Sept. 23, 2006

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -Danny Lansanah returned an interception for a touchdown Saturday, and Lou Allen broke a tackle on his 35-yard TD run to help Connecticut beat Indiana 14-7.

The game wasn't pretty offensively with the teams combining for seven turnovers, 19 first downs and 18 three-and-outs.

UConn (2-1) was just good enough. It outrushed the Hoosiers 257-0, highlighted by Allen's TD run and Terry Caulley's 57-yarder in the first half. Caulley carried 32 times for 155 yards.

Meanwhile, Indiana (2-2) struggled without its top player, receiver James Hardy, who missed his second straight game. Coach Terry Hoeppner, who had brain surgery Sept. 13, watched from the coach's box and wore a headset but could not have liked what he saw.

In the first half, Indiana managed only 42 total yards, had twice as many quarterback changes (four) as it did first downs (two) and 19 of 32 offensive plays went for either no gain or minus yardage. That didn't even count Indiana's two interceptions - or the fact it never ran a play in UConn territory. The Hoosiers finished with 192 total yards.

UConn barely took advantage, though. Lansanah's 39-yard interception return late in the first quarter made it 7-0, and Allen broke out of Greg Brown's tackle on fourth-and-1 to make it 14-0 early in the second half.

Indiana answered the second score immediately, no thanks to its beleaguered offense. Marcus Thigpen caught the ensuing kickoff at the 13, found a crease on the left side and scored on an 87-yard return to make it 14-7. Thigpen became the first player in school history to score on two kickoff returns in the same season.

But that was all Indiana could muster as the offense bogged down, and UConn used its powerful ground game to seal the victory.