The season that was, game 3: Indiana 41, Akron 24.

As in the Western Michigan game that preceded the Akron game, IU squandered an early lead, but as in the WMU game, managed to hold on and defeat the Zips, 41-24. Box score here, discussion here. IU led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, but Akron scored 17 unanswered to briefly take the lead until IU tied the game just before halftime. IU took the lead for good early in the third quarter on an Austin Starr field goal, but didn't take control of the game until stretching the lead to 10 with 6 minutes left in the game.

The previous week, Akron lost 20-2 loss in Columbus. After forcing an early safety, Akron led 2-0 until midway through the second quarter, but managed what must have been one of the worst offensive performances by any college team in the 2007 season. The Zips produced only 69 yards of offense, 34 of which came on the opening drive. In light of that pathetic performance, even against the eventual national runner-up, I was concerned about the poor performance of IU's pass defense, which allowed Akron to complete nearly 70 percent of its passes and manage 13 yards per completion. IU did, however, continue its excellent pass rush, with 4 sacks, and stopped the run effectively, allowing only 2.9 yards per carry on 41 attempts.

Individual performances:

• Kellen Lewis played very well, perhaps his best game, statistically, as a Hoosier: 19-24 passing, for only 137 yards, but three touchdowns; 199 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
• Ray Fisher had an odd line, more like a fullback's than a receiver's: 5 catches, 10 yards, and a touchdown. Oddly enough, Fisher managed a 17 yard loss on IU's first play from scrimmage, and had another five yard loss and a no gainer. So, his two positive catches yielded 32 yards and a touchdown.
• While Lewis stole the show, Marcus Thigpen ran well: 6.5 yards per on 12 carries.

Ultimately, this was an adequate but unsatisfying lead-in to the Big Ten season. Next on the schedule was eventual Rose Bowl participant Illinois.

IU 41, Akron 24.

As with last week's game, this one was a bit frustrating because IU squandered an opportunity to put the game away early. Nevertheless, IU is 3-0, which hasn't happened all that often in our history (I have some notes on this, but not with me--yep, a blogger with handwritten notes. What's my problem?). We haven't defeated even a lower-tier BCS conference program, but we have handled two teams predicted to contend in the MAC, including one game on the road. With Ball State at home in November, IU will have an excellent chance to go 4-0 in the non-conference. Further, while most Big Ten fans wouldn't consider this a positive, the conference appears to be historically bad. Michigan's woes are well-documented. Minnesota is 1-2 even against a classic Glen Mason-style schedule. Northwestern lost to Duke, loser of 22 straight, at home. Wisconsin is nominally undefeated, but hasn't looked much like a top 10 team. Iowa, I can't really figure out. I know that the Hawks often find a way to screw the pooch in that rivalry, but this year? Before Saturday I though Iowa State was by far the worst BCS conference team, perhaps one of the worst in I-A. Illinois has been okay, and is one of the few teams that has been tested against teams from power conferences, but Zook is still Zook and Isaiah Williams is still a tailback. My point is that the nonconference losses could help IU in terms of bowl positioning if the Hoosiers find their way to eligibility.

As for the game, the pass defense continues to be a concern. IU allowed 250 yards, 9.3 yards per attempt, and 13.2 per completion. Akron completed nearly 70 percent of its 27 attempts. On the other hand, rush defense continues to be respectable. On 41 attempts, Akron managed only 120 yards (2.9 per carry).

Offensively, of course, it was the Kellen Lewis show. IU rushed for 338 yards, and Lewis accounted for 199 of that yards and added 137 yards passing on 19-24 with one interception. Demetrius McCray and Marcus Thigpen both were productive, averaging 4.6 and 6.5 yard per carry.

Unlike the WMU game, IU didn't have a dramatic edge in turnovers (2-1). So, this was more of a "straight-up" win than the WMU game. It will be interesting to see how IU handles Isaiah Williams. IU's rushing defense has been good so far, but not against a runner like Williams. As much as I mock Isaiah's passing ability, he did some damage against the Hoosiers in the first half last year. I think we will need to improve a bit to beat Illinois, but unlike many of our conference brethren, we have escaped the bulk of the non-con schedule unscathed.

Akron roundup.

Akron Zips

2006 record: 5-7

2006 Sagarin: 105

Conference: MAC

Coach: JD Brookhart (4th season, 19-19)

Series: First meeting

The Zips are not far removed from the pinnacle of their football success: in 2005, Akron won the MAC and played in the Motor City Bowl (losing to Memphis), its first bowl game. This year's Zips earned some preseason accolades. One site I saw (link lost) picked Akron to win its division.

In any event, Akron is 1-1. The Zips beat Army 22-14 in Cleveland (in from of 17,000 at Browns Stadium) and lost to Ohio State 20-2 in Columbus. Akron's defensive performance has been more impressive than its offensive performance. Against Army, Akron's offense was fairly efficient (3.8 yards per rush, 5.3 per pass attempt) and the defense scored on an interception return. The Zips held Army to just 2.0 yards per carry and 242 yards of offense. Akron led 22-7 until Army scored a TD in the last minute to make the score appear more respectable than it was.

As for the Ohio State game: well, how often can a punter take credit for 100 percent of his team's scoring in a given game? Akron mounted a respectable 34 yard drive on its first possession after the Buckeyes went three and out. The Zips punted from the Buckeye 42 and downed the ball at the 2. They should have gone for it. Akron did not enter OSU territory again until recovering a punt at 6:13 in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, Akron did force a safety and had a 2-0 lead until halfway through the second quarter. While OSU didn't score much, the offense was fairly efficient: 4.5 per rush, 5.4 per passing attempt, four punts.

Akron's offense was truly dreadful. The Zips managed only 69 yards of offense (including 3 yards rushing on 19 attempts) and punted 14 times. After two first downs on the first drive, the Zips didn't have another until late in the fourth quarter.

I'm not sure what to expect. IU seems to be favored by about 13. While IU won't physically overpower Akron the way Ohio State did, the usual mismatches provided by Lewis, Hardy, and Thigpen may well produce a more lopsided score.

Akron history.

As with all of the non-Big Ten opponents, here's a bit of historical background on the Zips. Akron is a fairly recent newcomer to I-A in the grand scheme of things (first year: 1987). Akron is slightly above .500 historically and has had seven winning seasons in the 19 seasons since moving to Division I-A.

Here are Akron's results against BCS conference teams:

Cincinnati: 2-2 (0-1 since Cincinnati joined the Big East)

Florida: 0-1 (1990)

Illinois: 0-1 (1996)

Iowa: 0-1 (2002)

Kansas State: 0-1 (1995)

LSU: 0-1 (1997)

Maryland: 0-1 (2002)

Michigan State: 0-2 (1913, 1914)

Nebraska: 0-1 (1997)

NC State: 1-0 (2006)

Notre Dame: 0-1 (1910)

Ohio State: 1-6 (0-2 in only post-1900 meetings, 2001, 2007)

Oregon State: 0-1 (1987)

Penn State: 0-3 (1999, 2004, 2006)

Pitt: 0-2 (1900, 1998)

Purdue: 0-2 (2001, 2005)

Rutgers: 0-1 (1990)

Tenessee: 0-1 (1989)

Virginia: 0-2 (2002, 2004)

Virginia Tech: 0-5 (189, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2000)
Wisconsin: 0-1 (2003)

In sum, lots of losses. The win over Ohio State occurred in 1894, before the Big Ten existed. That makes last year's win over NC State Akron's only win over a team from a major conference. More tomorrow.