The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers from Bowling Green, Kentucky made a visit to Bloomington Saturday afternoon to take on the number 4-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. The Hilltoppers stood at 0-2 with lopsided losses to Nevada (49-14) and second-ranked Georgia (70-20) and faced another huge hurdle this week. Indiana was given a 99% probability of winning this game and looked at it as an opportunity to fix mistakes that had popped up in the first two games of the season.
This contest, which I fully expected to be a one-sided blowout, was a game that cast more doubt and uncertainty than confidence and optimism. Yes, IU held WKY scoreless, but it seemed to be more difficult than it should have been. In the first quarter, WKY had the ball for 13:50 minutes while IU had it for only 1:10. Indiana could not stop WKY’s running or passing game and allowed them to get all the way to the IU 2 yard line where, on 4th and goal, IU’s defense stiffened forcing an incomplete pass in the end zone. Despite the huge disparity in time of possession, WKY was unable to score.
In the second quarter, IU’s offense began to click and the defense performed better. IU got possession of the ball on their own 2-yard line and went 98 yards for their first TD. Receiver, Davion Chandler, from Indianapolis, on a 4th and two, got free and caught a Josh Hoover pass on a slant pattern and took it 30 yards for a TD
Later in the second quarter, Charlie Becker, the best wide receiver in college football, got behind his defender and caught a perfect pass in stride and added 6 points for the Hoosiers. At that point, IU’s offense began to click and the defense started making tackles. However, the defensive secondary continued to let receivers get wide open. WKY’s quarterback was harassed all day making him rush passes or throw the ball out-of-bounds. His accuracy was affected so the Hilltoppers went scoreless. He couldn’t avoid the constant threat of being sacked. IU made adjustments at halftime so the third and fourth quarters were all Indiana. Tackling improved, receivers caught passes, while the WKY QB continued to be chased.
Statistically, IU dominated Western. They had 513 total yards to WKY’s 186. Passing yards: IU completed 19 of 25 passes for 280 yards and WKY was 17 of 32 for 120 yards. Rushing yards: IU had 41 rushes for 233 yards and WKY ran the ball 28 times for 68 yards. WKY made only 4 of 15 3rd down conversions and made zero first downs on 4th down attempts. IU made up for the time of possession disparity after the first quarter debacle. IU 34:51, WKY 25:09. IU receivers caught 19 passes for 280 yards and WKY caught 17 for 120 yards. IU linebacker, Rollijah Hardy, made 9 tackles for IU (6 solo, 3 assists) to lead all players.
Indiana has now won 19 straight games, and since Curt Cignetti became coach is 30-2. That’s a remarkable record that includes a National Championship. Having said that, I think this team still has lot of improving to do. The defensive secondary allows too many completions because of open receivers, and the running game, more specifically the offensive line, needs to live up to its preseason hype. But the Hoosiers are still unbeaten this year. That may not last, however, unless they start playing better than they have.
Tougher opposition is coming, and we’ll see, then, what this team is made of. I hope it’s steel, grit, skill, resolve, a ton of big breaks, and good calls. Next up is Northwestern who comes to Bloomington Friday evening with a 2-0 record that includes a 41-7 win over Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffalos today. Northwestern will be a much tougher opponent so we need to be ready and play better than we have thus far.
