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Indiana Heads to Wisconsin for Big Ten Road Opener
BLOOMINGTON,
Ind. - Hitting the road for the first time in Big Ten play, the Indiana
football team (1-5, 0-2 Big Ten) faces No. 4 Wisconsin (5-0, 1-0 Big
Ten) at Camp Randall Stadium (80,123) on Saturday, Oct. 15. Kickoff is
set for 11 a.m. CDT/noon EDT and ESPN2 will broadcast the game.
IU
is facing its third straight Leaders Division opponent. The Badgers
swept through their non-conference slate and kicked off league play
with a 48-17 victory over No. 8 Nebraska on Oct. 1. UW has won eight
consecutive Big Ten games and 12 straight regular season contests.
Beth
Mowins (play-by-play) and Mike Bellotti (analyst) will call the game.
The game can also be heard on the statewide IU Radio Network and Sirius
135 with Don Fischer (play-by-play), Buck Suhr (analyst) and Joe Smith
(pre-game, halftime and post-game) on the call.
The Coaches
•
Kevin Wilson earned his first victory as Indiana head coach vs. South
Carolina State. Wilson spent the 2002-10 seasons at Oklahoma, where he
served as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from
2002-05 and as offensive coordinator and tight ends and fullbacks coach
from 2006-10. OU played in seven Big 12 Title games in Wilson's nine
years, going 6-1 in those appearances. His offenses were vital to
accumulating an overall record of 99-24 (.805) during his time in
Norman, including seven 10-win seasons.
• Bret
Bielema is 54-16 (.771) in his sixth season at Wisconsin. He has led
the Badgers to five straight bowl games and served as the team's
defensive coordinator (2004-05) before taking over as head coach.
News & Notes
•
Shane Wynn returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown
against Illinois. He became the first true freshman in IU history to
collect a kickoff return TD and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week
honors.
• Defensive tackle Adam Replogle recorded two sacks and forced a fumble in the game.
•
IU recovered two fumbles for the third straight game and the fourth
time this season against Illinois. The Hoosiers are second in the
league and tied for fifth nationally with nine fumble recoveries in
2011.
• Damarlo Belcher needs five receptions to become Indiana's all-time leader.
•
Linebacker Jeff Thomas is third in the Big Ten with 8.0 tackles for
loss and ninth with 8.0 tackles per game.
• Indiana is fourth in the conference averaging 250.0 passing yards per contest.
• Wisconsin holds a 37-18-2 advantage in the all-time series against Indiana.
• The Badgers own a 21-8-1 edge in Madison.
• UW has won the last six meetings between the two teams.
• The Hoosiers last win in the series came in 2002, the second of consecutive victories over the Badgers.
•
IU knocked off No. 23 Wisconsin, 32-29, at Memorial Stadium (Oct. 12),
following a 63-32 triumph in Madison the previous season (Oct. 6).
Wisconsin Connection
Three
players on the Indiana roster hail from The Badger State. Redshirt
freshman offensive lineman Cody Evers (Little Chute/Little Chute),
redshirt freshman defensive end John Laihinen (Mequon/Homestead) and
junior defensive back Alexander Webb (Mequon/Homestead) all came to
Bloomington from the state of Wisconsin.
Gone With The Wynn
Shane
Wynn returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against
Illinois. He became the first true freshman in IU history to collect a
kickoff return TD and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
•
Wynn's return was the fourth-longest in school history (three
100-yarders), the second-longest in the Big Ten and the fourth-longest
nationally in 2011.
• It was the first TD return
for a Hoosier since Ray Fisher's 93-yarder at Northwestern Oct. 24,
2009. Fisher also was the last Hoosier to take back an opening kick,
racing 91 yards at Akron on Sept. 19, 2009.
• Wynn
finished the game with 148 kick return yards, an IU true freshman
record and tied for the seventh-best single-game total in school
history.
• He added one reception for eight yards
to net a career-high 156 all-purpose yards. Wynn has back-to-back games
over the century mark and three overall.
• On the
season, he has 10 receptions for 95 yards and 432 kick return yards on
19 returns to lead the Hoosiers with 527 all-purpose yards.
No Problem With Houston
Stephen
Houston joined the Hoosiers in July from Independence (Kan.) CC. The
228-pound running back appeared in each of the first four games before
earning starts in both of the Hoosiers Big Ten contests.
•
Houston led the team and posted season highs in rushing and receiving
with 68 yards on 14 carries (4.9 average) and 70 yards on three catches
against Illinois.
• His combined total of 138
yards is the highest single-game yardage total from scrimmage by an IU
player this season.
• In his first career start, Houston rushed for 60 yards on 18 carries against Penn State.
• He sits atop the team with 219 yards and 54 carries to go along with a 4.1 average and one touchdown.
• Houston also has nine receptions for 92 yards.
• He paced IU with 43 yards on nine carries (4.8 average) vs. Ball State in his debut.
• The sophomore rushed for 1,082 yards and five touchdowns on 165 carries in 2010 at Independence.
Second Level Senior
Jeff
Thomas knew he had to pick up the slack when weak-side linebacker and
co-captain Leon Beckum suffered an injury in the season opener vs. Ball
State, which has kept him sidelined since. The fifth-year senior middle
linebacker and the defense's unquestioned leader has done just that.
•
Thomas has started all six games and leads the team with 48 tackles, 28
solo stops and eight tackles for loss. He also has one sack and three
pass breakups.
• His 8.0 tackles per game rank ninth in the Big Ten and he is third in TFLs.
•
In the Big Ten opener against Penn State, Thomas recorded eight
tackles, matched a career high with three tackles for loss and added a
sack and a PBU.
• The following weekend against Illinois, he collected nine stops, eight solo, with one TFL.
• He owns eight career games with eight-plus stops, including four in 2011.
• Thomas recorded his third career double-digit tackle contest vs. BSU, sharing game-high honors with 11.
•
After tying for the team lead in tackles in both week one and week two
(7 vs. Virginia), Thomas netted eight stops against South Carolina
State.
• Thomas joined the Hoosiers from Foothill (Calif.) CC last season and has made 15 starts in his IU career.
• He finished second on the team with 82 tackles, 45 solo stops, 7.5 tackles for loss and two INTs in 2010.
Forcing The Issue
IU
has nine fumble recoveries and four interceptions in 2011. The Hoosiers
recovered four fumbles with eight interceptions all of last year.
•
Indiana is third in the Big Ten in takeaways (tied for 22nd
nationally), ranks second in fumble recoveries (tied for fifth
nationally) and tied for fifth with a plus-3 turnover margin.
• The Hoosiers have forced at least two turnovers in a game four times this season.
•
IU has scored 40 points off of the turnovers, including a 31-yard
interception return by linebacker Mark Murphy and a 54-yard fumble
return by cornerback Lawrence Barnett.
• With two
fumble recoveries and two INTs against Virginia, Indiana forced four
turnovers for the first time since its trip to Penn State on Nov. 14,
2009.
• The Hoosiers added three takeaways apiece
at North Texas and against Penn State. They recovered a pair of fumbles
with one INT in each game.
• For the third
straight game and fourth time overall in 2011, IU recovered a pair of
fumbles against Illinois.
Interior Threat
Adam Replogle and
Larry Black, Jr., have started alongside each other 22 times in three
seasons, including all six games at defensive tackle in 2011.
• Replogle and Black have played in each of the team's 30 games over the last three years.
• Replogle started as a true freshman and has started the last 29 games at defensive tackle or end.
• He collected two sacks and forced his first career fumble against Illinois.
•
The Centerville, Ohio, native posted a career-high 10 tackles in the
season opener vs. Ball State and made five stops with one tackle for
loss at North Texas.
• Replogle leads the
defensive tackles with 25 stops this season, paces the team with the
two sacks and is second with three tackles for loss.
• He also tops the defensive tackles with 89 tackles, 41 solo, eight sacks and 11.5 TFLs in his career.
•
Black has made 22 starts and is second to Replogle with 22 tackles and
1.5 stops for loss this year. He has 65 stops, 2.5 sacks, 11.5 TFLs and
one fumble recovery in his career.
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