*** NCAA Football Preview - Indiana Hoosiers ***
From The My Sportsbook
By Frank Haynes, College Football Senior Editor
2003 SEASON IN REVIEW: It was a tough second year at the helm for head coach Gerry DiNardo, as his Hoosiers won just two games, only one of which came against Division I-A competition. The team opened the year with double-digit losses to Connecticut and Washington before beating up on I-AA foe Indiana State, 33-3. The Big Ten slate would once again be Indiana's downfall as its seven league losses came by an average of 25.4 ppg. The Hoosiers managed a 17-14 win over visiting Illinois for their only conference victory, allowing them to finish just outside of the Big Ten basement. The dismal 2-10 mark meant IU would finish below .500 for the ninth straight time and the hope is the team will be able to challenge for league respectability in 2004 as it has nearly its full complement of scholarship players. That said, DiNardo has his work cut out for him as Indiana has ground to make up on both sides of the ball, no easy task in a league that historically is loaded from top to bottom.
2004 ANALYSIS:
OFFENSE: The return of 10 starters on offense, including the entire offensive line, means the Hoosiers should be in pretty good shape, at least with respect to familiarity and experience. The key to IU's season rests in its ability to run the ball, as sophomore BenJarvus Green-Ellis is poised for a 1,000-yard season after rushing for 938 yards as a rookie last year. Another key component to the Hoosier offense will be the play of former Notre Dame QB Matt LoVecchio. The 6-3, 216-pound LoVecchio has been named to the 2004 Davey O'Brien Award watch list and he will be expected to improve upon the 53 percent completion rate and 1,778 yards he amassed last season. Big-play receiver Courtney Roby will be LoVecchio's primary target downfield, utilizing his sprinter speed to stretch defenses and hopefully find himself alone behind the secondary. One of the top tight ends in the country, senior Aaron Halterman simply goes about his business in quiet, workmanlike fashion, and gives LoVecchio another solid option. The IU offensive line showcases one senior, three juniors and a sophomore, but the unit as a whole should be able to get the job done for the most part, assuring Jarvis-Green and LoVecchio both have impressive campaigns.
DEFENSE: The strength of the Indiana defense is the front seven. The entire starting defensive line and linebacking corps is back, meaning continuity won't be a negative factor. This area of the IU defense wasn't regarded as the main problem last season, but the unit as a whole must play better and do so with some regularity. Senior DT Jodie Clemons is probably the best of the down linemen, and his six sacks from '03 are proof of his ability to collapse a pocket. Overall however, the Hoosiers had just 15 sacks last year so improving upon that number is paramount to any success the unit achieves this year. The linebackers are led by junior Kyle Killion, who led the team with 97 tackles last year. Senior Josh Moore is a guy who could make some serious noise as well after recording 68 tackles while battling injuries a year ago. But where the team needs to show the most improvement is in the secondary, as the Hoosiers were torched for one big play after another last season. Sophomore Cedric Henry emerged as one of the unit's more talented corners as a rookie last year, but the cupboard is pretty much bare after him. Senior safety Herana Daze-Jones is a converted linebacker and he will be asked to help against both the run and the pass.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore punter Tyson Beattie is back after averaging just over 40 yards per kick in 2003, and his big-leg potential has the Indiana coaches excited about the future. As for the placekicking duties, they will be handled by senior Bryan Robertson. Robertson struggled in hitting just 12- of-18 FG attempts last season, including a poor 2-of-8 effort from 40+ yards. With regard to the kick return game, an injury to Lance Bennett, the fourth- ranked returnee in the Big Ten last season, in the spring put a dark cloud over the Hoosiers, but the hope is that one of the other talented runners will be able to pick up the slack. With his superior speed, don't be surprised to see Roby back returning kicks at some point.
OUTLOOK: Improving upon last year's 2-10 season might prove difficult, although not impossible. The non-conference portion of the Hoosiers' schedule is challenging as only the opener against Central Michigan looks good at first glance. Back-to-back road games at Oregon and Kentucky will be tough, as will home games against Michigan State and defending Big Ten champion Michigan the following two weeks. A trip to Northwestern the second Saturday in October could certainly result in victory, as could a trek to Illinois in early November. However, the rest of the Big Ten slate offers little in the way of cupcakes so a winning campaign and possible bowl berth will be extremely hard to come by.
