The Matt LoVecchio era of IU football is about to officially begin. The junior quarterback who sat out last season after transferring from Notre Dame will make his Hoosier debut Saturday in IU's season opener at Connecticut.\nAnd although LoVecchio has been a big-game quarterback before -- leading Notre Dame to a Fiesta Bowl berth as a freshman -- he isn't getting ahead of himself.\n"I think my goal for the first game, and for the season, is to just play within the system, not do too much, not force the ball, and just not do things that you're not supposed to do in this offense," he said. "I take it one play at a time, go through your progression, go through who's coming on the blitz and do everything you're responsible for."\nAfter spending last season running the scout team, LoVecchio was named the team's starter during spring football practice. Since then he has adjusted to running an offense that returns its second-leading rusher and each of its top five receivers.\nIU coach Gerry DiNardo said LoVecchio's progression has been steady, but the true test of improvement will come Saturday against the Huskies. \n"I could tell he was a little rusty when he came in the spring," DiNardo said. "Spring challenged him. He had a very good camp. Now the missing piece is what it's going to look like on game day."\nThat missing piece will be revealed against a UConn team riding a four-game win streak dating back to the end of last season. IU, meanwhile, enters Saturday's game on a six-game losing spin, in which it was outscored by 143 points. \nThe UConn offense is led by junior quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who threw a touchdown pass in all 12 of the Huskies' games last season, and sophomore running back Terry Caulley, who averaged more yards a game (124.7) than any other freshman tailback in the nation. \nIU will counter with the return of a defensive leader, senior free safety and team captain Joe Gonzalez. Gonzalez redshirted last year after suffering a hernia three games into the season. He said the Huskies have a potent attack.\n"UConn's got a great offense," Gonzalez said. "They have one of the best young running backs in the country and a good quarterback who's confident and has been there awhile. They're good all across the board. But we face good offenses every week here in the Big Ten."\nIn addition to Gonzalez, the secondary will also have a new face in junior Herana-Daze Jones. Jones, who is the team's leading returning tackler, shifted from linebacker to strong safety over the off-season.\nOn offense, IU's returning receivers include senior Glenn Johnson and junior Courtney Roby, both of whom finished in the conference top 10 in receptions and receiving yards per game.\n"We've been working hard all week," Roby said. "I feel like everybody knows what's expected of them. It's going to be a whole lot different from last year. Especially with the veterans coming back, we all know what's expected."\nDiNardo said the team will look to its recent signees to bolster the linebacker position, as well as other holes on offense and defense. He said as many as 17 to 20 newcomers could see action on Saturday and could be the deciding factor. \n"A lot of newcomers will play and we have to find out how mentally tough we are," he said. "If we are mentally tough, I think we have a chance. If we are not mentally tough, I don't think we have any chance."\nNotes: The game marks the first-ever matchup between IU and UConn. The Huskies will travel to Bloomington in 2006. UConn will play its first game in the new $91-million, 40,000-seat Rentschler Field against IU in East Hartford, Conn., Saturday. The game will be a homecoming for IU junior linebacker Josh Moore, who hails from Hamden, Conn.
-- Contact staff writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
