Hoosiers travel to Lexington to take on Wildcats, break streak

The Hoosiers have something to prove this weekend, but it won't be an easy task against an up-and-coming Kentucky team. The game kicks off at 6 p.m. in Lexington, Ky.\nKentucky opens the season 2-0 for the first time since 1998, which was the last season they finished above .500. The Hoosiers' last win in Lexington came in 1994 and they are now riding a three game losing streak there. Coach Gerry DiNardo knows this contest will not be an easy match.\n"This is about as physical and good a Kentucky team as I can remember," DiNardo said. "I think that (Kentucky coach) Guy (Morriss) has done a really good job in the short time under very difficult circumstances putting this together. So obviously we have our hands full; they are a really good team. He has done a great job there."\nMorriss is in his second year at Kentucky. He is looking to improve upon the 2-9 record from last season. He understands the growing pains that DiNardo and IU are going through.\n"Indiana is much like we were at this point last year -- with a new staff," Morriss said in a statement. "But they have some great talent and are a good football team. Our kids are excited about playing them. It should be a good challenge for us."\nThe Hoosier defense is out to prove that the opening week performance against William and Mary was no fluke. Utah rolled over IU last Saturday on their way to amassing 490 total yards and scoring 40 points.\nNow the Hoosiers have the job of trying to slow down a Kentucky offense that had 591 yards of offense and scored 77 points. Junior quarterback Jared Lorenzen has thrown for 406 yards and six touchdowns in two games.\nThe IU offense also has to prove that they can move the ball and score some points. Kentucky has only given up 17 points a game. IU has averaged 14 points a game. Senior Gibran Hamdan will be making his first start at quarterback for the Hoosiers. He spent the week practicing with the first team and hopes to have the precision down that is needed to run this offense.\n"Especially in this offense you have to be precise," Hamdan said. "You can't take an extra step on your drop. It takes 11 guys doing their job on every play to be successful. What we've experienced in the first two games is that not all 11 guys necessarily would be doing what is needed to have a successful play. In the standpoint of offense, the thing we need to improve on is being very precise and making sure that everything is detailed in the way it's supposed to be done."\nAt the end of last year's game, a scuffle broke out, and it took several minutes to separate the two teams. Morriss has told his team to put that in the past and to just play football. Senior Enoch DeMar doesn't expect to see anything either.\n"I think that both team are more mature now," DeMar said. "Guys are a little bit older, and they're going to go out there and go out there to win the game, not to get back at anybody. In the end you got to win."\nThis is a big rivalry game for IU and Kentucky. IU leads the overall series 17-14-1. But the Hoosiers have lost 7 of the last 10 meetings. Despite this being his first IU/Kentucky game, DiNardo understands the importance of the game.\n"I have a sense that I know what it is all about, or as much a sense of it as I can not having been part of it before," DiNardo said. "My main concern right now is us, regardless of who we play; I certainly respect the rivalry. We have so much work to do in our own team room and locker room that that keeps me busy, but I do have a sense of the rivalry."\nThis is a big game for the Hoosiers -- it's a chance to erase what happened in Salt Lake City last weekend. It's a chance to prove that they are a team not to take lightly. They will have to play a near flawless game in order to win.\n"We have to execute the plays that are called," DeMar said. "That will be the first step. That will put us in a position to win. It's got to be all four quarters too"