Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Garnering National Attention
10/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 7, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana football team has begun to collect merit on the national level with its 5-1 start and 2-1 opening to its Big Ten campaign. The Hoosiers received 40 votes in the latest Associated Press Poll and 30 in the USA Today/Coaches' Poll released on Oct. 7.
The Hoosiers are ranked fourth among teams also receiving votes, behind Texas A&M, Purdue and Colorado. Seven Big Ten squads picked up votes this week, with Ohio State (No. 3), Illinois (No. 18) and Wisconsin (No. 19) finding themselves in the Top 25. In the USA Today poll, IU is seventh among those also receiving votes.
IU improved to 5-1 this weekend following a 40-20 defeat of Minnesota at Memorial Stadium. Bryan Payton ran for three scores and Austin Starr hit four field goals in the win, as Indiana improved to 5-1 for the first time since 1994, the last time the Hoosiers finished with a winning record. Indiana's only defeat came at the hands of the 18th-ranked Illini two weeks ago.
IU coach Bill Lynch improved to 5-1 in his career with the win over the Golden Gophers, the best six-game start by a Hoosier coach in school history. Indiana posted back-to-back double-digit wins for the first time since 1993, when IU posted a 24-0 win over Northwestern and a 10-0 win over Michigan State in consecutive weeks. The Hoosiers have scored 225 points in six games this season, the best start for a Hoosier offense since the 1988 squad scored 227 in opening the season 5-0-1.
The Hoosiers will face Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday, Oct. 13. The game will be televised by the Big Ten Network with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT.
