Indiana University Athletics
IU Falls on the Road to UK
9/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Lexington, Ky. - Kentucky quarterback Shane Boyd ran for 130 yards and passed for 205 more to lead the Wildcats (1-1, 0-0) to a 51-32 victory over Indiana (2-1, 0-0) Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium.
Indiana scored 30 or more points for the third straight game, marking the first time since 2000 that the Hoosiers opened the season with three straight 30-plus point outings. However, Kentucky enjoyed an even more prolific offensive performance. UK piled up 560 yards of total offense, as Boyd used both his arm and legs to drive the Wildcat attack.
Just as last week's 30-24 win at Oregon was a huge step forward for a growing Indiana program, Hoosier coach Gerry DiNardo will make sure that his players learn just as much from this contest.
"I didn't think we played well fundamentally on defense, but you have to give Kentucky credit for a good game plan," DiNardo said. "We struggled to contain them. We got some good defensive penetration, but we could not bring them down.
"This (loss) is part of growth, and sometimes growth can be painful. We're going to build on this experience. Next time we have a big win, we're going to come back and play better the following week."
Kentucky won the opening coin toss and elected to defer, allowing Indiana to take the opening kickoff and driving down right the field. Sophomore running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis did a majority of the damage, as he had six carries for 51 yards in a drive culminated by senior Bryan Robertson's 27-yard field goal with 7:45 left in the opening stanza. Dating back to 2002, Robertson has now made 16 straight field goals from inside 40 yards.
Kentucky responded with a productive drive of its own, going 80 yards in 11 plays, as Taylor Begley kicked a 44-yard field goal with 3:41 left in the quarter.
On Indiana's next possession, the fans in attendance got their first indication that this would be an offensive shootout. On first-and-10 from the IU 25-yard-line, quarterback Matt LoVecchio found senior wide receiver Courtney Roby for a 42-yard gain. This marked the second straight game that LoVecchio and Roby hooked up for a 40-plus-yard play, and Roby finished the game with seven catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The 184 yards receiving matches the sixth-best single-game receiving yardage total in school history (Glenn Johnson at Utah, 2002).
Just as LoVecchio and Roby opened that drive with a bang, Chris Taylor closed it with a two-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds left in the opening quarter. Adam Braucher's extra point attempt was blocked, but Indiana still held a 9-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Kentucky was shut out in its 28-0 season-opening loss to Louisville, and after a week off, the UK offense got untracked in the second quarter by outscoring IU, 24-8. Boyd helped the Wildcats regain the lead with a 13-yard touchdown run, followed by Begley's extra point.
The Hoosiers were forced to punt on their next possession, and on the first play from scrimmage, Tony Dixon ran for a 67-yard touchdown. Begley's extra point gave UK a 17-9 advantage.
IU bounced back once again, as LoVecchio and Roby connected on a 44-yard touchdown with 10:11 left in the first half. LoVecchio found senior tight end Aaron Halterman for a two-point conversion, and the score was tied at 17.
The Wildcats capitalized on an Indiana turnover for the go-ahead score, as defensive end Vincent "Sweet Pea" Burns intercepted LoVecchio's screen pass intended for Green-Ellis. Boyd put Kentucky ahead to stay with a nine-yard scoring run at the 6:30 mark. Begley added a 23-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Wildcats a 10-point cushion, 27-17, heading into the locker room.
The opportunistic Indiana defense opened the third quarter by forcing a Wildcat turnover. On second-and-16 from the UK 14-yard line, defensive end Kenny Kendal sacked Boyd for a 10-yard loss and jarred the ball loose. Victor Adeyanju recovered the fumble and ran four yards into the end zone for the touchdown.
This marks the first time since Nov. 2, 2002 (Herana-Daze Jones at Northwestern) that Indiana had a fumble return for a touchdown.
The other offensive highlight for the Hoosiers came when LoVecchio and Roby connected on the final Indiana touchdown of the evening, a 64-yarder with 1:39 left. This is the longest touchdown pass for the Hoosiers since Roby and Gibran Hamdan paired up for a 76-yarder against Central Michigan on Sept. 21, 2002.
This marks the fifth time in Green-Ellis' career that he ran for 100 yards or more in a game. Roby finished with seven receptions for 184 yards, marking the fourth-best single-game receptions and second-best reception yardage single-game totals of his career.
Defensively, linebackers Kyle Killion (13) and Paul Szczesny (11) posted career-high single-game efforts in tackles. Adeyanju's fumble recovery for a touchdown marked the first fumble recovery of his career,
Indiana opens a two-game homestand on Sept. 25 when it hosts Michigan State at 11:10 a.m. EST/CDT at Memorial Stadium in its Big Ten opener.
Indiana scored 30 or more points for the third straight game, marking the first time since 2000 that the Hoosiers opened the season with three straight 30-plus point outings. However, Kentucky enjoyed an even more prolific offensive performance. UK piled up 560 yards of total offense, as Boyd used both his arm and legs to drive the Wildcat attack.
Just as last week's 30-24 win at Oregon was a huge step forward for a growing Indiana program, Hoosier coach Gerry DiNardo will make sure that his players learn just as much from this contest.
"I didn't think we played well fundamentally on defense, but you have to give Kentucky credit for a good game plan," DiNardo said. "We struggled to contain them. We got some good defensive penetration, but we could not bring them down.
"This (loss) is part of growth, and sometimes growth can be painful. We're going to build on this experience. Next time we have a big win, we're going to come back and play better the following week."
Kentucky won the opening coin toss and elected to defer, allowing Indiana to take the opening kickoff and driving down right the field. Sophomore running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis did a majority of the damage, as he had six carries for 51 yards in a drive culminated by senior Bryan Robertson's 27-yard field goal with 7:45 left in the opening stanza. Dating back to 2002, Robertson has now made 16 straight field goals from inside 40 yards.
Kentucky responded with a productive drive of its own, going 80 yards in 11 plays, as Taylor Begley kicked a 44-yard field goal with 3:41 left in the quarter.
On Indiana's next possession, the fans in attendance got their first indication that this would be an offensive shootout. On first-and-10 from the IU 25-yard-line, quarterback Matt LoVecchio found senior wide receiver Courtney Roby for a 42-yard gain. This marked the second straight game that LoVecchio and Roby hooked up for a 40-plus-yard play, and Roby finished the game with seven catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The 184 yards receiving matches the sixth-best single-game receiving yardage total in school history (Glenn Johnson at Utah, 2002).
Just as LoVecchio and Roby opened that drive with a bang, Chris Taylor closed it with a two-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds left in the opening quarter. Adam Braucher's extra point attempt was blocked, but Indiana still held a 9-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Kentucky was shut out in its 28-0 season-opening loss to Louisville, and after a week off, the UK offense got untracked in the second quarter by outscoring IU, 24-8. Boyd helped the Wildcats regain the lead with a 13-yard touchdown run, followed by Begley's extra point.
The Hoosiers were forced to punt on their next possession, and on the first play from scrimmage, Tony Dixon ran for a 67-yard touchdown. Begley's extra point gave UK a 17-9 advantage.
IU bounced back once again, as LoVecchio and Roby connected on a 44-yard touchdown with 10:11 left in the first half. LoVecchio found senior tight end Aaron Halterman for a two-point conversion, and the score was tied at 17.
The Wildcats capitalized on an Indiana turnover for the go-ahead score, as defensive end Vincent "Sweet Pea" Burns intercepted LoVecchio's screen pass intended for Green-Ellis. Boyd put Kentucky ahead to stay with a nine-yard scoring run at the 6:30 mark. Begley added a 23-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Wildcats a 10-point cushion, 27-17, heading into the locker room.
The opportunistic Indiana defense opened the third quarter by forcing a Wildcat turnover. On second-and-16 from the UK 14-yard line, defensive end Kenny Kendal sacked Boyd for a 10-yard loss and jarred the ball loose. Victor Adeyanju recovered the fumble and ran four yards into the end zone for the touchdown.
This marks the first time since Nov. 2, 2002 (Herana-Daze Jones at Northwestern) that Indiana had a fumble return for a touchdown.
The other offensive highlight for the Hoosiers came when LoVecchio and Roby connected on the final Indiana touchdown of the evening, a 64-yarder with 1:39 left. This is the longest touchdown pass for the Hoosiers since Roby and Gibran Hamdan paired up for a 76-yarder against Central Michigan on Sept. 21, 2002.
This marks the fifth time in Green-Ellis' career that he ran for 100 yards or more in a game. Roby finished with seven receptions for 184 yards, marking the fourth-best single-game receptions and second-best reception yardage single-game totals of his career.
Defensively, linebackers Kyle Killion (13) and Paul Szczesny (11) posted career-high single-game efforts in tackles. Adeyanju's fumble recovery for a touchdown marked the first fumble recovery of his career,
Indiana opens a two-game homestand on Sept. 25 when it hosts Michigan State at 11:10 a.m. EST/CDT at Memorial Stadium in its Big Ten opener.
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