Saturday, November 13, 2004
Penn State has won all nine games since the teams' first meeting in 1993.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- The Indiana Hoosiers faced reality this week.
Knowing they would not be going to a bowl game for the 11th straight year and would endure their 10th straight losing season, the Hoosiers embarked on a new mission: beating Penn State.
"We've talked about that, about making history," defensive tackle Jodie Clemons said. "We have to stay as focused as if we were playing for a bowl. We are not going to quit."
This has been a lopsided series.
Since the teams first played in 1993, the Nittany Lions have won all nine games. Penn State has outscored Indiana 110-32 in the last two games and the last time they squared off in Bloomington, Larry Johnson ran for 327 yards and four touchdowns.
The players haven't forgotten.
Chip on their shoulder
"You've definitely got to have a chip on your shoulder about that," linebacker Kyle Killion said. "They've scored something like 110 points against us the last two times. We don't want that to happen again."
Indiana (3-6, 1-5) has some significant advantages this time, though.
Penn State's offense is struggling badly. The Nittany Lions rank 100th nationally in total offense, 113th in scoring offense and 94th in turnover margin -- uncustomary numbers for coach Joe Paterno, whose 341 career wins rank second all-time in Division I-A.
The Nittany Lions (2-7, 0-6) also have lost seven of eight and six straight for only the second time in Paterno's 39 seasons. They are trying to avoid the dubious distinction of becoming the first Penn State squad to lose seven straight since 1931.
After beating two ranked teams in the same season for the first time since 1987, the Hoosiers hope to finish this year with two more major accomplishments. If they beat Purdue in the season-finale, they would recapture the Old Oaken Bucket for the first time since 2001.
And a victory this week would give the 2004 Hoosiers a special spot in the school record books.
"It's one of the things we're shooting for," Indiana wide receiver Courtney Roby said. "They've got a real solid defense and a real fluid offense, so to beat them would mean a lot."
Lose QB, lose game
Last week at Illinois, Matt LoVecchio set a school record by completing 88.2 percent of his passes before leaving in the third quarter with a head injury. Illinois rallied for 12 fourth-quarter points to beat the Hoosiers 26-22, but LoVecchio is expected to start today.
The Hoosiers also have rushed for 394 yards the last two weeks, a major jump since early in the season.
Facing Penn State, though, gives the Hoosiers another tough test.
"Their talent level is extremely high," Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo said. "They have at least one playmaker in each unit -- defensive line, linebacker and secondary -- and it's a very young defense. They're going to be good."
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