Indiana University Athletics
IU Beats No. 24 Oregon
9/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Not only does this give Indiana its first 2-0 start since 1996, but it marks the first road victory of the head coach Gerry DiNardo era and the Hoosiers' first road victory over a ranked opponent since Nov. 10, 2001, when the Hoosiers entered Spartan Stadium as 17-point underdogs and knocked off then-No. 22 Michigan State, 37-28.This also marks the first time since Oct. 12, 2002 that IU has beaten a ranked opponent. On that day, the Hoosiers overcame a 19-point deficit with 1:20 left in the third quarter to upend No. 23 and eventual Alamo Bowl champion Wisconsin, 32-29.
While this is the biggest win of the DiNardo era, the third-year head coach was also quick to point out that it was a collective effort.
"This is a great feeling. The win was terrific," DiNardo said. "The defense won the game for us with the seven turnovers, and the special teams and offense also contributed.
"It got real loud on the field today. This is one of the great venues in college football. To beat a team like this is a culmination of effort from everyone the last three years. It just so happened that today showed the kind of progress we're making as a football program."
Oregon's Kenny Washington returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, but it was called back due to penalties. On 2nd-and-10 from the Duck 29, IU linebacker Paul Szczesny recovered Oregon quarterback Kellen Clemens' fumble. The Hoosiers took over, and Bryan Robertson's 39-yard field goal put Indiana ahead, 3-0 with 12:07 left in the first quarter. This was the first of three field goals on the night for Robertson, who has now 15 straight field goals from inside 40 yards dating back to 2002.
Indiana capitalized on the second Oregon miscue with 8:02 left in the first quarter. Oregon's Aaron Gipson mishandled Tyson Beattie's punt, and the Hoosier punter recovered the football at the Oregon 27. Two plays later, sophomore running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis went around the left side for a 19-yard touchdown run. Adam Braucher added the extra point to give the Hoosiers a 10-0 lead.
With 2:51 left in the opening stanza, defensive end Victor Adeyanju was in the right place at the right time for the Hoosiers, recovering Terrence Whitehead's fumble at the Duck 20-yard-line. Three plays later, senior quarterback Matt LoVecchio found classmate Courtney Roby in the left side of the end zone for an eight-yard scoring strike and a 17-0 Indiana lead.
Robertson hit his second field goal of the game, a 31-yarder, to give the Hoosiers a 20-0 lead with 14:04 left in the first half. Robertson's third field goal of the game came two minutes later to give IU a 23-0 lead at intermission. This marked Indiana's largest lead in a road game since Oct. 6, 2001, when it built a 32-0 first quarter lead en route to a 63-32 triumph at Wisconsin. In addition, the 23-0 first half shutout marked the first time since Nov. 24, 2001 that the Hoosiers had held an opponent scoreless in the first 30 minutes of a game. On that day, the Hoosiers defeated Purdue, 13-7.
More impressively, this marked the first time since 1997 (a 24-13 loss to Washington State) that Oregon had been held without a point in the first half.
Oregon picked up its momentum in the third quarter, as Clemens found Dante Rosario for a 35-yard touchdown to put the Ducks on the board. Jared Siegel added the extra point to cut Indiana's lead to 23-7.
Indiana was forced to punt on the ensuing drive, and Siegel's 33-yard field goal capped an 11-play, 64-yard Oregon drive to cut the IU lead to 23-10 with 3:34 left in the third quarter.
On the following kickoff, Indiana's Lance Bennett erased Oregon's momentum with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Not only is this the first time since Sept. 18, 1999 (Derin Graham vs. Wisconsin) that Indiana returned a kickoff for a touchdown, but it also proved that Bennett is fully recovered from major knee surgery this past spring.
Without a doubt, Bennett's kickoff return was the play of the game.
"If you're going to win in these conditions, special teams has to play a role," DiNardo said. "You have to interrupt the natural scoring progression of the game, and that is what Lance's kickoff return did for us."
Braucher's extra point gave the Hoosiers a 30-10 lead, which means that Indiana has scored at least 30 points in back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 3 and 10, 2001. IU defeated Northwestern, 56-21 on Nov. 3 and followed that with the 37-28 win at Michigan State.
The quick-strike Oregon offense lit the Hoosiers for two quick scores. Clemens found Demtetrius Williams for a 59-yard touchdown pass, and Rosario for an eight-yard touchdown seven minutes into the fourth quarter to cut Indiana's lead to 30-24.
The aggressive Indiana defense thwarted Oregon's final two scoring drives, as linebacker Kyle Killion and safety Herana-Daze Jones picked off Clemens' passes to seal the victory.
Defensively, Buster Larkins tied his career-high with 10 tackles, while Jones, Szczesny and Killion added nine stops apiece. Indiana recovered four fumbles in a game for the first time since Oct. 5, 1996 at Illinois.
Green-Ellis had 29 carries for 91 yards and one touchdown, the sixth time in his career that he had at least 25 carries in a game.
