Fumbled away

The offense scored 31 points against a team that was giving up an average of 12. The defense held Penn State to three field goals instead of three touchdowns on goal-line stands. Junior wide receiver James Hardy became IU’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions with 31, adding two on Saturday. \nBut the biggest number of the game for the Hoosiers was four – as in four second half turnovers.\nHeading into its homecoming clash against Penn State, IU had 21 fumbles on the season. Only 8 of the 21, however, had been recovered by the opposing team. But the Hoosiers’ carelessness with the football finally caught up with them Saturday: All four of their fumbles were recovered by the Nittany Lions. IU’s bad habit of coughing up the football was the biggest factor in the team’s Homecoming loss. \n“The difference in the game was the turnovers. You just can’t turn the football over,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “In a close game like that, whether it gives up points or changes field position, that really \nhurt us.”\nThe first lost fumble came at the beginning of the third quarter on an attempted punt return by senior captain Tracy \nPorter, who appeared to lose the ball in the sun, attempted to jump on top of the ball after it hit the ground, but was too late. Penn State turned the fumble recovery into a field goal and extended its lead to nine points.\n“I have to look for the gunner as well as the ball,” Porter said. “I kept looking back and forth between the gunner and the ball, when I went to catch the ball it was a \nmuffed (catch).”\nWhile Lynch has stressed the importance of winning the turnover battle all season, he was firmly in his captain’s corner after the game and said mistakes like that are part \nof football.\n“If you’re playing as hard as he plays, mistakes are going to happen. That’s part of the doggone game,” Lynch said. “You don’t want to turn the ball over, but he’s out their battling.”\nThe other three fumbles were all lost at – or rather \nfrom – the hands of sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis. On two consecutive offensive plays, Lewis was drilled behind the line of scrimmage – both times losing the football on his way to the ground. As he did with Porter, Lynch was quick to defend his signal caller.\n“He played a great football game. He made a lot of plays against a great defense,” Lynch said. “He’s a sophomore, and he’s made a lot of really good football plays for us and he’ll get nothing but better ... and I think sometimes we lose sight of that.”\nDespite the turnovers, Lewis and the Hoosiers still had a chance to win the game. Down five with under a minute left, IU had the ball and a drive going. But Lewis dropped a snap with 40 seconds left, and the Nittany Lions recovered the football, derailing the Hoosiers’ comeback bid and securing \ntheir victory.\n“It’s definitely a snap that I should catch. I have no one to blame but myself,” Lewis said. “I’ve got to come back next week ready to play better.”