A look at the IU offense

[Class of 82]

You have to start with QB phenom Kellen Lewis (6-1/170 So.). Here's his line from Saturday at WMU.32 of 61 (52.5%) for 506 yards and 5 TDsHe also ran 24 times for 118 yards and a touchdown.This was no fluke. He lit up Michigan State last year in the same kind of manner.Lewis' big weapon (and I mean BIG at 6-7/220) is James Hardy who caught 6 passes for 180 yards and four TDs. 6-7? Yeah. 6-7. He runs pretty well, too. Bottom line? Major handful. The other receivers to watch are 6-2/205 senior James Bailey (5 for 48 at Western), Ray Fisher, a 5-9 sophomore speedster out of Cleveland Glenville (11 for 101 at Western) and 6-2/200 junior Andrew Means (3 for 51).At RB, they bring 5-9/190 Marcus Thigpen, a junior from Detroit with decent speed. Very similar to the Biggs we knew and loved a few years back. Not a superstar, but a legitimate Big11 tailback.Their line is well, about what you'd expect from a Big11 school, plenty of beef and plenty of experience. They are led by three 5th-year seniors-- 6-1/295 C Ben Wyss, 6-2/295 RG John Sandberg, and 6-5 295 RT Charlie Emerson. On the left side are sophomores 6-6/315 Pete Saxon at guard and 6-5/290 Roger Saffold. At TE is yet another 5th-year senior, 6-5/258 Nick Sexton.By any measure, the Hoosiers look like a big-time offensive football team that should pose a challenge to everyone they play.

[Dr Z]

Hardy looks to be one big dude. :blink:

[Class of 82]

Hee HEEEEEEEEE!Oops. Above stats are from their wins over Ind. St. and WMU, not just Saturday.Still, pretty good numbers.

[Go-IU-Win]

Hello, Zips fans out there,As a Hoosier fan I will say that the stats the original poster put up are not from the WestMi. game, but rather they look more like full season stats. (First two games)I say this because the word phenom would really be true of all that came in one game. Kellen Lewis ran for 59 yards in each of the first two games. He's slender and about 6'1" and is quick, and is good at scrambling for first downs when protection breaks down on pass plays. He has a stronger arm than you'd think from a guy his size. I'd say there have been a good number of dropped balls that he put on the money, otherwise his passing % would be higher.His favorite target is James Hardy. he came to IU as an All-State basketball player from Fort Wayne who played wide receiver for his high school team and then dropped basketball to concentrate on football full-time. In one-on-one situations, he is nearly unstoppable because most corners are between 5'9" and 6'1" out there. A simple post pattern results in many td's.There are other talented receivers that the original poster mentioned. Means is a tough kid who makes difficult catches. Bailey is the #2 option for Lewis. Then we rotate in some guys like Ray Fisher, who was coached in high school by Ted Ginn, Sr.Marcus Thigpen's speed at running back is better than decent (4.25 40 time) but he has suffered because the line has not dominated like one would hope. Looks for him on kickoff returns. He was the national leader last year averaging over 30 yards a return, with 3 td's.Our defense has played a lot better this year than last year and we seem to be using some young kids who have enough talent and instincts to replace some older guys. We are not immune to giving up passing yards. It's been like that for a while.All in all, with decent weather and a home crowd's support, I look for the Hoosiers to win the game. Overall better talent and playing for Hep will be enough to lead the Hoosiers to a 38 to 14 victory. Best of luck and I welcome any discussion.Go-IU-Win

[Dr Z]

not to hijack the IU thread, but the stiff arm from Hardy reminds of this image Saturday.I love it !!Let's see a little more of this on Saturday.

[zip81]

My take on Indiana:WHO’S HERE?There, now you know the origin of “Hoosiers.” In the westward expansion of the United States in the early 1800’s, those living to the west of the new state called Ohio would answer a knock on their door with a “Who’s here?” with that certain accent — and it sounded more like HoosIer. So, there you go. You think I’m making that up? Check it out.The Hoosiers of Bloomington - The outlookIndiana has gotten off to a good start with wins over in-state foe Indiana State and fellow MACster Western Michigan. The stars of the show so far? The Hoosier defense, which forced five turnovers last week against Western — and sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis. Double threatLewis was 20 of 40 for a total of 221 yards in the air against the Bronocs and threw for 285 yards the week before against the Sycamores. But what really makes Lewis dangerous is his athletic ability and pocket-sense beyond his years. The Jacksonville, Florida native has rushed for 59 yards in each of the first two games. He leads the team in rushing.When he’s not running the ball, Lewis can create havoc in the air. His favorite targets are sophomore wide receive Ray Fisher, who has a team leading 11 receptions - junior wide receiver James Hardy, with 180 yards and four touchdowns and junior wide receive James Bailey.Do-able D-fenseTrue, the Hoosier D forced five turnovers against Western Michigan, but you can blame a lot of that on the Broncos for not taking care of the ball. Stats show the Hoosier D can be passed upon. Western had a combined 354 passing yards last week. Where the Hoosiers get tough is up front. The Indiana D-line gave up only 30 yards rushing last week on 30 Western attempts and sacked Bronco QB Tim Hiller four times.Interesting match upsIf the Ohio State game showed us anything, it is that the Zips D is tough. If they can continue building on last week’s performance, they can give Lewis and the Hoosiers a difficult day in Bloomington.The dent in the Hoosier armor appears to be the secondary. Key will be the young Zips O line getting enough of their act together to provide Zips quarterback Chris Jacqumain enough protection to take advantage of the Indiana D backfield.The KeyThe Zips may live or die by the D this year. The defense gave the Buckeyes all they could handle for the first half last week. If the Zips offense can keep them off the field with a little more success, perhaps Akron can pull this one off and and break the Hoosiers 18-game winning streak against teams from the Mid-American Conference.The Zips defense will do their part. The key will be the O-line blocking a talented Hooiser line, providing enough pass protection for Jacquemain and opening holes for Dennis Kennedy.

[RowdyZip]

not to hijack the IU thread, but the stiff arm from Hardy reminds of this image Saturday.I love it !!Let's see a little more of this on Saturday.

This picture is simply awesome. I hope you dont mind Dr Z but i stole it for the ol myspace page.

[FuquaFan]

Indiana will no doubt be good.......but the zips proved last week that they have tons of potential......they just let one slip away......they'll win.....

[Zipsrifle]

Personally, I'm hoping CJ gets the nod this week. Our O was dead, and we need a spark anywhere we can get it! Lets face it, our Line is not going to give Chris enough time to pass the ball if the IU D is as advertised. I gotta say that from what little I've read, I think our D will have a tougher time with IU than we did with OSU. Two big differences mobile QB and a great WR. We really need the O to make as much progress this week as special teams did last week!