Indiana struggles at stopping Bell, Sycamore rushing attack

A win is a win.

The IU football team earned its first victory of the season Saturday against Indiana State 24-17.

IU Coach Kevin Wilson said he wasn’t terribly impressed by the season-opening victory.

“I thought they were capable and could win if we didn’t play very well,” Wilson said. “We can play better, though.”

In 2011, IU gave up an average of 243.7 yards, while posting the worst record in the Big Ten.

The Hoosier rush defense showed some improvements from last year.

The Sycamores put up 176 net-rushing yards in the game.

The Sycamores kept the game close due to the running ability of junior running back Shakir Bell. The Indianapolis native rushed for 192 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown.

“I thought Shakir played with heart, ran well, picked up blitzes and just played an all-around game,” ISU Coach Trent Miles said. “He can play on any stage. He is the real deal.”

IU’s rush defense struggled to stop Bell, who posted almost 200 rushing yards Saturday.

“Obviously, we are going to watch film to see what happened,” senior defensive tackle Adam Replogle said. “He’s a great player. He’s a playmaker. That’s what he did all last year, and that’s what he’s going to do all this year.”

Bell recorded 103 of his total 192 yards in the first quarter and averaged 8.1 yards per carry in the game.

Bell broke through the IU defensive line midway through the first quarter for a 54-yard touchdown run to give ISU its only lead of the game 7-0.

“He (Bell) runs pretty hard,” sophomore cornerback Brian Williams said. “He knows how to run the ball, so I know that’s going to prepare us for any fast, short running back that we play against.”

IU allowed Bell to run for more than 10 yards in a play during the first half three more times.

The defense made adjustments and allowed Bell to rush for only 47 yards in the second half.

“Coach told us to pick it up during halftime,” Williams said. “Third quarter we came out with staying focused and made sure we were on our players.”

IU allowed only one run of more than 10 yards in the second half with help from several Hoosier linebackers and secondary players.

The leading tackler for the Hoosiers was sophomore safety Drew Hardin. He had eight total tackles, three of them solo tackles.

Sophomore safety Mark Murphy and sophomore linebackers Chase Hoobler and David Cooper each had seven tackles in the game.

Williams added four tackles and an interception at Indiana’s 27-yard line after the Sycamores were close to the end zone in the fourth quarter.  

Next week, the Hoosiers will play Massachusetts at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.