David W. Smith/ Daily News Western's quarterback K.J. Black gets swarmed by a pack of Indiana defenders during WKU's game against Indiana at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington Saturday.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Western Kentucky came into Indiana’s Memorial Stadium on Saturday looking for respect.

What it got in return was a bit of a wakeup call.

The Hilltoppers’ first foray into the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision was filled with too much from Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis - and too many missed opportunities from the WKU offense - as the Hoosiers prevailed, 31-13.

Click here for more photos from the game.

“We missed opportunities. We felt like we were really close on some plays and we just didn’t get the job done,” WKU coach David Elson said. “Kellen Lewis, we knew going in, was a difference maker, and he continued to be a difference maker today.

“I was encouraged we came out and we competed - not well enough to win, but we competed hard all afternoon. You have to make plays to win, and Indiana made more plays than we did today.”

Lewis ran roughshod over the Hilltopper defense all afternoon, consistently breaking containment and constantly making something out of nothing.

Lewis racked up 185 yards on nine carries - including touchdown runs of 75 and 62 - and finished with 144 yards on 17-of-27 passing to go along with two scores. In total, Lewis accounted for 329 of Indiana’s 450 total yards.

“We knew he was a good quarterback and we knew we had to keep him contained, but he just did a good job and was able to bust some runs on us,” WKU junior linebacker Blake Boyd said. “We did what we wanted to do, and we played how we wanted to play, but we just have to do a couple things better and make a few adjustments.”

After missing all of spring practice due to a team enforced suspension, Lewis didn’t seem to miss a beat Saturday.

“The two (long) runs were huge,” Indiana coach Bill Lynch said. “And one thing that he certainly does is in third-down situations, when something breaks down, he has the ability to make something happen. And he did that two or three times today.

“They did a pretty nice job in the second half of sitting on some routes, but he’s an awful good football player and played well.”

But even with Lewis’ dominance, WKU wasn’t without its chances, especially in the second half.

After the offense sputtered early and left WKU with a 17-0 deficit to start the third quarter, the Hilltoppers caught a break when Trent Calhoun intercepted Lewis on the third play of the half, giving WKU the ball on the Hoosiers’ 33. It then looked as if a WKU touchdown was in order, as sophomore quarterback K.J. Black hit wide receiver Jake Gaebler for a 32-yard gain, but Gaebler fumbled on the goal line - giving Indiana the ball right back.

After an Indiana punt on the ensuing possession, the Hilltoppers would manage to get the ball in the redzone, but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Zac Minturn to cut the lead to 17-3.

WKU caught yet another break on Indiana’s next possession, as IU punter Chris Hagerup fumbled a snap, giving the Hilltoppers the ball on the Indiana 38-yard line.

Black would once again drive the Hilltoppers inside the redzone, this time down to the six. But when the drive stalled yet again, a 22-yard field goal by Minturn made it 17-6.

The Hoosiers would regain momentum, as Lewis immediately marched Indiana 72 yards for a score - capping the drive with a 5-yard strike to Damario Belcher, putting IU up 24-6.

In total during the third quarter, WKU had the ball inside the Indiana 10-yard line three times - and only managed six points.

WKU wouldn’t go away however, as Black was able to lead the Hilltoppers on a 12-play, 82-yard drive, finishing it off with a 32-yard pass to Gaebler - bringing the score to 24-13 with 9:39 to go in the game.

But Lewis closed the door one play into the next drive, breaking off a 62-yard scoring scamper to essentially ice the game at 31-13 with 9:24 remaining.

Black said the team wasn’t able to get any consistent running attack going throughout the game, which made the three third-quarter red-zone possessions extremely difficult to convert on.

“When we got down there close to the endzone, we had to pass because our run wasn’t working like it usually is,” Black said. “And it just made things more difficult to score. But we’ve just got to execute down there no matter what.”

Black led the WKU offense with 219 yards on 19-of-31 passing, while Gaebler added six receptions for 81 yards and a score. Black also finished as the team’s leading rusher, gaining 47 yards on 15 carries.

“On both sides of the ball we were close, we were close to hitting some screen passes and we felt we were a block away on a few more,” Elson said. “Then we get some momentum back in the third, and have some missed opportunities - so we’ve just got to learn that when we get some momentum, you have to take advantage of it.

“But I think this film gives us a great opportunity to learn a lot about ourselves. We’re definitely going to be able to get some questions answered and have some concrete evidence on what we need to do in order to improve.”