Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell agreed to "fill in the blanks" for a student reporter during what amounted to a lightning-round sequence of prepared questions.

That's standard operating procedure at Big Ten media functions like this past summer's preseason football meetings in Chicago.

During the 90-minute Q&A session, the players are positioned around the room and the sportswriters rotate from table to table.

Chappell, defensive end Jammie Kirlew and linebacker Will Patterson represented the Hoosiers.

Traffic was light, as you might expect, for an IU football program that is forever overshadowed by basketball on its campus.

"Joe Paterno, he's pretty cool," Chappell said in response to the question, "What coach would you most like to play for other than your own coach?"

"Terrelle Pryor," Chappell said, citing the Ohio State quarterback as the one opposing Big Ten player that he would buy a ticket to watch play.

"Iowa is going to be really good again this year," opined Chappell, when asked to identify a team on the rise. "They had a great season last year and they're going to be tough again."

Impressive. Chappell proved that he knew what he was talking about by singling out the Hawkeyes as the team to beat.

Remember, this was late July. The Big Ten media "experts" had Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State atop their ballots.

After the student reporter left Chappell's table, the quarterback was fair game for a more personal question: What do you remember from last season's loss to Wisconsin?

A faint smile appeared on Chappell's face, because he recognized immediately that "remember" was the operative word.

"Let's see, I remember most of the first half," he said, jogging his memory. "We were playing very well on offense. We were moving the ball on them and we had them right there ... "

Right where the Hoosiers wanted them, after a David Gilreath fumble on a punt return was recovered by Indiana on the UW 15.

With only 76 seconds left in the first half, the Badgers were clinging to a 21-20 lead. But the Hoosiers were in great position to grab the momentum with either a touchdown or a field goal.

Chappell had a running lane, too, on a first-down quarterback draw. "I thought I was going to get into the end zone," he said.

Chappell got to the UW 4 when everything went dark. Badger safety Jay Valai was at the light switch. "The guy laid a good hit on me," Chappell recalled with a sigh. "I was knocked out."

Valai jarred the ball loose from Chappell and UW linebacker DeAndre Levy returned the fumble 45 yards. The Badgers closed the first half with a field goal, extending their lead to 24-20.

Chappell didn't return, and the Hoosiers unraveled and collapsed under the weight of a second-half Wisconsin blitzkrieg (31-0).

"We were definitely aware of him (Valai)," Chappell was saying in Chicago. "We saw him on film coming downhill real hard. You have to be aware of who's going to be where at all times. That's kind of our job as a quarterback."

Chappell, a year stronger and more proficient in his ballhandling skills, will be the starter again Saturday against the Badgers in Bloomington, Ind., though there have been some changes from last year.

For one, he's sharing snaps with Mitchell Evans, who's running the offense out of the Wildcat.

Evans is more of a runner than Chappell. "Personally, I'd rather stay in the pocket," said a grinning Chappell, who nonetheless has two rushing scores. "But if I need to run, I can run."

The Hoosiers are operating out of a new formation: the Pistol, a hybrid of the spread shotgun, which has been adopted by many teams. The quarterback is four yards deep and the tailback is lined up three to four yards directly behind him.

The multiple offense is designed to enhance the play-action game by creating more downhill running creases. "It's really similar to what we were doing," Chappell said of the Pistol. "At least the passing game is similar, while it changes the running game a lot."

One thing hasn't changed on the IU campus. Basketball is still king and will always be No. 1. "I don't think we accept it that way," Chappell insisted politely. "The athletic department has done a lot to try and market the football program. Now we just have to win." A universal bottom line.

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