BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ? For just the third time in school history, the Indiana State Sycamores and the Indiana Hoosiers locked horns on the gridiron, and for the third time the Hoosiers walked away with a victory. Indiana, which honored the late Terry Heoppner in pre-game ceremonies at Memorial Stadium, downed ISU by a 55-7 count in front of 34,715 fans in the season opener for both squads. The Sycamores dropped to 0-1 on the season, having not won a season-opening contest since the 1996 campaign.

Trailing 14-0 mid-way through the first quarter, the Sycamores got things going as they put together a nine-play, 56-yard drive which chewed up 3:08 off the clock to cut the lead down to 14-7. On third-and-goal from the one-yard line, Reilly Murphy appeared close to crossing the goal line but the football was popped loose by a Hoosier defender and fell into the arms of Alex Thomas, who scampered the final yard for his first touchdown of the season.

The Hoosiers, who reached the end zone twice in the game's opening stanza, scored three more times in the second period to take a 31-7 halftime advantage. In the third quarter, Indiana tacked on a pair of touchdowns as well as a field goal to extend its lead to 48-7. IU then brought the score to its final at 55-7 courtesy of a nine-yard rushing touchdown that capped off a 12 play, 53 yard scoring drive with 5:18 left in the game.

"We seemed to be a little tight out of the gate, playing a Big Ten opponent," head coach Lou West said. "I think we settled down and did some nice things in spots. We have to move on now and fine tune some things as we get ready to face Austin Peay next week."

ISU quarterback Reilly Murphy completed 20-of-36 to lead the Sycamore passing game, while first-time receiver Rafael Price led all receivers with seven receptions for 48 yards.

Indiana State opens the home portion of the regular season next Saturday (Sept. 8) when they host Austin Peay. Kick-off is set for 6:00 p.m. (ET).