Defending champions visit Memorial Stadium

It isn't getting any easier for IU.\nTwo weeks after losing to Northwestern in overtime, the football team will play host to defending national champion and No. 8 Ohio State. IU is 2-21-2 at home against the Buckeyes and hasn't beaten them since 1988.\nThe Hoosiers did have extra time to prepare, as the team had its bye last weekend. IU coach Gerry DiNardo spent the time off looking at film and said this team is better than last year, despite the 1-6 record.\n"I keep saying to everybody that we're better than we were a year ago," DiNardo said. "With the week off, I went back and watched last year's tape, and I compared last year's IU team to this year's team and I was even more convinced that we're better in a lot of ways. We're playing better ... A lot of the things about the program have gotten better."\nDiNardo said every aspect of the team has improved, except for pass offense and pass defense, which he said still need work. \nBoth of those will be tested this weekend, although the Buckeye defense has been far more dangerous than its offense. The team is ranked 10th in the conference in both rushing yards and passing yards per game, behind IU in each category. Still, the team has ridden a dominating defense (ranked first in the Big Ten and sixth in the nation) to a 6-1 record. \nJunior wideout Courtney Roby said he welcomes the challenge.\n"I'm looking forward to playing up against what's probably the best defense we've played against to date," he said. "I'm just excited to go out and match up with them."\nThe Buckeyes are coming off of 19-10 home win over No. 9 Iowa in which they didn't have an offensive touchdown. The team scored a 53-yard field goal, 54-yard punt return, a blocked punt and a safety. \nIU junior linebacker Josh Moore said the team can still display the dangerous offense that ranked it fourth in scoring last year. \n"They're balanced," he said. "They've got two good running backs and some good wide receivers. We've got to be prepared, defensively and offensively. They've lost one game to a good team, so I'm not going to say they're down. They're just as strong as they were last year."\nIn addition to the game on the field, the Hoosiers will have to deal with the legions of Buckeye fans that will descend on Memorial Stadium Saturday. The OSU ticket office sold more than 15,000\ntickets alone and the game is sold out, except for a limited number of standing-room-only tickets remaining. It marks IU's first sell-out since the last time the Buckeyes were in town four years ago. \n"We play pretty well in front of big crowds anyway," Moore said. "In Michigan, we played in front of 110,000, and we came to play. Maybe that will be a positive for us. Obviously they're going to bring a lot of fans, but it's still our home field. I think our fans are going to come and out-cheer them."\nDiNardo said the game, which will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN, is just one more chance to improve.\n"Playing the battle, winning the battle, it's ESPN, it's national TV, the stadium is full -- we have to get better as a football team," he said. "That's my attitude. Don't complain about it; do something about it."\n-- Contact staff writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.