MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. _ Blake Powers threw for three touchdowns in his first start while James Hardy and Marcus Thigpen combined for seven grabs and 199 yards in their first game to help Indiana beat Central Michigan 20-13 Friday night.
Powers was 17-for-35 for 276 passing yards.
Penalties and missed opportunities hurt Central Michigan, which failed to score on first-quarter drives to the Indiana 36, 35 and 23.
The Chippewas narrowed the score to 14-13 early in the fourth quarter when Ontario Sneed scored on an 80-yard run after a leaping interception by Pacino Home for a touchback.
Indiana countered on the next drive when Powers threw a 74-yard pass to Thigpen, but the Chippewas' Isaac Brown blocked the extra point.
Jemmy Jasmin nearly tied it at 20 on the ensuing kickoff, but his helmet was ripped off en route to the end zone, ending the play.
Sneed, a freshman, finished with 148 yards on 14 rushes.
The Chippewas scored first on a 30-yard field goal by freshman Rick Albreski with 6:10 left in the first half, following a 66-yard pass-and-run from Kent Smith to Damien Linson.
An apparent Indiana fumble on the following kickoff was negated by a Central Michigan offside penalty. The Hoosiers seized that opportunity and took a 7-3 lead on a 21-yard pass from Powers to Hardy.
Indiana went up 14-3 on its next series when Matt O'Neal took Powers' 2-yard toss at the back of the end zone. Hardy set up the touchdown with a one-hand grab for a 54-yard pickup.
Albreski, who missed from 40 yards in the first quarter, kicked a 39-yard field goal that made it 14-6 late in the third quarter.
