Though the Hoosier football defense has been opportunistic, forcing 10 turnovers, teams have been getting up and down the field averaging 481.3 yards per game, ranking the defense at No. 108 in the country.\nThe past two games have been rough for the Hoosier defense, as they gave up 495 yards to the University of Oregon and season-high 560 yards in a 51-32 to the University of Kentucky.\nPlaying the Wildcats exposed an area of weakness for the Hoosiers -- the fundamentals -- as IU missed tackles and was caught out of position at times.\nRemembering the problems and results from the UK game will be important for the future, senior safety Herana-Daze Jones said.\n"We just have to execute. We got outplayed in the fundamental part of the game," Jones said. "We know what this feeling is like right now, and we'll remember this one and just get ready for the next game."
BALANCING ACT\nThe first two games of the season saw the Hoosiers stick to the ground attack and only pass for 202 yards. Against the Wildcats, IU went to the air and for the first time all season passed for more yards than they ran for, amassing 236 yards compared to 176. Leading the charge for the Hoosiers was senior quarterback Matt LoVecchio, going 12 of 24 with two touchdown passes.\nThe running game continued to be a major part of the offense, as Hoosiers rushed for 176 yards with 115 coming from sophomore running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, pushing his average to 101 yards per game.\nBalancing the offense will be important to keeping opponents on their toes, Green-Ellis said.\n"The running game is like the passing game -- everything comes with time," Green-Ellis said. "As we build we'll get better and more balanced."
GUESSING GAME AGAINST THE SPARTANS\nEach game this season, the Hoosier defense has been forced to deal with unique offenses, and it will be no different against Michigan State, as the Spartans could play multiple quarterbacks. True freshman Stephen Reaves started against Notre Dame before being relieved by sophomore Drew Stanton after Reaves threw three interceptions. Stanton went 8 for 12 for 112 yards.\nIU will have to contend with different looks throughout the game because of the uncertainty of the signal caller, Hoosier coach Gerry DiNardo said.\n"Going into the Michigan State game, we don't know how much the quarterback will run the ball," DiNardo said. "They could have three different quarterbacks playing. Whoever is playing quarterback will make a difference on what they want to do."
EXTRA POINTS\nThe battle for the Old Brass Spittoon, the trophy for the winner of the Michigan State-IU game since 1950, has been a one-sided affair. The Spartans have a 36-14-2 advantage in the series; the last win for the Hoosiers came in 2001 at Spartan Stadium, with IU prevailing 37-28.\nIU will look to snap a three-game losing streak in Big Ten openers Saturday at 11 a.m. against the Spartans. The last time the Hoosiers were victorious in the conference opener was in 2000 against Iowa, 45-33.\nThose unable to attend the 11 a.m. start can watch the game on tape delay at 8 p.m. on WTTV Channel 4.\nThe following week, the Hoosiers will entertain the Michigan Wolverines at 2:30 p.m. on ABC.\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Click at daaclick@indiana.edu.
