It’s over. Indiana’s attempt to snap their seven year drought of not appearing in bowl games has failed. You might be thinking that is an overreaction after Indiana’s 45-42 loss to Bowling Green, but you also know I’m right. This was a must win for Indiana and they failed. It only takes six wins to make a bowl game and Indiana isn’t getting there. I personally believe the five win team from last year was a better team than this one. There is no chance this team makes a bowl. Let’s move on to the game headlines.
Game Headlines
Tevin Coleman Runs Wild
The star of the game for Indiana was once again Tevin Coleman. Coleman ran all over the Bowling Green defense for 190 yards and 3 touchdowns. It’s a shame a kid with this talent has to play for Indiana. Coleman had rushing touchdowns of 28, 46, and 31 yards. He was in beast mode, but and there is a but…..he might have cost us this game. Indiana was leading 35-32 and after a Shane Wynn touchdown was called back because he was apparently out of bounds (I haven’t checked back on that to see if he was actually out), Coleman fumbled the ball right to Bowling Green. It killed Indiana’s momentum and Bowling Green marched down the field and took the lead. A chance to go up 42-32 turned into a 39-35 Bowling Green lead.
Fourth Down Failures
Indiana’s fourth down offense was horrible in this game. Bad play calling did the Hoosiers in and I looked on with a baffled look on my face. You have Tevin Coleman who is a great running back at running it right up the middle. What does Indiana do? They pitch it to the right where Bowling Green is waiting for them. Pitch plays are the devil. I’ve always hated them on fourth downs. These fourth down calls were all down with Indiana in good field position. Coach Kevin Wilson apparently has no faith in his kicker. I can’t say I blame him. The kid shanked his only field goal attempt. Indiana did finally convert a fourth down to take the lead with two minutes to go. It’s too bad the defense sucks which brings us to…..
The Defense Sucks
I’m cursed. I am an Indiana Hoosiers football fan and a Dallas Cowboys football fan. Two of the worst defenses in the country today and I have to watch them every week. Nothing like watching a team march right down the field on your defense. Bowling Green did it with ease against Indiana. This is a team that got destroyed by Western Kentucky. Why can’t we stop their offense?! Indiana gave up 571 total yards. That’s pathetic! (I should point out Bowling Green gave up 582 total yards). You would think Indiana would have a good defense just one year. Nope! Same story, different year. Indiana always has a good offense and a beyond horrible defense. It doesn’t matter how many points you score if you can’t stop the other team from scoring. To quote Coach Orion from D3: The Mighty Ducks, “No lead is safe if you can’t play defense!” Eh, this Indiana team. I guess they can score unlike my Atlanta Braves who hit like they are a bunch of blind people.
Other Notes
Indiana leads the NCAA in rushing yards. That’s neat.
Nate Sudfeld was a lot better in this game. He didn’t look lost like in the Indiana State game. Too bad the defense didn’t give him any help.
Shane Wynn had a 139 yards receiving……and he should have had more if they didn’t call him out of bounds on that one play. He might have been out, but I’m not going to look and find out.
The Hoosiers have some horrid football helmets.
Next Up: Missouri
Oh boy. Indiana has a nice blowout loss coming up next week. Indiana’s great offenses always fail against actual good teams with real defenses. Missouri is a real ranked SEC team who kicked Indiana’s butt last year. This game is in Missouri and I’m seeing a similar outcome. It will probably be a bigger blowout too. Indiana could save their season with an upset, but as Gorilla Monsoon would say that outcome is “highly unlikely.”
Take notes, Kevin Wilson!
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