Hoosiers stunned by Nicholls State offense

When college football fans think about option offense, they probably don't think about Nicholls State University. \nIU's defense, however, will probably equate the option scheme with the Colonels for many years to come. Nicholls State ran the triple option system with total dedication Saturday night, amassing 408 yards on 65 carries while throwing the ball only 11 times. IU's defense struggled to adapt to the antiquated system, said head coach Terry Hoeppner.\n"We made adjustments to try to stop them," he said. "And they'd switch something around that would have us confused again. The bottom line is that they ran way too much on us." \nThe Colonels' system allowed a variety of rushers to impact their offense effort. Fullback Broderick Cole and running backs Joseph Tobias and Anthony Harris each rushed for more than 90 yards, and each had at least one touchdown. Hoeppner sang the praises of 5-foot-11, 230-pound Cole as the biggest impact player on the Colonels' offense. \n"He was the key to their whole offense," he said. "Having a big guy like that run down at you is unnerving." \nThe IU defense, coming off an effort at Central Michigan in which it held the Chippewas to 13 points and rarely showed signs of weakness, was worn down by the relentless Nicholls State running attack. \nThe Colonels averaged six yards a carry even though the offense almost exclusively called running plays, forcing IU's linebackers into nearly every tackling situation.\nMiddle linebacker John Pannozzo led the team in tackles with nine-and-a-half despite his early departure from the game in the first half due to injury.\nIn addition, IU's cornerbacks were stuck trying to decipher which backfield runner had been given the ball on any particular running play.\n"It was really tough trying to figure out which running back had the ball," said IU corner Tracy Porter, whose late forced fumble provided the key to the Hoosier win. "A lot of times you had to guess, and sometimes you guess wrong." \nSenior linebacker Kyle Killion described the on-field difficulties of defending against the option system. \n"It's a major challenge," he said. "It gets hard to read when the ball is constantly moved around in the backfield. You try to read your keys and make the plays, but it's hard when you're always on your heels.\n"We knew they were going to be a tough, athletic team, and it showed with the way they played the game."\nAs for moving on from the performance, Killion is ready to face a more common offensive approach. \n"It'll be a lot easier to defend something you're more used to," said Killion, referring to next weekend's home match up with Kentucky. "I'm eager for that"