Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Hold Tight On Goaline For Season Opening Win
8/31/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
August 31, 2002
Bloomington, Ind. - In a game that provided a little bit of everything, Indiana downed William & Mary, 25-17 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The Hoosiers (1-0) came up with big plays down the stretch defensively to preserve the win despite trailing, 14-10 at the half.
"If they don't play that way, we don't win the game," head coach Gerry DiNardo said of his defense. "I really think they were driven because of how hard we were on them in camp. They really responded."
Jumping off the stat sheet is the fact that Indiana established a new school record by limiting William & Mary (0-1) to -32 yards rushing in the game. The Tribe had some difficulty with snapping the ball out of the shotgun that led to some losses, but even when William & Mary did have smooth snaps from center, they still had trouble with the Hoosier defensive front.
Standing out for the Hoosiers all game was defensive tackle Kris Dielman, who recorded a sack, a fumble recovery and 4 1/2 tackles tackles for losses.
"Dielman is not 100 percent," DiNardo said of his captain. "He will be pretty sore tomorrow. I think it was all he could do on the field. Under those circumstances, he did pretty well."
Also shining was cornerback Antonio Watson, who came up big down the stretch for the Hoosiers as William & Mary made its final frantic charge at the end of the game.
Watson broke up four passes on the game, but was called for a controversial pass interference call late in the fourth quarter. He responded to the call, however, by breaking up two passes that had potential to be touchdowns.
"I knew I had to come back and make a big play the next time around," Watson said of his mental approach after being called for pass interference. "I felt like he ran on my heels, but I just stayed focused and got ready for the next down. I felt like they were going to come right back at me. I play every down as if they are going to throw to my man. I just kept my poise."
On the offensive side of the ball, Tommy Jones got the start for Indiana at quarterback and completed 16 of his 32 pass attempts with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Jones found freshman fullback John Pannozzo for two touchdowns.
Pannozzo was playing in his first game at the collegiate level.
"This was definitely the game of my life," Pannozzo said. "I didn't come into this game expecting to do so well, but it wasn't me. It was my teammates. Those two touchdown passes, I was wide open. There are 10 other guys on the field, and I wouldn't have been open if the tight end wasn't doing his job. The line, just give credit to everybody, they played well."
The Hoosiers return to action next week when they head to Salt Lake City to battle with Utah at 7 p.m. (CST).
Indiana Head Coach Gerry DiNardo
On the Defense
"If they don't play that way we don't win the game. I really think that they were driven because of how hard we were on them in camp. They really responded."
On Tommy Jones
"He did alright. I think that Tommy can play better."
On the Offensive Line
"I thought that the offensive line would have held up better. They seemed to wear down. I am not sure why they wore down. I think that maybe it is because they are such an emotional group and emotion takes a lot out of you in a game like this."
On the last series of downs
"We just had guys hustling to make plays. They have a very good quarterback and we needed to hustle to win."
On Kris Dielman
"Dielman is not 100 percent. He will be pretty sore tomorrow. I think it was all he could do to be on the field. Under those circumstances he did pretty well. But I think that he can play better."
On Brian Lewis' injury
"I think that the biggest play of the game was when Brian Lewis got hurt. His injury took out us out of our offense."
On the kicking game
"Brian and Ryan kicked well enough to win the game for us. But as I have said before it is the attitude of the other 10 players that makes the difference."
On William & Mary driving down the field on the first drive
"It is one of the growing pains that we have to endure. Just because we are a Big Ten team we can't think that William & Mary can't beat us. They did the same thing to East Carolina. We have no reason to think that they can't drive down the field on us."
On the student section
"I want to thank the students for coming out and supporting us."
Indiana Player Quotes
Antonio Watson
Regarding his mental approach after being called for a crucial pass interference call:
"I just knew I had to come back and make a big play the next time around. I felt like he ran on my heels, but I just stayed focused and got ready for the next down. I felt like they were going to come right back at me. I play every down as if they are going to throw it to my man. I just kept my poise."
Regarding the defensive effort down the stretch
"We came together as a defense during camp. Coach DiNardo has been coming down real hard on the defense, because he wants a lot from the defense. We stepped it up today and showed that we are ready to play."
Regarding what the win does
"A win is what we needed. Now we are going to take it with us to Utah, build off of that and get ready for the next game."
Tommy Jones
Regarding getting a win in the season opener
"It feels good to get a win in the first game, and especially in a game like this. (William & Mary) is a good team and we knew it was going to be tough, but a win is a win, and now we just have to keep the momentum going."
Regarding the pressure surrounding him as Indiana's starting quarterback
"I was a little nervous, but anyone would be. The defense played great today and they really deserve a lot of the credit. We made plays on offense when we had to and it's always good to get a win."
A.C. Carter
Regarding his interception
"I saw him running a post corner. Musinski is pretty much their go-to guy, and I have been watching him on film. I just made a play and broke on the ball."
John Pannozzo
Regarding his first collegiate game
"This was definitely the game of my life. I didn't come into this game expecting to do so well, but it wasn't me. It was my teammates. Those two touchdown passes, I was wide open. There are 10 other guys on the field, and I wouldn't have been that open if the tight end wasn't doing his job, the line, just give the credit to everybody, they played well."
Regarding what went through his mind after his first touchdown
"It was unbelievable, but Coach always says if you make a good play, just take it and move on, and if you make a bad play, just take it and move on. For those two seconds, I was excited, but you have to focus on the game to win."
Indiana Game Highlights
• Saturday's game not only was the season opener for both teams, but it also marked the first time in the 115-year history of Indiana football that the Hoosiers played a game in the month of August. Prior to Saturday's game, the earliest date for an Indiana season opener came in 1994, when the Hoosiers' season opener was played on September 3. Indiana defeated Cincinnati, 28-3 in that game.
• The attendance of 33,427 was the largest season-opening crowd since 1997 when the Hoosiers drew 38,006 against Ball State.
• Indiana set a new school record for rushing defense forcing William & Mary to -32 yards on the ground. The previous record was -26 against Northwestern in 1982.
• Including Saturday's contest, Indiana's record in season openers now stands at 68-40-7, with the Hoosiers compiling a 27-16 all-time mark in season openers at Memorial Stadium.
• Head coach Gerry DiNardo became the 13th coach in Indiana history to win his debut, and the first since Sam Wyche in 1983.
• Indiana started three freshman on Saturday. Fullback John Pannozzo and linebackers Kyle Killion and John Kerr all got the starting nod in their first game at the collegiate level.
• William & Mary led, 14-10 at the half. The Tribe played against Division I-A East Carolina (a team that went to a bowl) last year, and found itself tied at the half in that contest.
• The Hoosiers compiled an 0-4 record when trailing at the half last season.
• Punter Ryan Hamre deposited his first punt of the season at William & Mary's five yard line. He then placed two more inside the 20 during the fourth quarter (one of which was fumbled by Marques Bobo and recovered by Indiana's Duane Stone.) Last year, Hamre recorded only one punt inside the opposition's 20 yard line all season.
• Indiana allowed William & Mary to score the first points of the game. The Hoosiers were 1-5 last season when allowing the opposition to score first. Indiana's lone win when falling behind early in 2001 came over Kentucky in the season finale.
• Tailback Brian Lewis had three catches in the first quarter on Saturday's game. The junior had only two catches in the entire 2001 season and had only seven for his career entering Saturday.
• Tommy Jones found Glenn Johnson for a touchdown pass with 4:07 remaining in the first quarter. He then found John Pannozzo for a touchdown with 9:34 left in the third and connected again with Pannozzo for six more points with 11:01 remaining in the game. Jones had one touchdown pass in his career prior to Saturday (a 15-yard touchdown to Kris Dielman in the season opener last year at N.C. State).
• Pannozzo became the first Hoosier since Jerry Dorsey to have two touchdown receptions in a game. Dorsey accomplished the feat against Michigan on October 30, 1999.
• An errant snap over the punter's head and out of the back of the endzone led to Indiana notching a safety against William & Mary in the third quarter. The last time the Hoosiers recorded a safety was against Purdue on November 23, 1996.
• Kris Dielman recovered a fumble and recorded a sack on consecutive defensive plays during the third quarter. His fumble recovery inside William & Mary's 20 yard line led to Pannozzo's touchdown.
• Uncharacteristic of most season openers, the first quarter of Saturday's game was penalty-free.
• The Indiana defense held strong during the second quarter, holding William & Mary to six plays for a total of -37 yards on one drive. William & Mary was pushed 28 yards back into its own territory after the first three plays, but a personal foul on Buster Larkins for roughing the punter gave the Tribe a fresh set of downs. Brought back onto the field after the special teams personal foul, the Hoosier defense responded again by pushing the Tribe down to its own one yard line before being forced to punt again.
• Kicker Bryan Robertson converted on a career-long 31-yard field goal with two minutes remaining in the first half. Robertson was 1-3 on field goal attempts last year, and his 31-yarder matched the longest field goal from the 2001 season, when the Hoosier kickers were a combined 2-9 on field goals on the year.
• Joe Gonzalez intercepted a pass late in the third quarter, marking the first interception of his career.
