It is hard to believe I'm saying this, but IU football could be on its way up! After watching the Hoosiers play the Hawkeyes this past weekend, I am only left thinking that IU should be 7-2 on the season instead of 4-5. Laugh if you want, but it is not as far off as you might think.
Let's take a look at the three games I am talking about:
September 26th @ Michigan (L, 36-33)
Why IU should have won: They had the ball in the Red Zone FIVE times and only came up with one TD and four field goals. Three of those field goals were in the third quarter. A touchdown in that quarter puts the game on ice for IU.
Why IU didn't win: They didn't convert those RZ opportunities into TDs and three Michigan TDs were from 25 yards and out, so they gave up some pretty big scoring plays. Also, the double possession rule!
A win in this game puts IU at 4-0 heading back home to face Ohio State the following weekend.
October 24th @ Northwestern (L, 29-28)
Why IU should have won: They led 28-3 with 7:32 left in the first half!
Why IU didn't win: They gave up two TDs in the last 7:32 in the first half. They became stagnant on offense in the second half and scored 0 points. Oh and then there was the game winning 19 yard field goal with 21 seconds to play.
A win here, moves IU to 6-2 with their only losses coming by the hands of Ohio State and Virginia
October 31st @ Iowa (L, 42-24)
Why IU should have won: The Hoosiers picked Ricky Stanzi off FIVE times in this one, including four in the third quarter. IU also had one TD taken away on a replay challenge and one TD not given to them on another challenge. Both clearly were touchdowns. Those two plays and a freak INT runback by Tyler Sash were the momentum changers for this game.
Why IU didn't win: See above about the three big scoring plays. Also, IU could not stop the stupid play action bootleg pass for the life of me. They failed to score a TD in the second half for the second straight week.
This win, not only moves IU to 7-2, but it also drops Iowa out of the National Championship race. Here are some highlights from that game.
With these three games, if a play or two goes IU's way then they are looking at being a possible top 25 team and getting a very nice pay day in a bowl game. Since those plays haven't gone their way (a lot of them due to the officiating) they are looking like a team that might be missing out on a bowl. They need to keep carrying over the momentum of their successes and learn from their losses.
The Hoosiers' football coaching staff has to be excited to see where this thing could lead, but they also have to get better as a staff. Some of the play calling and thought processing has been off too. The great teams win those close games. Coach Hep laid the foundation and got the state excited about football in Bloomington again. The players he brought in and the coaching staff all have to work extra hard to keep that flame of excitment going.
Kelper probably could have put this a little better than I since he is the ultimate IU football fan. He is literally out there putting in 12 hour days when the Hoosiers have a home game. I know the pain he feels when they lose a close game, because I am an Indiana Pacers fan.
Things are looking brighter and brighter in Bloomington, but it is crazy to think that is because of the football program! It's not as far off as you think.
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Comments
I never said that is was the officials' fault that they lost, because so much goes into that. But a lot of calls have gone against them that have directly affected the outcomes of the games. I know it is part of the game, but losing 14 points against Iowa was a definite killer.
I just hear all this complaining about the officials after IU loses heartbreaker after heartbreaker....it gets old.
Close out the games and this isn't a problem. It's tough to win games in a major conference when you only score three points in the second half.
I agree. That is where their coaching staff HAS TO step up and start getting some plays to get some momentum.
But, in the end, it has to be on the players. You can't get into the RZ so many times and come away with 0 points.
When they start converting, that is when they will get over that hump.
Agreed, what do they have like 3 pts out of the last 9 TO's they've forced? That's bad.
Something like that. It hasn't been pretty. I haven't looked, but I wonder what their turnover differential is right now.
I have to wonder is ol Wish watched this one live. I don't like to place blame on officials either, but any person watching this game with any objective view has to admit that the officiating was pretty bad and that it affected the outcome of the game significantly. They were responsible for taking, at a minimum, 10 points off the board for IU at a critical juncture in the game. At a maximum it was 17 points. They extended two scoring drives for Iowa, including the one that closed the first half, with poor calls. In the third quarter, with the game in the balance, they ended an IU drive with poor call from an official that was grossly out of position. Indeed, IU gave up the skirt in the fourth quarter, but it is naive to assume that some rotten officiating did not take the wind out of their sails and adjust the scoreboard and change this game.
Ya, like I said, 14 points is a big killer for a team that is looking for a spark.
Where does the line begin/end for responsibility falling on the coaches and go to the players executing?
Not to slide back into this after IU loses another close one but.....it's my understanding that every questionable play in CFB is checked up in the replay booth so you are saying that not only did the officials on the ground miss the call but so did those in the booth? That's a lot of eyes missing calls consistently with the game on the line.
The officiating only comes to the forefront when teams don't continue to execute as they should and begin to look for reasons why they lost.
It's just like taking a called third strike. Sure, it may have been out of the zone but you had two other strikes to work with before that so lay the blame on yourself.
Only when the players and coaching staff become accountable and fix their mistakes do teams take big steps forward.
I'll refer to the Iowa game to answer about the missed calls.
On one TD, Terrance Turner had his foot down, with the ball in hand, pulling it toward his chest. This was in the back of the endzone. The official said it was incomplete. The replay shows the ball is in his hands, but the interpretation of "possesion" was a bobble since he was trying to pull it to his chest.
The other TD, Terrance Turner caught the ball as he is falling out of the side of the endzone, while dragging his foot. He shin also touches the endzone before his knee hits out of bounds. The sideline judge/ref was right on top of the play and called it a TD. After a review, that got turned into an incompletion, with no explanation as to why.
Both were clearly catches.
You are right though, they had more opportunities and did not execute. That is why they are losing the close ones.
I was actually re-reading some articles about that game and Lynch said something like, 'there were 175 plays in that game and we had 175 opportunities to win, we didn't lose it on two plays.'
Whether or not the officials got it right, IU lost the game for themselves....or Iowa won the game for themselves....those are the only two outcomes possible.
Just say that the players and coaches aren't good enough. Until they are better, or better personnel is brought in, IU will continue to be the doormat of the Big Ten.
Lynch sent those plays into the Big Ten for review, has he heard back on them? I haven't read about an apology from the Big Ten regarding them.
Ya, I'm pretty sure that he won't get any reply on those. If you second guess the officials then it becomes a building block for another coach/team for the rest of the season.
I think with another solid recruiting class and a QB that is a leader, because while Chappell can throw it down field, I don't see him as much of a leader...this team can start closing the gap on those close game losses.
I'm going to try to be as polite as possible about this but blowing multiple touchdown leads can't be blamed on officiating. Maybe you lose on a last second play that they called incorrectly but not when you are winning by multiple touchdowns.
Sadly, 4-5 is a step up for IU when you take into account who they've played so far this season. It looks like they should make a bowl which will help in recruting but they did lose their top 2010 recruit to Cincy a few weeks ago.