No interesting or clever title needed for this one. That score right there says it all. The Indiana Football Hoosiers came out andIn absolutely dominated in front of an official crowd of about 34,000 (it was closer to 40,000 because freshmen got free tickets).
Lets start with what I think is one of the most impressive stat lines I have ever seen: 3 catches, 153 yards, 2 TDs. The name next to that line was James Hardy, who put on a dominating show against ISU's secondary. In fact, this line should have been even bigger because it does not include a long pass on which ISU's Warren English-Malone was forced to put the hammer down on Hardy and pick up a pass interference penalty. That pass, plus another pass interference call in the second quarter, would've put Hardy over 200 yards on 5 catches. Hardy looks good at this point in the season, and his improved speed and footwork will come in handy when it's time to go up against the big defenses in the Big Ten.
The man on the other end of those passes was also quite impressive for the Hoosiers. Kellen Lewis seems to have his mind and concentration in the right place at this point in the year. There were only two or three passes that didn't look all that great, including one toss under pressure into double coverage that became an interception. The rest of his stuff was spot-on, and he would tuck the ball and take to the ground at all the right times.
When combined with a little bit of shutdown defense, the Hoosiers easily knocked over the Sycamores and looked quite impressive in the process. The next test comes in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in what will be the one trap game in IU's non-conference schedule. The Western Michigan Broncos, despite the beatdown they received in West Virginia this weekend, are one of the tougher teams in the Mid-America Conference. Given that it will be a night game on the road in Kalamazoo, the crowd will be there in force and will give IU a tough time. I believe that this game will be the one that shows us exactly what IU will do this season and we will have a much better idea of whether or not Terry Hoeppner's dreams will be fulfilled.
Random, Off-Topic Note:
A stadium-record 7,240 rowdy fans showed up to Jerry Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium on Sunday to watch IU Soccer take out #1/#2 UCLA 1-0. Can this soccer team make it back to the College Cup and bring IU it's 8th soccer championship? We'll find out come December.
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