2006 Indiana Hoosiers

2006 Indiana Hoosiers Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews

Nov. 18
Purdue 28 ... Indiana 19
In an ugly game with nine turnovers between the two teams and 940 yards of offense, Purdue finally pulled away in the final five minutes on a 15-yard Dorien Bryant touchdown run. The Boilermakers got short scoring runs from Jaycen Taylor and Kory Sheets along with a 14-yard Greg Orton scoring catch in the seesaw game, while IU kept pace with a big day from QB Kellen Lewis, who accounted for 393 yards of total offense, with a 16-yard touchdown run and a seven-yard scoring pass to James Hardy.
Player of the game ... Purdue RB Jaycen Taylor ran 17 times for 94 yards and a touchdown and had three catches for 29 yards.  
Stat Leaders: Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 26-42, 290 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Kellen Lewis, 10-103, 1 TD  Receiving: James Hardy, 9-151, 1 TD
Purdue - Passing: Curtis Painter, 18-32, 260 yds, 1 TD, 4 INTs
Rushing: Jaycen Taylor, 17-94, 1 TD  Receiving: Greg Orton, 6-112, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... While losing to Purdue is certainly disappointing, and the turnovers and mistakes are certainly not going to sit well this off-season, there's more excitement in Bloomington in several years thanks to Kellen Lewis. The freshman finished up with a brilliant performance, outside of a few errors, running and passing equally well. If there's help around him to spread out the workload, and if the defense can make a few adjustments, this could be a dangerous team next year that no one will want to face. No, it won't challenge for the Big Ten title, but it'll be a tough out.

2006 Schedule CFN Prediction: 4-8 2006 Results: 5-7 Preview 2006 predicted wins
9/2	Western Mich W 39-20
9/9	at Ball State W 24-23
9/16	Southern Illinois L 35-28
9/23	Connecticut L 14-7
9/30	Wisconsin L 52-17
10/7	at Illinois W 34-32
10/14	Iowa W 31-28
10/21	at Ohio State L 44-3
10/28	Michigan State W 46-21
11/4	at Minnesota L 63-26
11/11	Michigan L 34-3
11/18	at Purdue L 28-19

2005 Schedule CFN Prediction: 3-8 2005 Results: 4-7 Preview 2005 predicted wins
9/2	at Central Mich W 20-13
9/10	Nicholls State W 35-31
9/17	Kentucky W 38-14
10/1	at Wisconsin L 41-24
10/8	Illinois W 36-13
10/15	at Iowa L 38-21
10/22	Ohio State L 41-10
10/29	at Michigan St L 46-15
11/5	Minnesota L 42-21
11/12	at Michigan L 41-14
11/19	Purdue L 41-14

Nov. 11
Michigan 34 ... Indiana 3
Michigan played a focused game getting up 14-0 on a one-yard Adrian Arrington touchdown catch and a four-yard Mike Hart run, and then Steve Breaston took over with two lightning bolts scoring on a 62-yard pass and returning a punt 83 yards for a touchdown. Indiana only managed 26 rushing yards and just got a 39-yard Austin Starr field goal.
Player of the game ... Michigan WR Steve Breaston caught three passes for 103 yards and a touchdown, returned two kickoffs for 45 yards, and returned a punt for 83 yards and a score
Stat Leaders: Michigan - Passing: Chad Henne, 11-15, 159 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Mike Hart, 19-92, 1 TD. Receiving: Steve Breaston, 3-103, 1 TD
Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 16-33, 105 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Marcus Thigpen, 4-12. Receiving: James Bailey, 5-32
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Indiana's only chance to beat a good team is to catch it napping, and Michigan appeared to be fully focused. Kellen Lewis and the passing game never got going with no chance of making a comeback after getting down big early. The difference in talent level showed this week, but things will even out in the big battle with Purdue next week for a shot at bowl eligibility. To get the win, the offense has to crank it up a few notches and find the explosiveness it showed against Michigan State a few weeks ago.

Nov. 4
Minnesota 63 ... Indiana 26
Minnesota jumped all over Indiana getting up 35-0 midway through the second quarter on three of Bryan Cupito's four touchdown passes highlighted by a 64-yard Ernie Wheelwright scoring play. IU bombed away to keep it interesting with Demetrius McCray taking a pass 43 yards for a touchdown, running for a two-yard touchdown and scoring again on a ten-yard catch, but Wheelwright kept things out of reach with a 37-yard touchdown catch. The Gopher defense closed things out with a 45-yard Dominique Barber interception return for a score.
Player of the game ... Minnesota QB Bryan Cupito completed 22 of 33 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Minnesota - Passing: Bryan Cupito, 22-33, 378 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Jay Thomas, 6-79, 2 TD. Receiving: Logan Payne, 6-137
Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 25-43, 322 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Kellen Lewis, 12-75. Receiving: James Bailey, 7-60
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Indiana's always going to have problems here and there against teams that come out sharp offensively, but to look for the silver lining in the blowout loss at Minnesota, Kellen Lewis and the passing game threw for a ton of yards and showed off its explosion yet again. Lewis made too many forced throws and wasn't nearly the poised, calm player he's been throughout the year, but he ran well and cranked out a ton of yards. Can the offense come up with a big game against Michigan next week? If Lewis gets time, maybe. To get to a bowl, the Hoosiers will have to beat either the Wolverines or Purdue.

Oct. 28
Indiana 46 ... Michigan State 21
Kellen Lewis and James Hardy combined for four touchdown passes, and Lewis threw a fifth score to Marcus Thigpen and added a 27-yard rushing score, as Indiana stunned Michigan State for 46 straight points to blow past the Spartans. MSU started off the scoring with a 38-yard pass to Devin Thomas, and then the roof caved in with the secondary unable to handle Lewis and Hardy. MSU got two Brett Kahn touchdown runs in the fourth quarter after the game was well out of reach.
Player of the game ... Indiana QB Kellen Lewis completed 16 of 26 passes for 261 yards and five touchdowns with an interception and ran 14 times for 75 yards and a touchdowns. WR James Hardy caught six passes for 83 yards and four scores.
Stat Leaders: Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 15-26, 261 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Marcus Thigpen, 20-104. Receiving: James Hardy, 6-83, 4 TD
Michigan State - Passing: Drew Stanton, 10-22, 100 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Drew Stanton, 8-34. Receiving: Devin Thomas, 4-82, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... That's twice in three games Indiana's offense has blown up. Forget about the loss to Ohio State, everyone's going to have problems with the nation's number one team, IU is rolling winning three of its last four with Kellen Lewis and James Hardy forming the Big Ten's most dangerous tandem. Most shocking has been the defense, which kept Michigan State to only 215 yards. Now a bowl game is possible with Minnesota, Michigan and Purdue left to play needing just one more win. How much do the losses to Southern Illinois and Connecticut hurt now?

Oct. 21
Ohio State 44 ... Indiana 3
Ohio State got down 3-0 on a 34-yard Austin Starr field goal, and then scored 44 unanswered points with Troy Smith throwing four touchdown passes to four different receivers, including a 31-yard throw to Ted Ginn, who also threw a scoring pass connecting with Rory Nichol for a 38-yard pass. Chris Wells capped things off with a 12-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. OSU outgained IU 540 yards to 165.
Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith completed 15 of 23 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns and ran four times for 38 yards
Stat Leaders: Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 15-28, 106 yds
Rushing: Demetrius McCray, 12-13. Receiving: James Hardy, 6-45
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 15-23, 220 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 16-105. Receiving: Ted Ginn, 5-72, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... There's no shame in getting crushed by Ohio State, but it would've been nice if IU could've carried the momentum from the early part of the game to make the game more competitive for at least a half. The offensive line had no hope of slowing down the Ohio State defense and pass rush, while the Hoosier defense couldn't stop anything the Buckeyes wanted to do. If Kellen Lewis and the passing game aren't humming, IU can't beat the better teams, much less the nation's top team.

Oct. 14
Indiana 31 ... Iowa 28
Indiana stunned Iowa with three Kellen Lewis touchdown passes to James Hardy with a 20-yard strike to finish off the scoring midway through the fourth quarter. Iowa had chances including a late drive getting to the Indiana 41, but got stopped on a Will Meyers interception allowing the offense to run out the clock. Damian Sims ran for two one-yard scoring runs for the Hawkeyes and got up 21-7 in the first half on a 25-yard Herb Grigsby touchdown run, but the defense couldn't hold as the Hoosiers went on a 24-7 run over the final 34 minutes starting with a two-yard Lewis scoring run..
Player of the game ... Indiana WR James Hardy caught eight passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 19-25, 255 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Demetrius McCray, 13-84. Receiving: James Hardy, 8-104, 3 TD
Iowa - Passing: Drew Tate, 23-40, 292 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Damian Sims, 22-94, 2 TD. Receiving: Trey Stross, 6-67
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk about your monster comebacks, Indiana has won two straight in the Big Ten with Kellen Lewis and the passing game rolling as well as it has all season long. James Hardy broke out against Iowa with his three touchdown passes, while Demetrius McCray ran the ball extremely well showing off just how much offensive pop the team has for the future. Just as important was the play of the defense that came up with the huge late stop and held up relatively well in the second half despite giving up plenty of yards and too many big drives. IU isn't going to beat Ohio State, but if it plays like this, it can beat Michigan State and have shots against Minnesota and Purdue later on.

Oct. 7
Indiana 34 ... Illinois 32
Indiana's Austin Starr connected on a 33-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to close out a wild game. Illinois held a 25-7 lead early in the second quarter on two Isaiah Williams to Kyle Hudson touchdown passes, but Indiana answered with 24 straight points helped by two Josiah Sears touchdown runs and a 98-yard Marcus Thigpen kickoff return for a score. The two offenses slowed down late in the game with Starr's field goal the only points of the fourth quarter. Kellen Lewis completed five passes for 60 yards on the final drive including an 11-yard pass to Nick Polk to get into better range.
Player of the game ... Indiana RB Marcus Thigpen ran 13 times for 91 yards and returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 20-39, 240 yds
Rushing: Marcus Thigpen, 13-91. Receiving: James Hardy, 5-67
Illinois - Passing: Isaiah Williams, 10-21, 190 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Pierre Thomas, 22-126, 1 TD. Receiving: Kyle Hudson, 3-92, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Finally, the Indiana offense woke up. It took a game against Illinois to do it, but the attack was able to crank out 389 yards and Kellen Lewis showed how clutch he could be leading the way to the game-winning scoring drive. The defense is going to be a nightmare all season long, so it'll be about how Lewis can lead the way in a shootout week in and week out. Marcus Thigpen once again established himself as the nation's best kickoff returner. Now the coaching staff has to find more ways to get him into the open field on offense.

Sept. 30
Wisconsin 52 ... Indiana 17
Wisconsin had no problems doing whatever it wanted against the Indiana D as John Stocco threw three touchdown passes and P.J. Hill rumbled for three one-yard scores on the way to a 52-0 lead after three quarters. IU was able to cosmetically make the score look a bit better with a 15-yard fumble return for a score from Troy Grosfield and an eight-yard scoring run from Josiah Sears, but the damage had already been done. Stocco threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Travis Beckum late in the first quarter, and connected with Paul Hubbard and Andy Crooks early in the second to open up the floodgates.
Player of the game ... Wisconsin QB John Stocco completed 15 of 17 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 13-29, 113 yds
Rushing: Josiah Sears, 9-105, 1 TD. Receiving: Nick Polk, 4-45
Wisconsin - Passing: John Stocco, 15-17, 304 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: P.J. Hill, 23-129, 3 TD. Receiving: Paul Hubbard, 6-122, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Indiana is going to have to live through the good and the bad of Kellen Lewis. It's obvious the coaching staff wants to go with him over Blake Powers, but that means the freshman has to start getting the passing game going with far more deep plays. He has the receivers, but they're not being used. There's no excuse for James Hardy to only have one catch for eight yards. It's up to the coaching staff to do a better job of getting the ball in the hands of the top weapons. Wisconsin had no problem taking away the receivers.

Sept. 23
Connecticut 14 ... Indiana 7
Connecticut's defense held Indiana to no rushing yards and scored on a 39-yard  Danny Lansanah interception return for a score in the first quarter. Lou Allen ran for a 35-yard score in the third quarter for the Huskies, but IU answered with a kickoff return for a touchdown from Marcus Thigpen. IU had one last shot, but the last gasp drive stalled on the UConn 42 as Blake Powers couldn't find anyone open and was stopped for a two-yard gain on fourth and six.
Player of the game ... Connecticut RB Terry Caulley ran 31 times for 152 yards
Stat Leaders: Connecticut - Passing: D.J. Hernandez, 5-13, 27 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Terry Caulley, 31-152. Receiving: Larry Taylor, 2-5
Indiana - Passing: Blake Powers, 14-30, 128 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Demetrius McCray, 4-17. Receiving: Andrew Means, 4-49
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Where's the running game? IU has generated absolutely nothing on the ground over the last few weeks thanks to lousy play from the offensive line. Kellen Lewis was terrible for the second straight week meaning the attack has to rely on Blake Powers to find some of the magic he had at the beginning of last year when he was bombing away. The Hoosiers have the receivers, and now they have to use them to start throwing some sort of a scare into opposing defenses. Expect the ground game to struggle to gain 50 yards next week against Wisconsin.

Sept. 16
Southern Illinois 35 ... Indiana 28
Indiana got outscored 28-7 over the final 19 minutes with Nick Hill throwing three touchdown passes and Arkee Whitlock running it in from nine yards out to get the win. Indiana had two final chances but turned it over on downs both times. Things seemed easy early on for the Hoosiers as Marcus Thigpen scored twice and Nick Polk caught a touchdown pass for a commanding 21-7 lead, but the Salukies  were able to take advantage of IU mistakes and converted third down chance after third down chance in the fourth quarter.
Player of the game ...Southern Illinois QB Nick Hill threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers and engineered the game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter.
Stat Leaders: Southern Illinois- Passing: Nick Hill, 10-18, 142 yds, 4 TDs
Rushing: Arkee Whitlock , 23-103, 1 TD  Receiving: J.T. Wise, 3-25
Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 20-40, 238 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Marcus Thigpen, 7-32, 2 TDs  Receiving: Jahkeen Gilmore, 4-60
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... On the same week that head coach Terry Hoeppner went into the hospital for brain surgery, the team collapsed in a painful, ugly loss to Southern Illinois. While QB Kellen Lewis bailed the offense out last week in the win over Ball State, he couldn't get the offense moving in the second half and played like the rookie he is. There wasn't nearly enough of a running game getting outgained 244 yards to 76, and the defense did nothing to slow down the Salukis once the roof started to cave in. If the run D was this bad this week, it's going to have a nightmare of a time against Connecticut next week and even more issues against Wisconsin.

Sept. 9
Indiana 24 ... Ball State 23
In a tale of two halves, Ball State took a 17-0 lead early on thanks to two Joey Lynch touchdown passes and a 52-yard Brian Jackson field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, Marcus Thigpen took it 100 yards for a score, but the tide didn't quite turn yet. Darius Hill caught a 41-yard touchdown pass with :35 left in the half and the Cardinals appears on their way. Then, Kellen Lewis took over the game for Indiana throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to James Hardy and running for a 23-yard score to get the team back in the game, and then led the drive that culminated in the game-winning 25-yard field goal by Austin Starr. The Hoosier defense shut out BSU in the second half.
Player of the game ... Indiana QB Kellen Lewis completed 15 of 28 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown and ran 12 times for 88 yards and a score
Stat Leaders: Ball State - Passing: Joey Lynch, 15-24, 246 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: MiQUale Lewis, 7-14. Receiving: Dante Love, 9-80
Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 15-28, 228 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Kellen Lewis, 112-88, 1 TD. Receiving: James Bailey, 4-19
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Indiana might have found its quarterback. Nothing against Blake Powers, who was hurt for the Ball State game, the the flash and excitement of Kellen Lewis provides more of a pop to the attack. Former number two man Graeme McFarland certainly isn't the answer. Lewis provided a nice rushing element and he spread the ball around well. The defense did its job in the second half, but it was awful early and almost allowed the lead to get too far out of hand.

Sept. 2
Indiana 39 ... Western Michigan 20
Indiana scored off its opening drive as Blake Powers connected with Andrew Means for a ten-yard touchdown and it never was truly threatened the rest of the way. Chris Phillips returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown and Tracy Porter returned a punt 86 yards for a score on the way to a 29-6 Hoosier lead late into the third quarter. Mark Bonds scored on a 17-yard run and Nic Saad caught a three-yard touchdown pass for WMU's second half scores.
Player of the game ... Indiana LB Josh Bailey made 11 tackles and two tackles for loss
Stat Leaders: Western Michigan - Passing: Ryan Cubit, 16-22, 166 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Mark Bonds, 18-61, 1 TD. Receiving: Jamarko Simmons, 7-100
Indiana - Passing: Blake Powers, 16-28, 192 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Josiah Sears, 8-35, 1 TD. Receiving: James Bailey, 5-51
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Western Michigan might not be nearly as potent as it was last year, but the Indiana defense still did a great job of keeping the Broncos from getting anything going until late in the game. The IU offense needs to find more of a running game next week against Ball State after only netting 71 yards. If there isn't the explosive element to the passing game, IU is going to struggle against most teams.

2006 Indiana Preview

Indiana Preview | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart | Further Analysis

Give head coach Terry Hoeppner credit. He really and truly believes Indiana can have a winning football team.

There's hope for a woebegone program to turn respectable. Northwestern has been a thorn in the Big Ten's side for over a decade, while Vanderbilt shocked the world by being not-that-bad in SEC play. For Hoeppner and his Hoosiers, respectability might come soon, but it's not going to happen this year.

This is a very, very young team with six senior projected starters. All the top offensive playmakers still have at least two years to go, so the plan has to be to keep taking positive steps forward to try to explode in 2007. Of course, Hoeppner and IU can't say they're looking ahead to next year, so along the way there need to be more wins.

Those will come if the offense explodes like it did over the first half of last season. The Hoosiers had to look of a scary-good offensive juggernaut early on averaging 30.6 points per game over the first five with the combination of quarterback Blake Powers and 6-7 receiver James Hardy playing at an All-America level. And then something happened.

Indiana started playing really good teams.

After a nice 4-1 start with the only loss coming to Wisconsin, the Hoosiers got blown out of the water over the final seven outings by a combined score of 249 to 95. It wasn't just getting beaten badly by teams like Ohio State and Michigan, it couldn't handle Michigan State or Purdue.

On the plus side, Indiana won the games they should've beating Central Michigan (but it was a battle), Nicholls State (but it was a big battle), Kentucky, and Illinois before going on the six-game losing streak. As long as Hoeppner and his Hoosiers win the games they're supposed to, or at least have a fighting chance in, eventually, it'll come up with a few upsets and come up with a winning season.

The overall athleticism has quickly improved, and the systems are starting to take hold. A winning season really is possible this year at Indiana if everything breaks right. If you don't believe it, just ask Hoeppner.

The Schedule: Opening up against Western Michigan, at Ball State, and Southern Illinois, IU must be 3-0 going into the home date against Connecticut. A road win at Illinois could mean a 5-1 or a 4-2 start before the roof caves in on the Big Ten season. Not playing Northwestern hurts, but the Hoosiers miss Penn State. Starting in mid-October, the schedule is Iowa, at Ohio State, Michigan State, at Minnesota, Michigan, and at Purdue. One win in the final six would be a success.

Best Offensive Player: Sophomore WR James Hardy. He's 6-7, has enough athleticism to have played on the basketball team, and was one of the hottest receivers in the nation before the Hoosiers started playing secondaries with a pulse. Even so, he should have a huge season with enough receiver talent around him to take some of the heat off. However, he has to be a part of the team after having off-the-field issues.

Best Defensive Player: Senior SS Will Meyers. As sure a tackler as there is in the Big Ten, the 5-11, 201-pound senior is a good rock in the veteran secondary. Corners Lesle Majors and Tracy Porter could also be considered the team's best defensive players All three will be in for big years for the Big Ten's leading returning pass defense.

Key player to a successful season: The entire IU defensive line. The linebacking corps is full of speedy, defensive backs, so it's up to Charlie Emerson, Joe Kremer, Greg Brown, Kenny Kendal, and four redshirt freshman to hold up against the power running teams. IU allowed 215 rushing yards per game last season and 28 touchdowns. That can't happen again to have any hope of a winning season.

The season will be a success if ... IU wins six games. It's a tall, tall, tall order for such a young team and with so many new starters, but it's possible it can beat Western Michigan, Ball State, Southern Illinois, Connecticut, and Illinois. If that happens, and that's a huge if, it would take one big upset for the best season since 1994.

Key game: Oct. 7 at Illinois. The schedule quickly becomes brutal after the trip to Champaign playing Iowa and at Ohio State over the following two weeks. The Hoosiers were able to beat the Zookers 36-13 last season with a balanced attack. The Illini defense hasn't improved much, so IU has to come away with a win.

2005 Fun Stats: 
- Indiana only attempted two field goals over the final seven games. Both were against Ohio State.
- Third quarter scoring: Opponents 106 - Indiana 35
- Penalties: Indiana 74 for 605 yards - Opponents 54 for 511 yards

The Last Time Indiana…
…played in a bowl game…1993 (Independence Bowl vs. Virginia Tech)
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…1993 (Michigan State)
…was shutout…2000 (Michigan)
…scored 50 points…2001 (Northwestern)
…went undefeated…1945
…won a conference title…1967 (share, Big Ten)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…never
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2001 (Levron Williams)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2002 (Courtney Roby)
…had a first-round draft choice…1994 (WR Thomas Lewis)