are used to running the spread offense, Fisher expects Northwestern to be ready for him.\nStill, a healthy “Big Play Ray” has the confidence in his coaching staff to make something happen. As Lynch joked last Saturday, “You don’t know where he’s going to go.”\nWho knows? Maybe Northwestern feels the same way.
What was once a small pool hall frequented by a "laid-back old man's crowd" is now a 14,000-square-foot establishment attracting people of every race, religion and sexual orientation, said Kilroy's Sports Bar general manager Maggie Prall.\n"We capture every audience," she said. "Nobody's missing."\nWith six areas inside the bar that feature attractions such as live DJs and dueling pianos, Kilroy's Sports Bar, 319 N. Walnut St., was voted Best Bar in Bloomington. Manager Paul Miller said Sports is so popular because it offers something for everyone. Constant summer renovations are one way Sports tries to offer more to customers.\n"We have the nicest bathrooms you'll find at any bar in town," Miller said. "Those things help."\nThe family-owned bar is now the champion of the Bloomington bar scene, but without Kilroy's Bar & Grill, 502 E. Kirkwood Ave., Sports might have never existed.\nMaggie's mother Linda Prall opened Kilroy's Bar & Grill on Kirkwood as a restaurant in 1975. The restaurant was only a stone's throw from the fraternities and sororities on Third Street, and it soon became a favorite among IU's greek community, she said. With business booming and an abundance of managers, Linda bought a punk-rock bar in 1991 on North Walnut Street called Stardust. Maggie went to work at her mother's new bar Kilroy's Sports Bar when she graduated from Bloomington High School South in 1996. She was joined by her sister Liza in 2000.\n"We were here through the Final Four," Maggie said, referring to the 2002 men's basketball season when IU made it to the final round of the NCAA tournament. "We had the time of our lives."\nThe sisters left Sports in 2003, preceding a bad year for the bar in 2004, Maggie said. The sisters returned in 2005 to find the bar's live-music scene crashing.\n"The only thing working was the DJs," Maggie said. "We decided to move that upstairs and work on the downstairs."\nMaggie brought dueling pianos to the first floor of Sports after seeing the attraction during her annual trip to a restaurant-and-bar show in Chicago.\nAfter changing the inside, long lines outside the bar became Maggie's biggest frustration, but she found a solution when an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight was televised at the bar. With a crowd of hundreds of men who were drinking, Sports started a ladies-only line in an attempt to prevent fights from breaking out. The ladies loved it, Maggie said.\n"We want to have girls. They keep it fun and lighthearted. They're the life of the party," Maggie said. "If we make them happy, the guys will follow"
Last Saturday, the IU football team (6-4, 2-4) celebrated becoming bowl eligible, something it had not done in more than a decade.\nBy Sunday morning, the celebration was a thing of the past, and preparing for this weekend’s game at Northwestern is now the only thing on the Hoosiers’ radar.\n“We have to win the seventh game, and we have to keep going,” senior offensive lineman Charlie Emerson said. “Everybody’s playing for something at this point in the season. We just have to prepare like we normally do and play hard.”\nPreparation should not be as hard this week as in weeks past. The Wildcats feature a spread offense similar to the one IU deploys. Using a four-wide receiver set, mostly out of the shotgun, the Wildcats ride the pass-happy offense of coach Pat \nFitzgerald. \nSenior linebacker Adam McClurg said playing a spread offense is something the defense looks forward to, because they practice against it all year. \n“I’m used to it, so it’s more like going back to what I know,” McClurg said. “Michigan State, we got a big dose of power. But it’s really exciting to get back to the spread offense.”\nSaturday’s game will also feature the return of running back Tyrell Sutton. Sutton has 310 yards rushing in four games and is averaging 5 yards per carry.\nIU coach Bill Lynch differentiated his team from Northwestern at his weekly press conference. He said Fitzgerald’s squad resembles Minnesota more than IU, because the Wildcats like putting receivers in motion and using bunch formations.
From the IU Media Relations Department:
The clock hit zeroes. Jane Hoeppner found Ray Fisher, wrapped him in her arms for an emotional hug, and the Hoosiers became bowl eligible for the first time since 1994.\n“That was a big moment,” the sophomore wide receiver said. “That’s all she’s been wanting. Everything that we’re doing is for coach Hep right now.”\nWith a 38-20 win over Ball State, the Hoosier faithful finally had something to celebrate, as cheers of “Terry Hoeppner” rained down onto the field.\n“I think about him every day,” said junior wide receiver James Hardy. “Usually, our fans say his name each and every game. It just really means something now that we’ve got the sixth win, because he was preaching on us to play 13.”\nOvercoming a rough start – including three first-half turnovers – sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis finished the best passing day of his career. He completed 22-35 passes for 354 yards – a career high – and four touchdowns, but it was Fisher and Hardy who provided the big plays.\nBoth receivers had two touchdowns and each finished with more than 100 yards receiving. After stumbling out of the gates and falling behind 10-3, the Hoosiers came alive thanks to a big play by the 5-foot-7 Fisher.\nOn second and five from their own 40, Lewis threw a screen pass to Fisher, who cut across the center of the field and ran 60 yards for the score to tie the game.\n“He made some big plays, didn’t he?” Lynch said of Fisher. “Ray wants that ball in his hands all the time. You don’t know where he’s going to go, but he wants it, and he’ll take off.”\nWhen Ball State entered IU territory on the game’s next series, junior cornerback Chris Phillips took matters into his own hands – literally. Phillips picked off Ball State quarterback Nate Davis and sprinted 58 yards uncontested to give the Hoosiers their first lead of the day.\nAfter stopping Ball State on a three-and-out, the Hoosiers scored yet again, as Lewis found Hardy in the back corner of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown reception and a 24-10 lead at the half.\nDuring the opening drive of the second half, Ball State looked like a different football team. The Cardinals marched down the field for a touchdown to make it a one-score game. \nBut whenever the Cardinals challenged, the Hoosiers found an answer. Three minutes after Ball State closed the gap to 24-17, Lewis threw to a blanketed Hardy in the end zone, and the Fort Wayne native hauled in his second touchdown reception of the game. The two playmakers have now combined for 23 touchdowns together, the most of any duo in IU history.\n“Me and James, it’s something that we worked on over the summer,” Lewis said. “Most prolific, I’m kind of honored to take that title, but all we do is go out there and play every Saturday.”\nPlaying a team that lost by only a point at Nebraska and played well at Illinois last week, the Hoosiers finished the Cardinals off in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. Fisher cradled a Lewis pass over the middle to extend the lead to 38-17. The catch was a diving effort, and Fisher bobbled the ball on the way down.\nLewis, however, pointed out that bowl eligibility does not necessarily grant the Hoosiers a bowl bid.\n“It’s nothing but bowl eligibility,” Lewis said. “As of right now, yeah, we are bowl eligible. But we still have two more big games, so the more games we win, the better.”\nBut for a team that endured heartache over the summer and was in the midst of a three-game losing streak, Hardy had nothing but praise for what his team did Saturday, something IU has not done in more than a decade. \n“Adversity makes us who we are,” Hardy said. “For us to go through the things that we went through before the season even started and going down three games in a row, it’s huge for this program.”
It has been a rough few weeks for IU football.\nAfter starting 5-1, the Hoosiers are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Only one win short of bowl eligibility, IU is one of 10 Big Ten teams that could still end up with six wins. Only seven bowls are allotted to Big Ten teams.\n“I definitely don’t think there’s any concern,” said sophomore defensive lineman Jammie Kirlew. “We know what we have to do, especially this weekend. We’re just going to go out there, we’re going to prepare and we’re going to keep fighting.”\nThe fight does not get any easier this weekend. Playing Ball State in Bloomington, the Hoosiers will face anything but a pushover. On Sept. 22, the Cardinals lost by a point at Nebraska and played Illinois tough through the first three quarters last weekend in Champaign, Ill.\nFor now, though, all eyes are on this weekend’s performance to see whether the Hoosier offense finds its legs after struggling mightily last weekend in a 33-3 drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin.\nSophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis is one of the players who knows he needs to play at the top of his game every week in order to put the Hoosiers back on course – especially after throwing two interceptions and fumbling once last week.\n“Mentally, it’s been pretty tough on me,” Lewis said. “Of course, I’ve got my teammates coming over to support me. They try to tell me to get over it, don’t worry about it and look forward to playing good every week.”\nIn the last few weeks, Lewis has not consistently used his ability to evade the pass rush and scramble out of the pocket. Playing a Ball State defense that ranks 116th in the nation in run defense might change that recent trend in Lewis’ play, though he said he is not sure how they will defend him.\nGiving up 227 yards per game on the ground does not necessarily make Ball State inferior to the Hoosiers, though.\nPart of their success is due to their turnover margin – the Cardinals rank seventh in the nation. The rest is the play of quarterback Nate Davis, who has already thrown for 21 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season. In order to limit Davis, the IU defense, which ranks second in the nation in sacks with 36, knows it must provide pressure in the pocket.\n“He’s a hard guy to sack,” Lynch said. “The thing he does so well is he does a great job of stepping up in the pocket and buying time. Then, if nobody’s there, he’ll take off and run with it.”\nWith three tough games left on the schedule, including matchups at Northwestern and home against Purdue, Lewis said he is aware that seven wins might in fact be the magic number to get the Hoosiers to their first bowl game since 1993.\n“Is that in the back of our minds? Yeah,” Lewis said. “In the Big Ten, everybody is losing to everybody. So as many wins you can get as possible, the better chances you have of being bowl eligible.”\nIf that’s the case, the team that once talked about which bowl they would go to could have to face the realization they might not even go to one.\n“No one’s laying their head down,” Kirlew said. “We know we’re a good team, we just have to fix mental mistakes and mistakes out on the field.”
I can't say anything else, other than Kellen is a terrific interview. I love some of these answers.
MADISON, Wis. – Amid a sea of red at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, the IU football team took the field with the hope of upsetting Wisconsin for a sixth win. Only half of the team showed up to play.\nThe spread offense that has served IU (5-4, 2-4) so well through the first eight games of the season was absent, and the Hoosiers extended their losing streak to three games with a 33-3 loss at Wisconsin.\n“We still have three games left,” said junior wide receiver James Hardy. “Each of the guys, we can’t quit, that was coach Hep’s motto. We go through adversity and today, Wisconsin was just the better team.”\nOvermatched the entire day, the Hoosiers simply were unable to make anything happen offensively. Sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis finished the day 17-33 in passing for 113 yards. \nHowever, it was the team’s three fumbles and Lewis’ two interceptions that killed any chance of sustaining a drive throughout the game.\n“We’ve got all the confidence in the world in the kid,” said senior offensive lineman John Sandberg, “and he’s got all the confidence in himself.”\nIn the opening minutes, Lewis continuously overthrew his passes and looked out of sync in the pocket. The Badger defense pressured him into making poor decisions all day and sacked him three times.\n“It’s not a surprise that they were going to come out there and rough us up,” Lewis said. “Michigan State did the same thing. They did a good job on defense today.”\nWhile the offense was unable to make anything happen, the IU defense managed to play a strong 60 minutes, keeping the Hoosiers in the game. Senior linebacker Adam McClurg forced a fumble and senior cornerback Tracy Porter intercepted a pass at the goal line.\nIt wasn’t until a fourth-quarter touchdown by running back Lance Smith gave the Badgers a 24-3 lead that IU’s hope for a comeback came to an end.\nThe IU offense failed to enter the Badgers’ red zone the entire game and struggled to gain yards, let alone put points on the board. IU’s only points came on junior kicker Austin Starr’s 49-yard field goal. \nEven when things began to improve for IU, something always happened to kill whatever wind began to fill the Hoosiers’ sails.\nOne such play would arguably have been the most impressive play of the year.\nBacked up on their own 16- yard line and down 17-3, junior running back Marcus Thigpen exploded off the left hash-mark on a third and long, sprinting 84 yards for an IU score. But a holding penalty on Hardy and a penalty on Thigpen’s celebration brought the ball back to the IU 12-yard line.\n“I thought personally it wasn’t a holding,” Hardy said. “The coaches on the sideline said it wasn’t a hold, and I put my hands up. There were a couple of calls that were kind of skeptical.”\nTime and again, the IU offense was given the opportunity to march down the field and try to bridge the gap.\n“Defensively, we wanted to make (Indiana) play left-handed,” said Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema. “We wanted to take away what they do best and dictate the flow of the game.”\nTrying to make something happen as the final seconds ticked away, Lewis underthrew a pass that was intercepted. A minute later, a team that started the year 5-1 could only hang its head as it walked off the field and into the locker room.\n“You can’t live in the past,” said a withdrawn Starr. “You have to forget about the last game, the last play. You just have to keep moving forward.”
The IU Athletics Department announced today that the IU/Northwestern game on Nov. 10 will air on ESPN Classic. It will only be the second nationally televised game for the Hoosiers this year, and the game itself could determine whether or not IU will play 13. Kickoff is scheduled for noon est., and it will be the first meeting between the two teams since Oct. 9, 2004.
Talking to IU coach Bill Lynch, he said the reason why the Hoosiers have lost to the Badgers in years past is due to Wisconsin's success with the play-action pass. Wisconsin is known for their great running back corps, like Penn State is known for their great linebacking corps. And this year, Wisconsin seems to have one of the best backs in college football with P.J. Hill.
Elusive and a curse.\nFollowing last Saturday’s 36-31 loss to Penn State, those were the only words sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis and junior wide receiver James Hardy could muster to describe the Hoosiers’ second failed attempt to get their sixth win this season.\n“It hasn’t happened here in 15 years, and it’s sort of like it’s a curse,” Hardy said following the loss. “It’s going to be a lot harder than what we expected, what everybody else expected. That’s why it hasn’t happened in so long.”\nEach of the last two years, the Hoosiers have had the opportunity to become bowl eligible, and each time they have found it a difficult task. \nAfter winning a fifth game – a 46-21 blowout over Michigan State on Oct. 28, 2006 – with three games to play last year, the Hoosiers dropped each contest to end the season.\nNow, IU coach Bill Lynch's team faces a similar situation. Only four games remain on the Hoosiers’ schedule, and two of them are on the road. While winning a Big Ten road game is never easy, IU will face an even tougher test Saturday, playing at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis.\nSophomore defensive lineman Greg Middleton turned around Hardy’s post-game comments, saying the Hoosiers have had a couple of tough losses in a row and the team will win this weekend.\n“It’s about winning,” Middleton said. “Then it won’t be like that anymore. We just have to focus in and get the win.”\nBut that win won’t come easy.\nPlaying at Wisconsin’s homecoming, the Hoosiers will play in front of roughly 80,000 people, and Lynch said he expects the crowd to be a factor. The Hoosiers prepared this week for a rabid crowd by literally cranking up the noise levels at practice.\nOn Thursday, loud music blared from the speakers at Memorial Stadium in order to give Lewis some practice playing with silent cadence – a strategy the team used at Iowa and Michigan State.\nAt both of their Big Ten road games this year, a 38-20 win over Iowa and a 52-27 loss at Michigan State, the Hoosiers have faced sold-out crowds that stayed loud throughout the game.\n“We try to turn it into a positive,” Lynch said. “Iowa, we were ready from the opening kickoff and really took control of the game from the start. Michigan State was the exact opposite. We never really get our feet underneath us.”\nAfter fumbling the ball four times last weekend, the Hoosiers hope practicing for the noise will help limit their turnovers. In their five wins this year, the Hoosiers are plus seven in the turnover margin, whereas they are minus four in their three losses.\nAs he’s preached all year long, Lynch said the Hoosiers can’t turn the ball over.\nThough Lynch has told the media all year that his team is not looking ahead, an IU loss this weekend will put the team in the same position they were last year – three games to play, and only needing one win to become bowl eligible for the first time in 14 years.\nThe difference between this year and years past, said sophomore wide receiver Andrew Means, is that this Hoosier team expects to win every game rather than hoping to win a game.\n“The last couple of years, in the locker room people were like ‘We’re going to lose this game, lose that one, win this one,’” Means said. “We’re a new team. Three years ago, this team would have been done and packing up their stuff saying the season’s over.”
The last two times the IU defense took on the challenge of defending a rushing team, it struggled mightily, losing both contests.\nAfter giving up a combined 656 yards on the ground to Illinois on Sept. 22 and Michigan State on Oct. 13, IU coach Bill Lynch is hoping that the third time will be the charm.\n“You have to stop the run,” Lynch said. “That’s a coaching cliche, but I think there’s a lot of truth to it.”\nThe Hoosiers will face a formidable test Saturday, as they try to defend a rushing attack led by P.J. Hill, who is second in the Big Ten in rushing and first in touchdowns, gaining 1,009 yards and 14 touchdowns.\nLast week against Northern Illinois, Hill gained a season-high 184 yards and scored two touchdowns.\n“Obviously he’s a bigger back, so hitting him high is probably not an option,” sophomore linebacker Will Patterson said. “It’s going to be a challenge this week, but we’re ready for that challenge.”\nLynch said the problem with defending a strong running game such as Wisconsin is that, when you commit more players to stopping the run, the opponent is able to use the play-action pass more effectively. Lynch said \nplay-action passing is what has hurt IU in its recent history with the Badgers.
Run defense key to stopping Wisconsin The last two times the IU defense took on the challenge in defending a rushing team, the Hoosiers came out on the short end of the stick. After giving up a combined 656 yards on the ground to Illinois (Sept. 22), and Michigan State (Oct. 20), IU coach Bill Lynch is hoping that the third time is the charm. "You have to stop the run," Lynch said. "That's a coaching cliche, but I think there's a lot of truth to it."
McCray still out Since Sept. 22, sophomore running back Demetrius McCray has been out with a foot injury. While Lynch said McCray has been able to begin running on his own - his foot was in a boot for a couple of weeks - Lynch said he will most likely sit during Saturday's game at Wisconsin. McCray showed promise while in limited action for the Hoosiers, averaging 6.3 yards per carry after 22 attempts. Without McCray as the number two back, Lynch has resorted to giving junior running back Marcus Thigpen, and sophomore running back Bryan Payton more carries. However, there has been a drop in the Hoosiers rushing production. Through their first three games, the Hoosiers were able to accumulate 776 yards and were among the national leaders in rushing. But in three of their last five games, the running game has turned in performances of 73 yards at Iowa, 22 yards at Michigan State, and 68 yards last weekend against Penn State. "Sure we miss Demetrius but I think it's somewhat reflective of who we've played," Lynch said. "We've played some pretty good football teams that have done a good job."
Rolling over and playing dead was not what the Hoosiers had in mind when they learned they would be playing in three opponents’ homecomings.\nThe Hoosiers already proved that this year with a 38-20 win at Iowa. At Kinnick Stadium, the stands were filled for homecoming, and the fans were expecting their team to break out of a six-game Big Ten losing streak.\n“Well, we already won one,” said a confident sophomore fullback Josiah Sears. “But honestly, we don’t even have a clue until we get there and realize \nit’s homecoming.” \nAside from playing in their own homecoming game – an Oct. 20 meeting against Penn State – the Hoosiers also played at Michigan State on Oct. 13, losing 52-27, and play at Wisconsin Oct. 27 amidst alumni, celebrations and expectations of winning.\nThis year, the Hoosiers would love nothing better than to spoil one more more homecomings when they were initially scheduled as a “shoe-in” win.\n“We take it as disrespect that they mark us down on their calendar as a win,” sophomore defensive lineman Jammie Kirlew said. “That just gives us more motivation to go out there and play harder.”\nThough Kirlew said the Hoosiers play with extra motivation on opponents’ homecomings, Sears said the team’s main concern is preparing for the game, rather than focusing on the events the other team is having. \nStill, he said when IU wins an opponent’s homecoming, it is a nice feeling to have ruined it.\n“I guess Iowa thought they were scheduling same old Indiana,” Sears said.\nA little extra drive wouldn’t hurt against a program such as Penn State. Led by coach Joe Paterno, college football’s all-time leader in wins, the Nittany Lions will look to play spoiler on IU’s homecoming.\n“Penn State has as good a tradition as any team in the country,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “The fans want to watch a Joe Paterno-coached team, and that’s something that’s pretty exciting.”\nBut it’s the extra excitement in the stadium – and larger attendance – that Sears said gives the players a buzz before their homecoming games.\n“That’s a tough team that we’re going to be playing,” Kirlew added. “So I’m actually glad that we put them on homecoming, because that’s going to give us more motivation. Knowing that we’re going to have a full crowd here, and everybody is going to root for us, that’s going to make us want to go out and play hard.”\nAs for Sears, with his career at IU is coming to a close, he said this year’s homecoming will be more meaningful as everything is coming full circle.\n“Everything’s coming around for the last time, and it’s sort of bittersweet,” Sears said. “I feel like I’ve been here for a long time some days, and other days I feel like I’ve been here for five minutes. I know that when I get to this point next year, I’m going to \nmiss it.”
For a player who said he wasn’t down, sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis appeared to shoulder the weight of his team Saturday following a 36-31 loss to Penn State.\nFumbling three times – the third effectively ending the game – Lewis mumbled through his postgame interview after his team squandered another chance to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1993.\n“It almost seems kind of like a curse now, trying to get that sixth win to guarantee a bowl game.” Lewis said. “We know we can win one more, and we know we’re better than that.”\nFrom the opening whistle, the Hoosiers came out with a purpose. \nOn its first drive, IU went 80 yards and jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. Penn State’s first two possessions resulted in a punt and an interception, inspiring a Homecoming crowd that yearned to see the Hoosiers become bowl eligible.\nDespite the early success, the Hoosiers failed to capitalize on the offensive end and allowed Penn State to score its first touchdown. \nFrom then on, IU and Penn State continued to trade scores through the first half.\nIn the second quarter, Lewis rolled out of the pocket to find junior running back Marcus Thigpen on a screen that went 30 yards for the score. \nBut Penn State drove down the field in the team’s final two possessions of the first half – both for touchdowns – to take a 20-14 lead.\nAfter playing toe-to-toe with Penn State in the first half, the Hoosiers looked as though they might unravel in the second half.\nSenior cornerback Tracy Porter misjudged a punt and fumbled inside the IU 15-yard line.\nPorter, one of the team’s two captains, also missed another punt on IU’s final drive that landed inside the 10-yard line.\n“If you’re playing as hard as he plays, mistakes are going to happen,” said IU coach Bill Lynch. “That’s part of the doggone game.”\nLewis later fumbled the ball on two straight possessions inside IU territory, but Penn State only scored six points off of two field goals due to a stalwart IU front seven that kept the Nittany Lions out of the end zone.\n“We just agreed that basically we would stay and fight,” said sophomore linebacker Will Patterson. “It was just a matter of making tackles and doing our job.”\nSuddenly, the IU offense came to life again. \nFacing a fourth down, junior wide receiver James Bailey caught a Lewis pass at the Penn State 7-yard line, and IU was given the first down on a close spot of the ball. \n“I thought that on the big screen, he clearly had it,” Lynch said. “That’s when I started yelling, when I saw it on the replay board.”\nHaving been given another chance, Lewis then found a wide-open James Hardy on the next play to bring the Hoosiers within a touchdown at 29-24. \nWith the touchdown reception – Hardy’s second on the day – the junior wide receiver gained the most receiving touchdowns (31) of any player in IU history, breaking Jade Butcher’s 38-year-old record.\nAn energetic crowd then tried to will the Hoosier defense into one more stop, but Penn State drove 77 yards and extended its lead back to 12.\nWith fans heading toward the exits, Lewis took it upon himself to give the Hoosiers one more chance. \nSprinting up through the middle of the pocket, Lewis ran 56 yards for a touchdown to bring the Hoosiers back within five points. After IU forced Penn State to go three-and-out, Porter misread the punt again, and it rolled all the way to the IU 5-yard line.\nNeeding 95 yards with only 1:43 left to score, the Hoosiers’ last drive ended soon after it began. With only 40 seconds left in the game at his own 36-yard line, Lewis fumbled – his third and final fumble of the day – to end any hope of a comeback.\nHardy said the team will bounce back, though. \n“It just wasn’t our day,” Hardy said. “But we’re not the same Indiana team, and now we have to go out and show it.”\nLynch agreed.\n“They’re a resilient group,” Lynch said. “They can get down, but you can’t knock them out.”
For a player who said he wasn’t down, sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis appeared to shoulder the weight of his team following a 36-31 loss to Penn State.\nFumbling three times – the third effectively ended the game – Lewis mumbled through his post-game interview after his team squandered a chance to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1993.\n“It almost seems kind of like a curse now, trying to get that sixth win to guarantee a bowl game.” Lewis said. “We know we can win one more, and we know we’re better than that.”\nFrom the opening whistle, the Hoosiers came out with a purpose. \nOn their first drive, IU went 80 yards and jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. Penn State’s first two possessions resulted in a punt and an interception, inspiring a homecoming crowd that yearned to see the Hoosiers become bowl eligible.\nDespite the early success, the Hoosiers failed to capitalize on the offensive end and allowed Penn State to score its first touchdown. \nFrom then on, IU and Penn State continued to trade scores through the first half.\nIn the second quarter, Lewis rolled out of the pocket to find junior running back Marcus Thigpen on a screen that went 30 yards for the score. \nBut Penn State drove down the field in their final two possessions of the first half – both for touchdowns – to take a 20-14 lead.\nAfter playing toe-to-toe with Penn State in the first half, the Hoosiers looked as though they might unravel in the second half.\nSenior cornerback Tracy Porter misjudged a punt and fumbled inside the IU 15-yard line. \nPorter, one of the team’s two captains, also missed another punt on the IU’s final drive that landed inside the 10-yard line.\n“If you’re playing as hard as he plays, mistakes are going to happen,” Lynch said. “That’s part of the doggone game.”\nLewis later fumbled the ball on two straight possessions inside IU territory, but Penn State only scored six points off of two field goals due to a stalwart IU front seven that kept the Nittany Lions out of the end zone.\n“We just agreed that basically we would stay and fight,” said sophomore linebacker Will Patterson. “It was just a matter of making tackles and doing our job.”\nSuddenly, the IU offense came to life again. \nFacing a fourth down, sophomore wide receiver James Bailey caught a Lewis pass at the Penn State seven-yard line, and was given the first down on a close spot of the ball. \n“I thought that on the big screen, he clearly had it,” Lynch said. “That’s when I started yelling, when I saw it on the replay board.”\nHaving been given another chance, Lewis then found a wide-open James Hardy on the next play to put the Hoosiers down 29-24. \nWith that catch, the junior wide receiver now has the most receiving touchdowns (31) of any player in IU history, breaking Jade Butcher’s 38-year old record.\nAn energetic crowd then tried to will the Hoosier defense into one more stop, but Penn State drove 77 yards and extended its lead back to 12.\nWith fans heading toward the exits, Lewis took it upon himself to give the Hoosiers one more chance. \nSprinting up through the middle of the pocket, Lewis ran 56 yards for a touchdown to bring the Hoosiers back within five points. After the Hoosiers forced Penn State to go three-and-out, Porter misread the punt again, and it rolled all the way to the IU five-yard line.\nNeeding 95 yards and having only 1:43 to score, the Hoosiers last-ditch drive ended soon after it began. With only 40 seconds left in the game and from their own 36-yard line, Lewis fumbled – his third and final fumble of the day – to end any hope of a comeback – and bowl eligibility – Saturday.\nHardy said the team will bounce back though. \n“It just wasn’t our day,” Hardy said. “But we’re not the same Indiana team, and now we have to go out and show it.”\nLynch agreed.\n“They’re a resilient group,” Lynch said. “They can get down, but you can’t knock them out.”
Nine and a half sacks, and seven games into the season, sophomore defensive lineman Greg Middleton is getting some recognition. After having been named to Sports Illustrated's mid-season all-american team, Middleton is up for another accolade, and is one of 37 defensive lineman in consideration for the Hendricks award. The list will be trimmed to five or six players in Nov., and the award will be presented on Dec. 5.
