Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Ready for 2006 Season Opener
8/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 28, 2006
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 118th season of Indiana Football gets underway on Saturday, Sept. 2, as the Hoosiers welcome the Broncos of Western Michigan to Bloomington for their 2006 season opener. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. EDT at Memorial Stadium (52,354).
Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner starts his second season in Bloomington and his eighth year overall as a head coach. Last year, Hoeppner led the Hoosiers to their first 4-1 start since 1994 and rejuvenated an IU fan base that enjoyed a 39-percent increase in per game attendance, a 46-percent increase in overall season ticket sales and a 110-percent increase in student ticket sales.
Western Michigan ended the 2005 season with a 7-4 mark in head coach Bill Cubit's first season in Kalamazoo. Cubit earned Mid-American Conference (MAC) Coach of the Year honors, and he is 41-22-1 in six seasons as a head coach.
IU Vs. The MAC
The Hoosiers have won their last 15 meetings against MAC opponents, 13 of which have come at Memorial Stadium. IU owns a 27-4-1 (.859) all-time record against MAC opponents. In season openers, Indiana is 13-1-1 against the MAC. Meanwhile, head coach Terry Hoeppner holds an impressive 39-12 (.765) mark against the MAC, including two wins in as many contests against Western Michigan.
Season Openers
The Hoosiers have won their last two season openers and three of their last four. Indiana defeated Central Michigan in 2004 and 2005. Head coach Terry Hoeppner owns a 5-2 mark in openers, with his only losses coming at No. 12 Michigan in 2001 and at No. 25 Iowa in 2003. IU is 68-42-7 (.611) all-time in season openers.
Meyers on Lott Watch List
Senior safety Will Meyers - an Academic All-American last season - was one of the 42 top defensive players in the nation named to the 2006 Lott Trophy Watch List. Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy is awarded to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its third year, The Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player. Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, the award is given to a player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Hardy's Hardware
After capturing second team All-Big Ten honors from the media, the postseason awards kept rolling in for wide receiver James Hardy. Hardy garnered another postseason honor after securing a spot on The Sporting News All-Freshman team. A selection to the Rivals.com Freshman All-America second team followed his Big Ten accolade, and Hardy picked up his third piece of hardware as a first team College FootballNews.com Freshman All-America.
The 6-7 Fort Wayne, Ind., product turned in one of the most prolific seasons IU has seen at wide receiver. Hardy grabbed 61 receptions for 893 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season as a Hoosier. He finished second in school history in receptions, tied for second in touchdowns and fifth in yards. In addition, Hardy's five 100-yard games were tied for second most in a season in school history. Hardy finished first in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally with 89.3 yards per game and fourth in the conference and 29th in the nation with 6.10 receptions per game. His 10 touchdowns ranked fifth among all freshmen nationally, and he became the first IU receiver since Ernie Jones (1987) to catch at least one touchdown in seven of his first eight games.
High-Powered Offense
Junior Blake Powers enjoyed one of the top seasons for an IU quarterback in the school's history last season. The Hoosier signal caller shattered Antwaan Randle El's single-season passing touchdown standard of 17 set in 1999 with 22 scoring strikes. Powers moved into second on a pair of additional single-season charts. His 212 completions finished behind Babe Laufenberg's 217 in 1982, while his 376 attempts stand behind Steve Bradley's 402 in 1984. Furthermore, Powers' 2,305 passing yards is the fourth most in school history.
After tossing four passes for paydirt against Kentucky (9/17), he became the first quarterback in school history to throw at least three touchdowns in three straight games. The sophomore went on to throw three touchdowns at Wisconsin (10/1) and four scores versus Illinois (10/8), 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 Antwaan Randle El's (1998-01) and Steve Bradley's (1983-85) mark of four.
Moreover, Powers set career highs with 37 completions, 57 attempts and 360 yards at Iowa on Oct. 15. His 37 completions not only set an Indiana single-game record previously held by Babe Laufenberg with 34 against Ohio State on Oct. 23, 1982, but also broke the Kinnick Stadium standard owned by Scott Mullen with 36 on Oct. 23, 1999. Additionally, Powers' 57 attempts set a single-game record for IU, while his 360 yards ranks sixth on the Hoosiers' all-time list.
Two-Sport Stars
Sophomore running back Marcus Thigpen and redshirt freshman Andrew Means' success is not limited to the gridiron. Thigpen is a standout track athlete, while Means started 41 games in right field for the Hoosier baseball squad. Thigpen took seventh in the 60m (6.89) and sixth in the 200m (21.94) at the Big Ten indoor meet, and he placed seventh in the 100m at the Big Ten outdoor meet. Means finished the year with a .301 batting average and 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts.
New Faces
As the Hoosiers take the field in 2006, keep your roster close by. Seventy-two players on the 105-man roster (69 percent) are underclassmen and 49 (47 percent) are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Here is a breakdown by class of the 2006 Hoosiers:
• Seniors - 15
• Juniors - 18
• Sophomores - 23
• Redshirt Freshmen - 25
• True Freshmen - 24
