Hoosiers drop heartbreaker to UK's Wildcats

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Lightning, rain and a sellout crowd of 70,347 at Kentucky's Commonwealth Stadium were not enough to subdue the Hoosiers on Saturday night. A pair of big plays by Kentucky late in the game were able to do the trick, though, as IU dropped a disheartening decision to the Wildcats by a 27-17 score.\nIU led the game 17-14 after three quarters of play.\n"It was a tough loss," senior safety Joe Gonzalez said. "Kentucky's a big rivalry. It's always good to win, especially in their house."\nThe backbreaker occurred with 2:46 left to play as UK senior free safety Quentus Cumby intercepted senior quarterback Gibran Hamdan's pass and streaked downfield for an 82-yard touchdown to give Kentucky the decisive ten-point lead.\nHamdan's pass was intended for sophomore wide receiver Courtney Roby.\n"I thought I could get the ball outside, but I didn't get it outside enough," Hamdan said of the pass.\nUp to that point, the IU drive had looked Elway-esque at times. After getting the ball back at their own eight-yard line, the Hoosiers fed Kentucky a steady diet of freshman running back Yamar Washington, who had seven carries for 30 yards on the possession. The Hoosiers held on to the ball for 4:58 and drove to the Kentucky 27-yard line before the interception.\n"The defense gave us a shot to win," Hamdan said. "The blame goes on my shoulders."\nThough Hamdan blamed himself for the loss, it was one of IU's few defensive miscues in the second half that put the Hoosiers behind in the first place. On the last play of the third quarter, Wildcats' senior running back Artose Pinner broke lose for a 55-yard run to bring the ball to the IU six-yard line.\n"We missed tackles on that play," coach Gerry DiNardo said.\nKentucky senior quarterback Jared Lorenzen proceeded to open the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass to senior tight end Chase Harp that gave the Wildcats a 21-17 lead.\nFor IU, the fourth quarter wiped out what had been an impressive comeback from a 14-0 deficit. The shift in momentum came after the game was delayed for 32 minutes because of lightning midway through the second quarter.\nPrior to the delay, a constant downpour and the Hoosier defense were unable to slow the Wildcats. Kentucky drove the ball inside the IU ten-yard line twice to set up a pair of Lorenzen touchdown passes in the first quarter.\nOffensively, IU had abundant opportunities to keep the game even. With a newly discovered weapon in Washington, who averaged over five yards per carry and Hamdan, who showed poise in the pocket, IU drove the ball into the red zone three times in the first half-and had no points to show for it.\nOn the last play of the first quarter, sophomore safety Mike Williams hit Hamdan at the Kentucky 19-yard line to force a fumble that was scooped up by Wildcat sophomore defensive end Vincent Burns. \nIU's other trips inside of the 20-yard line ended scoreless after sophomore kicker Bryan Robertson missed a pair of 35-yard field goal attempts. Robertson did make a career-long 46-yarder at the end of the second quarter.\n"We made progress, but we weren't able to capitalize," Hamdan said.\nIn the third quarter, the Hoosiers capitalized in a big way as Hamdan connected with junior wide receiver Glenn Johnson for a 67-yard touchdown strike.\nOn Kentucky's next possession, the defense showed its mettle as Gonzalez picked off a Lorenzen pass and returned it for a 36-yard touchdown to give IU a 17-14 edge. It was Gonzalez's first career touchdown. Gonzalez's touchdown was the first interception return for a score by an IU player since Kywin Supernaw in 1997.\nIU comes home next week to host 3-0 Central Michigan.\nDespite the loss, DiNardo said the Hoosiers will have something to build on in practice this week.\n"You look at the things we did better this week, and you just have to come back tomorrow and get ready again," DiNardo said.