Sports

Hoosiers match 2003 win total with 2 early season victories

After a dismal season last year, the Indiana Hoosiers have already equaled their total number of wins from 2003 following an upset of nationally ranked Oregon this weekend. The victory brings the Hoosiers record to 2-0, a win total the Hoosiers didn’t see until Nov. 8 last season. The 2-0 start also marks the first time the Hoosiers came into game three perfect since their 1996 campaign. The win is a promising start for a team who posted a 2-10, 1-7 record last season.

The upset broke several streaks for both the Hoosiers and the Oregon Ducks.

The road win snapped Indiana’s streak of 13 straight road losses and also marked the end of Oregon’s 21-game non-conference home winning streak. The Ducks had not lost a home game against a team outside of the Pac-10 since 1994.

The Hoosiers broke out an impressive first half defensive performance, holding the Ducks without a point in the first half, the first team to accomplish that feat since 1997.

The defensive performance also garnered defensive player of the week honors for strong safety Herana-Daze Jones. Jones racked up nine tackles along with one interception and a fumble recovery.

Minnesota still running: For the fifth time since the two became teammates last season, Gopher running backs Marion Barber III and Lawrence Maroney both rushed for over 100 yards in the same game. Barber ran for 149 yards and Maroney ran for 141 yards as the Gophers tallied 300 yards rushing against the Redbirds of Illinois State.

Despite winning the game 38-21, the Gophers allowed the Redbirds to remain close until a pair of 80-yard scoring drives put the game out of reach. Minnesota head coach Glen Mason remains unimpressed with his team’s performance.

“I really didn’t like anything about our game last night at Illinois State with the exception that we won the football game,” said Mason. “We took advantage of their over-pursuing defense on the ground and that’s about it.”

The Gophers seem to be continuing their trend of big games on the ground from last year. In the Badgers’ trip to Minneapolis last season, the duo torched the Wisconsin defense for a combined total of 274 yards on 42 carries and a pair of touchdowns in a 37-34 victory. The tandem looks to see even more action this year as the Gophers try to groom their new starting quarterback Bryan Cupito.

“We like to run the football,” said Mason. “If you don’t stop the run we’re not going to stop running the ball I can tell you that.”

Orton breaks 39-year-old record: In an amazing display of skill, Purdue’s Kyle Orton broke the school’s record for completion percentage in a game at West Lafayette this past Saturday. Orton completed an astounding 88.5 percent of his throws against Ball State. The previous school record was held by former Miami Dolphin quarterback Bob Griese, who set the bar in 1965 with a mark of 86.4 percent.

Orton completed 23-26 for 329 yards and 5 touchdowns in the 59-7 shelling of the Cardinals before being pulled early in the second half. Orton’s performance garnered him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors as well as the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Despite all the hype following Orton’s awards, head coach Joe Tiller has confidence his signal caller can handle the pressure.

“I’m not concerned about Kyle and all the hype; he’s pretty level-headed. I’m more concerned about the team as a whole being so young … the hype could become an issue. But it’s great he won these awards. He’s performed well, and it’s great to see that he’s been recognized at the national level.”