“For the second consecutive week, the Zips battled a Big Ten Conference opponent competitively before being defeated 41-24 by the Indiana Hoosiers Saturday in Bloomington, Ind. Akron (1-2) rallied to score 17 points after falling down 10-0 to Indiana (3-0) in the first quarter.”
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For the second consecutive week, the Zips battled a Big Ten Conference opponent competitively before being defeated 41-24 by the Indiana Hoosiers Saturday in Bloomington, Ind.

Akron (1-2) rallied to score 17 points after falling down 10-0 to Indiana (3-0) in the first quarter. The score was tied at 17 at the half.

With the Zips unable to contain IU’s redshirt sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis on key possession plays in the second half, the Hoosiers pulled away with the victory in the fourth quarter.

The final score, however, was not indicative of the competitiveness of the game. The Zips trailed only by a field goal with a little more than nine minutes to go.

Indiana head coach Bill Lynch credited the Zips for coming out ready to play and said that the Hoosiers didn’t make any game plan adjustments at halftime, but simply used the intermission to regroup.

They had us on our heels, Lynch said during his post-game press conference. We talked about that at the half. We kind of got hit in the mouth there in the second quarter, and we just kind of took it.

I think the credit goes to Akron. They played very well.

After starting quarterback Chris Jacquemain fumbled a snap on the Zips’ first drive and led the offense on an 11-play, 80-yard drive that was ended in a converted 20-yard field goal by Igor Ivelijic, Carlton Jackson came into the game for his regularly scheduled series in the second quarter.

Jackson led the team on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that he capped with a 3-yard scamper into the end zone. Jackson then played in the next series as well; leading the team on another touchdown drive, capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to tight end Kris Kasparek that gave the Zips their only lead of the game at 17-10.

Jackson would remain the team’s quarterback for the rest of the game, throwing for 200 yards, two touchdowns and a late-game interception, completing 15-21 passes and rushing for 71 yards.

Zips head coach J.D. Brookhart said that Jackson created a spark for UA’s offense, but also cautioned that Jackson has to continue to improve his decision-making.

I think Carlton added some excitement, but we’ve got to rein him in a little bit, Brookhart said. He’s gotta make some better decisions too. I was happy and thought he did some good things.

The Zips offense amassed 370 yards of total offense and 24 first downs.

Brookhart said that the coaching staff has decided Jackson will be the team’s starting quarterback Saturday against Kent State. Jacquemain will play a series in the second quarter.

After a strong showing against Ohio State last week, the Zips’ defense was susceptible to the big play against Indiana.

While limiting IU standout redshirt junior wide receiver James Hardy to 65 yards and a touchdown on four catches, Lewis continually scrambled out of the pocket and made plays with his legs – prolonging several Hoosier drives. Lewis rushed for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. He also threw for 137 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

The Hoosiers’ offense combined for 338 yards rushing.

The ability of UA’s defense to stiffen near the goaline kept the game in reach until late in the game, but it struggled to get stops and give the Zips’ offense more opportunities to score.

I didn’t think defensively that we played the game we were capable of playing, Brookhart said. I’m not taking away from the quarterback because he was a great player, but we had more loafs on that side of the ball than we’ve had in a while.

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