In an effort to fill Memorial Stadium, the IU Athletics Department announced Monday a "Student Ticket Special." Students can purchase seats to Saturday's IU-Michigan game for $5, a discount of $10 from the usual student ticket price of $15 per game. \n"Part of it is to increase the enthusiasm in the stadium," Assistant Director for Team Marketing & Community Relations Chad Giddens said. "We thought it was a big game."\nGiddens said the decision for the special was made prior to the Michigan State game, in which IU blew a 20-7 halftime lead to lose 30-20 in front of 24,471 fans -- 27,709 less than Memorial Stadium's capacity of 52,180. He also said losing Saturday didn't help ticket sales. \nSaturday's game has been picked up by ABC and will be televised regionally at 2:30 p.m. According to www.iuhoosiers.com, this is the first time that IU will be live on ABC since 2000.\nGiddens said the game being televised might have some impact on ticket sales.\n"Slightly, I guess," he said. "Since it wasn't an 11 a.m. game, students are more likely to come. And everybody gets a little more excited when ABC comes to town."\nOne major factor the "Student Ticket Special" will show is whether ticket prices are a determinant of attendance.\n"If we don't sell a lot of tickets, then we will see that price isn't the issue and it must be something else," he said.\n \nQUICK QUARTERBACKS CREATES IU CONUNDRUM\nWithin the last two losses, IU's defense has been fully exploited by mobile quarterbacks. During both the Kentucky and Michigan State games, the signal callers have actually led their respective teams in rushing. During IU's game against the Wildcats, senior Shane Boyd ran for 130 yards while MSU's quarterback Drew Stanton garnered 134 yards on the ground and averaged 11.2 yards per carry.\nSenior defensive tackle Jodie Clemons said the blame for IU's poor coverage of mobile quarterbacks falls fully on the shoulders of the players. As for improvement later on, Clemons said IU's players have to simply carry out the coach's plans. \n"The quarterback problem is all on us," Clemons said after Saturday's loss against the Spartans. "The coaches gave us a game plan to execute, and if we don't do it, bad things like that happen. Guys not doing their responsibility leads to breakout plays."
KILLION KILLIN' 'EM IN DEFENSIVE STATS\nJunior linebacker Kyle Killion is having a career year this season. The 6-foot, 230-pound Texan currently ranks among the top five in the Big Ten in tackles per game, sacks and tackles for loss. Killion leads the league with 11 tackles per game and is in a four-way tie for second in the conference with three sacks. As for tackles for loss, Killion ranks at No. 4 in the conference with 5.5. Killion's production has been so consistent that his season-low for tackles came against the Oregon Ducks, when he logged a "mere" nine tackles with seven solo stops and two assists.
PASS-GAME IMPROVEMENT\nThe success of the Hoosier football team seems to be inversely related to the success of its quarterback, as senior Matt LoVecchio has improved his game while the team's game has faltered. \nIn the first two wins against the Central Michigan University Chippewas and the University of Oregon Ducks, LoVecchio completed 15 of 32 passes for a total of 192 yards and two touchdowns. Within IU's last two losses, LoVecchio has kicked up his production to 389 yards and three touchdowns in 24 completions out of 46 tries. \nLast Saturday's defeat at the hands of MSU also marked the first time in his career donning the cream and crimson that LoVecchio finished a game with two touchdowns. However, LoVecchio's run in the last two games hasn't all been roses, with three picks in the last two games and suffering a second-half meltdown that led to IU's defeat. \n"I believe he has improved over the course of the season," IU coach Gerry DiNardo said. "(LoVecchio) along with the offense and the rest of the team played better in the first half than the second half (in the MSU game)." \nIndiana Daily Student senior writer Josh Weinfuss contributed to this story.\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.
