“Lethargic. Flat. Stale. Unemotional.”

These were the words Kevin Wilson used Tuesday to describe his team’s weekend performance against the Ball State Cardinals. They’re also words that Wilson hopes not to use again after this weekend’s meeting with Virginia.

“We can’t afford to do that this week,” Wilson said, “Guys need to be running around with their hair on fire.”

Frequent listless play was one of the more unfortunate Hoosier hallmarks under former coach, Bill Lynch. Whether it came in losses (Northwestern, Illinois) or in wins (Towson, Arkansas State), it was frustrating at best and maddening at worst.

After a disappointing 2010 season led to Indiana firing Lynch and hiring Wilson, most felt that the energy and consistency of the team would see dramatic improvement.

Wilson’s interstate “tailgate tour” and positive reports streaming from the spring and fall camps only amplified the positive vibes surrounding the team, and just about all of the word from the players focused on the new positive energy surrounding the team.

While leaping to judge the season before the Hoosiers even play their home opener is definitely a little hasty.

The opener against Ball State showcased an Indiana team that looked shockingly languid for much of the contest. Senior captain Jeff Thomas even admitted as much when asked about his defense’s performance after the loss.

“They didn’t do anything that we hadn’t seen before, schematically. We were well prepared, we just didn’t execute and we need to get better at that.”

The lack of defensive execution looked like it could be tied largely to the energy level – or lack thereof – on that side of the ball.

Giving due credit to the Ball State linemen, they play in the Mid-American Conference for a reason and Big Ten defensive linemen should be able to shed blocks and make plays at a higher rate than they did Saturday night. The line wasn’t alone either, as the whole defense seemed a step slow to pursue most of the night against both the pass and the run.

Co-defensive coordinator Mike Eckler also spoke to the media Tuesday, and admitted that some of the problem could be attributed to the players thinking too much on defense.

“If I could (change some things), I might have waited to introduce some stuff because it looked like it slowed us down out there, “ Eckler said.

“We coach hard,” he added, “So some of the kids may have been looking over their shoulder worried about getting pulled if they made a mistake.”

Regardless of whether the Hoosiers were low on juice because of defensive schemes, tough coaching or because they neglected to consume their pre-game Wheaties, the players and the coaching staff need to get their heads around the team’s energy crisis and address it before they take the field against Virginia for the home opener.

Playing hard, fast and with intensity is probably the most basic element of a football team at the grade school level – let alone in the FBS. A unit that comes out flat will lose nine out of ten times, and Indiana proved that last week against the scrappy, but less talented Cardinals.

Expect the Hoosiers to pick up the intensity they showed glimpses of last week during their home opener against Virginia.

The Hoosiers will be outgunned in the majority of the games they play this season, and while this is an inconvenient truth, it’s an important one for this group to grasp if for no other reason than to emphasize playing hard, fast and with a chip on their shoulders.

This will be a long season for Indiana football if they don’t make drastic strides in that area – to be blunt, it could be a winless one if they fail to improve.

Fortunately, Kevin Wilson and his staff recognize the problem and appear to be addressing it as a top priority.

“I think, as coaches, we are responsible for it,” Wilson said, “You have to make sure things are in place… We’ve got to make our own opportunities, energy and attitude. We can’t wait for anyone else to do it for us.”

Perhaps activity between plays will warrant almost as much attention as the plays themselves – maybe Wilson should show clips from “The U” (a documentary on the ahem colorful Miami Hurricanes of the ‘80s) during the next film session. In that case, here’s to a home opener filled with chest pounding, sideline celebrations and sack dances.

That way, we’ll at least know the defense is in the backfield.