Indiana University Athletics
Game Notes: Indiana Hosts Eastern Illinois
9/3/2019 8:15:00 AM | Football
SETTING THE SCENE
• Indiana (1-0) opens its 60th season at Memorial Stadium (52,656; FieldTurf) on Saturday, Sept. 7, against the Eastern Illinois Panthers (0-1). Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. EDT on BTN.
• The Hoosiers are 41-18 in Memorial Stadium openers with wins in 15 of their last 17 and 32 of their last 37.
• This is the first meeting between the two programs.
• IU has won 15 of its last 16 non-conference games, including seven straight.
• The 1979 Holiday Bowl championship team will hold its 40-year reunion this weekend.
THE COACHES
• Tom Allen was named Indiana's head coach on Dec. 1, 2016, and made his debut at the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl against Utah. The New Castle, Ind., native joined IU as associate head coach/defense on Jan. 15, 2016.
In Allen's two seasons as head coach, 21 Hoosiers have earned All-Big Ten honors and 15 have been drafted or invited to NFL camps. (full bio on page 17)
• Adam Cushing was hired as the 25th head football coach at Eastern Illinois on Dec. 10, 2018. He spent the previous 15 seasons at Northwestern and served as offensive line coach from 2009-18.
NEWS & NOTES
• With its 34-24 victory over Ball State, Indiana has won 14 of its last 16 season openers.
• Fifth-year senior kicker Logan Justus earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors, while redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. claimed Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades.
• Justus matched a program record with a career-high four field goals, in four attempts, and three times bested his career-long with 48-, 49- and 50-yarders en route to his second-career POW.
• Penix finished with 326 passing yards on 24-of-40 with one touchdown and added 67 yards on the ground for a total of 393 yards.
• The Tampa native's total yardage and passing yardage trail only Antwaan Randle El for the most in a freshman debut. Randle El posted 467 total yards and 385 passing yards against Western Michigan on Sept. 12, 1998.
• Cornerback Jaylin Williams picked off a pass in the fourth quarter against the Cardinals, which extended the Hoosiers takeaway streak to 19 games, the longest in the country.
• IU has at least one interception in 11 straight contests.
• Left tackle Coy Cronk, linebacker Reakwon Jones, right guard Simon Stepaniak and wide receiver Nick Westbrook are Indiana's 2019 captains.
• Five true freshmen played in the opener: linebacker D.K. Bonhomme, athlete David Ellis, running back Sampson James, cornerback Tiawan Mullen and long snapper Sean Wracher.
Players Mentioned
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