Indiana University Athletics
Drop Big Ten Opener to MSU
9/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Bloomington, Ind. - The Indiana football team jumped out to a 20-7 halftime advantage; however, the 13-point edge was not enough as the Michigan State Spartans defeated IU, 30-20, here Saturday in the Big Ten opener for both teams. With the loss, the Hoosiers fall to 2-2 (0-1 Big Ten), while the Spartans improve to 2-2 on the campaign (1-0 Big Ten).
"I think that it was obvious that we played two different halves - two drastically different halves," Indiana head coach Gerry DiNardo said. "Sometimes when you have the lead at halftime, the tendency is to be to conservative in the second half. We made our minds up at halftime that we weren't going to do that. We weren't going to sit on the lead and we were going to try to be as aggressive offensively as we were in the first half and the same thing with defense."
After falling behind in the first half, the Spartans opened the second half by cutting into the IU lead on back-to-back possessions. First, MSU marched the ball 54 yards on nine plays in 3:51, capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Drew Stanton on fourth down. That was followed by a 62-yard drive on five plays, resulting in a Dave Rayner 44-yard field goal to cut the Hoosier lead to three at 20-17, with 2:58 remaining in the third quarter.
Michigan State would then regain the lead for good in the fourth quarter. Running back Jason Teague took the ball into the IU endzone to cap a 10 play, 78-yard drive, which lasted 3:42, giving the Spartans a 24-20 advantage. Rayner would later connect on field goals from 22 and 39 yards to seal the Spartan victory.
The Spartans were led by sophomore quarterback Drew Stanton, who rushed for 134 yards on 12 carries while adding two rushing touchdowns. He also threw for 172 yards (15-of-23) to account for a combined 306 yards of total offense.
"We had somebody assigned to the quarterback," said DiNardo. "He had 300 yards of total offense; he rushed for 134. We just couldn't make the plays. We thought that he was the better runner of their quarterbacks. One dimension that he brought to the game was definitely his running."
The highlight on the day for the Hoosiers came at the 4:25 mark of the second quarter when sophomore Lance Bennett fielded a punt on his own six-yard line and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown to give IU a temporary 17-7 lead.
Bennett's 94-yard punt return for a touchdown set an IU school record, breaking the old record set by Thomas Lewis at Northwestern on Oct. 23, 1993 (58 yards). It also marked the third time this season the Hoosiers have scored a touchdown of 90 or more yards, breaking a school record set in 1945 (2). Bennett also scored on a 98-yard kickoff return at Oregon and Tracy Porter had a 96-yard interception return for a touchdown against Central Michigan.
Indiana was led on the afternoon by fifth-year senior Matt LoVecchio, who passed for 153 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore BenJarvus Green-Ellis also was a workhorse with 23 rushes for 65 yards on the day.
The Hoosiers began the game impressively and opened the scoring at the 4:42 mark of the first quarter. IU marched down the field, covering 81 yards on 12 plays in 4:14, which resulted in senior Bryan Robertson's 23-yard field goal to give IU an early 3-0 lead. It marked the fourth consecutive game in which Indiana opened the scoring.
However, the Spartans responded with an 81-yard drive of their own, lasting 5:11 and 13 plays, capped off by a Drew Stanton two-yard touchdown run. Stanton also highlighted the drive with a 43-yard run to get Michigan State into scoring position.
Indiana responded to the Spartans' touchdown when LoVecchio found a wide-open Chris Rudanovic for a 12-yard touchdown to put the Hoosiers back on top, 10-7, with 10:28 remaining in the opening half. The touchdown was Rudanovic's first of his career, and the first receiving touchdown by an Indiana tight end since Nov. 23, 2002, when tight end Stephen Anthony caught a five-yard TD pass against Purdue.
After Bennett's punt return touchdown, the Hoosiers scored on their last drive of the half on a Robertson 31-yard field goal, giving Indiana the halftime margin.
The Hoosiers will remain at home next week when they play host to Big Ten rival Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 2, at 2:30 p.m. EST. The game will be nationally-televised live on ABC.
"I think that it was obvious that we played two different halves - two drastically different halves," Indiana head coach Gerry DiNardo said. "Sometimes when you have the lead at halftime, the tendency is to be to conservative in the second half. We made our minds up at halftime that we weren't going to do that. We weren't going to sit on the lead and we were going to try to be as aggressive offensively as we were in the first half and the same thing with defense."
After falling behind in the first half, the Spartans opened the second half by cutting into the IU lead on back-to-back possessions. First, MSU marched the ball 54 yards on nine plays in 3:51, capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Drew Stanton on fourth down. That was followed by a 62-yard drive on five plays, resulting in a Dave Rayner 44-yard field goal to cut the Hoosier lead to three at 20-17, with 2:58 remaining in the third quarter.
Michigan State would then regain the lead for good in the fourth quarter. Running back Jason Teague took the ball into the IU endzone to cap a 10 play, 78-yard drive, which lasted 3:42, giving the Spartans a 24-20 advantage. Rayner would later connect on field goals from 22 and 39 yards to seal the Spartan victory.
The Spartans were led by sophomore quarterback Drew Stanton, who rushed for 134 yards on 12 carries while adding two rushing touchdowns. He also threw for 172 yards (15-of-23) to account for a combined 306 yards of total offense.
"We had somebody assigned to the quarterback," said DiNardo. "He had 300 yards of total offense; he rushed for 134. We just couldn't make the plays. We thought that he was the better runner of their quarterbacks. One dimension that he brought to the game was definitely his running."
The highlight on the day for the Hoosiers came at the 4:25 mark of the second quarter when sophomore Lance Bennett fielded a punt on his own six-yard line and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown to give IU a temporary 17-7 lead.
Bennett's 94-yard punt return for a touchdown set an IU school record, breaking the old record set by Thomas Lewis at Northwestern on Oct. 23, 1993 (58 yards). It also marked the third time this season the Hoosiers have scored a touchdown of 90 or more yards, breaking a school record set in 1945 (2). Bennett also scored on a 98-yard kickoff return at Oregon and Tracy Porter had a 96-yard interception return for a touchdown against Central Michigan.
Indiana was led on the afternoon by fifth-year senior Matt LoVecchio, who passed for 153 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore BenJarvus Green-Ellis also was a workhorse with 23 rushes for 65 yards on the day.
The Hoosiers began the game impressively and opened the scoring at the 4:42 mark of the first quarter. IU marched down the field, covering 81 yards on 12 plays in 4:14, which resulted in senior Bryan Robertson's 23-yard field goal to give IU an early 3-0 lead. It marked the fourth consecutive game in which Indiana opened the scoring.
However, the Spartans responded with an 81-yard drive of their own, lasting 5:11 and 13 plays, capped off by a Drew Stanton two-yard touchdown run. Stanton also highlighted the drive with a 43-yard run to get Michigan State into scoring position.
Indiana responded to the Spartans' touchdown when LoVecchio found a wide-open Chris Rudanovic for a 12-yard touchdown to put the Hoosiers back on top, 10-7, with 10:28 remaining in the opening half. The touchdown was Rudanovic's first of his career, and the first receiving touchdown by an Indiana tight end since Nov. 23, 2002, when tight end Stephen Anthony caught a five-yard TD pass against Purdue.
After Bennett's punt return touchdown, the Hoosiers scored on their last drive of the half on a Robertson 31-yard field goal, giving Indiana the halftime margin.
The Hoosiers will remain at home next week when they play host to Big Ten rival Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 2, at 2:30 p.m. EST. The game will be nationally-televised live on ABC.
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