One-way ticket to the top

Kellen Lewis never thought he'd put up such big numbers so soon. Coming into the season, the freshman quarterback was not even expecting to play.\n"When I came here, Blake was only a redshirt sophomore," Lewis said, referring to junior quarterback Blake Powers. "I envisioned having to wait in line and maybe junior year come in and take control of the offense. But eight touchdown passes in two home games? I definitely wasn't expecting that."\nLewis didn't have to wait in line. In IU's second game of the season against Ball State, with Powers on the sidelines nursing a leg injury and senior Graeme McFarland knocked out with a shoulder injury, the Hoosiers turned to their third-string quarterback.\nAnd in his first collegiate game, Lewis did not disappoint. With his team down 23-7 at halftime, the redshirt freshman led IU all the way back from the deficit, throwing for 228 yards and a touchdown with 88 rushing yards and a rushing score.\nLewis said his first game at the collegiate level was all about getting rid of the butterflies.\n"In my initial game versus Ball State, that was all nerves and getting the jitters out," Lewis said. "We struggled a little bit, but once we got into a little bit of a rhythm, I got more confidence and was able to stay more calm."\nJust one week later, Lewis came back down to earth in his first official start as IU fell to Southern Illinois University.\nThe Jacksonville, Fla., native then experienced his first losing streak at IU as an active player when the Hoosiers lost their next two games the University of Connecticut and Wisconsin. But for IU quarterbacks coach Matt Canada, Lewis' performances were still encouraging.\n"Against Southern Illinois, Connecticut and Wisconsin, he had good series and bad series, good plays and bad plays," Canada said. "But (his development) has certainly been a process that has happened over time." \nLewis and Canada both said the turning point for the quarterback came during the Oct. 7 game at Illinois.\n"We were down two, three scores, and in the past that was about time to put in the backups and call the game," Lewis said.\nWith 2:31 remaining in the game and IU down by a single point, the freshman led his team down the field, completing five of six passes for 60 yards. The drive allowed sophomore kicker Austin Starr to drill a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give the Hoosiers their first Big Ten road win since the 2001 season.\n"With that two-minute drive to take us down the field and score, I would say that cemented him and allowed (the coaching staff) and him to see that he could do it," Canada said. "We believed he could do it the whole time, and so did he."\nThe Illini win sparked the Hoosiers, who have won two of their last three games, including an upset of then-No. 15 Iowa and a homecoming win against Michigan State last weekend.\nIn the two wins, Lewis threw eight touchdowns and rushed for two more. For his performance against the Spartans, where he accounted for six scores, Lewis was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. That was the second time this season the freshman has received the honor.\n"Kellen is just unordinary," sophomore running back Marcus Thigpen said, laughing, after the Michigan State win. "He's young, but he's got a lot of composure and a lot of confidence. He's playing like he's been here before."\nJust eight games into his IU career, Lewis is having this success because he has adjusted to the speed of the college game, Canada said.\n"The game's slowed down for him," Canada said. "When you play quarterback, there's a lot that goes into it. Kellen's practiced really well since the first week he was on campus, and I think that's allowed him to play better and make good decisions."\nBut with three games left on the schedule, Lewis knows there is still work to be done. The Hoosiers are 5-4 overall heading into this weekend's road game at Minnesota and need one more win to become bowl eligible.\n"It's been what, 13 years, since we've been to a bowl game or been bowl eligible?" Lewis said. "The two wins we've had bring a lot of momentum, excitement and confidence to the players to know that we can go out there and beat Minnesota and prepare for the rest of the season"