Inconsistency stalls offense in loss

Making his first collegiate start, IU freshman quarterback Kellen Lewis expected a better result. \n"In your first collegiate start, you hope you don't lose your opener, especially to a I-AA team." Lewis said after a 35-28 loss to Southern Illinois University Saturday. "You just take your bumps and keep moving." \nThe IU offense jumped out quickly, striking twice in the first quarter. Sophomore running back Marcus Thigpen ran for a 3-yard touchdown with 8:36 to go, capping a 67-yard drive. Less than four minutes later, Lewis hit freshman wide receiver Nick Polk for a 9-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 IU lead.\nFrom there, it would be nearly 27 minutes before the IU offense would score again. Lewis and his receivers fell out of rhythm, largely due to multiple dropped passes from a receivers corps that was missing sophomore standout James Hardy. \nHardy missed the game and will miss next week's game due to unspecified personal reasons. \n"We had four scoring drives for touchdowns, but other than that we didn't have a real rhythm offensively most of the game," interim head coach Bill Lynch said after the game. "We had way too many drops. I'm certainly not going to sit here and point at any one particular group, but we did have too many." \nThigpen ran in a 2-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter, his second score of the game. \nHe became the first player since Duane Gunn in 1981 to score a rushing, receiving and kick-off return touchdown all in the same season. \nAs soon as the Hoosier offense lost momentum and cooled off, the Saluki offense picked up the pace. \nSIU quarterback Nick Hill led two scoring drives late in the third quarter, completing two touchdown passes with less than four minutes left in the period. \nHill struck again early in the fourth quarter to give the Salukis their first lead of the game at 28-21. \nA little more than two minutes later, the dormant IU offense came back to life. \nSophomore running back Demetrius McCray scored from 12 yards out with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter to square the game back up at 28-28. \nThat would be the last time the IU offense would get into the red zone and threaten to score. \nSIU scored on a 9-yard run from senior runningback Arkee Whitlock with 5:50 left in the game. Lewis and the offense took over from there but stalled once again. \nLewis completed his first two passes on the final drive of the game before the Saluki defense clamped down. Other than a 5-yard rush, Lewis threw three incomplete passes, and SIU took over on downs. \nThe Salukis ran out the clock for a 35-28 victory. \n"It's very disappointing for us," Thigpen said. "We've got to come out and play hard next week. This was a wake-up call for us.