Indiana University Athletics
Inside The Numbers
10/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 20, 2005
First-Year Leaders
Among the 22 NCAA Division I-A football programs that made coaching changes prior to the start of the 2005 season, Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner is currently one of three with at least four victories.
Urban Meyer, Florida 5-2
Terry Hoeppner, Indiana 4-2
Charlie Weis, Notre Dame 4-2
Les Miles, LSU 4-1
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State 3-3
Kyle Whittingham, Utah 3-4
Bill Cubit, Western Michigan 3-3
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina 3-3
By The Numbers
Not only does Terry Hoeppner rank among the top-10 active coaches in the nation for winning percentage, but his teams:
• have never been shut out
• are 39-8 when they score first
• are 31-7 when they lead at the end of the first quarter
• are 46-3 when they lead at the start of the fourth quarter
• are 21-1 since 2003 when they score first
Start Chart
Senior offensive guard Adam Hines and senior defensive end Victor Adeyanju each made their 39th straight start of their careers against Iowa. Here is a look at the Hoosiers' top consecutive start streaks since 1999.
OL Enoch DeMar - 45
QB Antwaan Randle El - 44
DE Victor Adeyanju - 39
OL Adam Hines - 39
DE Adewale Ogunleye - 37
OL Chris Jahnke - 35
DL Jodie Clemons - 35
Hardy In The Books
Wide receiver James Hardy is a leading candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. The 6-7 redshirt freshman, who also is a walk-on forward on the IU basketball team, has caught 46 passes for 764 yards and eight touchdowns this season.
Hardy has caught two touchdown passes at Wisconsin and versus Illinois. The last IU player to corral two scores in back-to-back ballgames was Jerry Dorsey (1999) at Iowa (10/23) and versus Michigan (10/30). In addition, Hardy's eight touchdowns are third among all freshmen nationally.
Tyrell Sutton (Northwestern) 13
Ontario Sneed (Central Michigan) 9
James Hardy (Indiana) 8
Rice Grice-Mullen (Hawaii) 7
Brad Lester (Auburn) 7
Kory Sheets (Purdue) 7
Century Club
Hardy has five 100-plus yard receiving games in his first six contests. He is the first Hoosier receiver since Courtney Roby (2002) to have five 100-plus yard receiving efforts in a season. No IU wide receiver has ever had more than seven 100-plus yard receiving efforts in a season (Ernie Jones, 1987). In fact, here is a breakdown of the single-season century mark receiving efforts in a game:
7 - Ernie Jones , 1987 (4 100-plus yard efforts in his first 6 games)
5 - James Hardy, 2005 (5 in his first 6 games)
5 - Thomas Lewis, 1993 (4 100-yard plus yard efforts in a 6-game stretch from 9/24-11/12)
Powering The Offense
With his four touchdown passes against Illinois, quarterback Blake Powers surpassed former Hoosier great Antwaan Randle El on the single-season touchdown passes list. Powers has tossed 20 touchdown passes in just six games, which is tied for second in the country (Cody Hodges, Texas Tech - 22), and broke Randle El's total of 17 set in 1999.
Powers is enjoying one of the most prolific seasons for an IU quarterback in the team's history. After tossing four passes for paydirt against Kentucky, he became the first quarterback in school history to throw at least three touchdowns in three straight games.
Powers has gone on to throw three touchdowns at Wisconsin and four scores versus Illinois, giving him at least three touchdown tosses in five straight games. He is the only quarterback in the program's history to throw three or more touchdown passes in a game five times in a career, breaking Randle El's (1998-01) and Steve Bradley (1983-85) mark of four.
Additionally, Powers threw for at least 275 yards in each of his first two games. The last IU quarterback to throw for at least 275 yards in back-to-back games was Gibran Hamdan (310 vs. Wisconsin and 335 vs. Iowa on Oct. 12 and 19, 2002).
His four touchdown tosses against Nicholls State marked the first time since Oct. 12, 2002 (Gibran Hamdan - four against Wisconsin) that an IU quarterback has thrown for four touchdowns in a game.
Beyond The Box Score
The 38-21 score is not indicative how close the Indiana-Iowa game was. Although the Hoosiers have converted 16 (14 touchdowns and two field goals) of their last 18 red zone opportunities, IU drove inside the Hawkeyes' 40-yard line on five occasions and did not score a single point.
Furthermore, Indiana outgained Iowa, 446-425 and held a 40:09-19:51 advantage in time of possession, marking the second game this season IU amassed over 40 minutes in the time of possession battle (41:37 vs. Kentucky, Sept. 17).
Four In A Row
Should Indiana defeat Ohio State, it would mark the first time since 1991 and the fourth time in the last 17 years, that the Hoosiers have had four straight home victories.
Marathon Drive
The Hoosiers' 18-play, 94-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter at Iowa took 7:46. The drive was Indiana's longest in each category this season.
The James Duo
James Hardy is not the only redshirt freshman wide receiver making his name for the Hoosiers this season. Classmate James Bailey caught a season-high four passes in the first quarter alone at Iowa. Bailey finished the game with career highs in receptions (nine) and yards (65), and he added his third touchdown of the season. When Powers connected with Bailey for a six-yard score at 9:51 in the fourth, it capped an 80-yard drive, the eighth touchdown drive of 80 or more yards this season.
Bailey is one of the top comeback stories in college football this season. He was seriously injured in a March 24 auto accident that forced him to spend two weeks in the hospital and another 12 days in a wheelchair.
Balancing The Run Game
Indiana would like to see more balance in its run game. The Hoosiers are averaging 208 yards per game on the ground in Memorial Stadium, compared to 106.7 on the road.
Meyers Tackling Away
Safety Will Meyers has turned in back-to-back games with 10-plus tackles. After recording 11 stops against Illinois, Meyers came back to match a career high with 13 at Iowa. He also grabbed his first career interception against the Illini and recovered his first fumble of the season against the Hawkeyes. With his 24 tackles the last two games, the junior has moved into a tie with middle linebacker John Pannozzo for the top spot on the club with 40 tackles and 30 solo stops.
Three In A Row
This week's game against Ohio State marks the first of three straight ranked opponents that the Hoosiers will face. On Oct. 29, IU travels to No. 22 Michigan State and then returns home to face No. 25 Minnesota. This marks the first time since Sept. 28-Oct. 19, 2002 (at No. 6 Ohio State, No. 23 Wisconsin and No. 15 Iowa) that the Hoosiers will face three straight ranked opponents.
Third Down Conversions
Entering the Oct. 8 Illinois game, Indiana had converted just five of their last 18 third down plays (.277). Since that time, the Hoosiers have converted 24 of their last 44 third downs (.545).
In A Timely Fashion
Indiana enters the Ohio State game having posted 13 scoring drives in 2:15 or less. The Hoosiers posted three drives resulting in points in 1:14 or less against Wisconsin, including drives of 53 and 15 seconds, and two drives in 1:05 and 26 seconds versus Illinois.
