I hate to admit it, but, yes, I’m a fair weather fan. When it comes to Indiana University football, I love it when they win, but when they lose it’s a real downer. It’s not the end of the world but close! Yesterday, at Bloomington, in Memorial Stadium, the Hoosiers dug themselves a hole it was tough to get out of. Behind 19-15, with little time on the clock and 4th and 4, Josh Hoover’s perfect pass found the wide open hands of receiver Nick Marsh, but his left foot landed just inches outside the end zone line. INCOMPLETE PASS—Bummer! Game over! Ohio State wins.
This the first time I can recall Curt Cignetti’s gutsy play call not being successful. He is well known for making decisions that are risky, but his players have always been able to pull it off. Remember last year, against Penn State, with the game on the line, Fernando Mendoza threw a pass deep into the end zone and Omar Cooper stretched high to catch it. His foot came just a fraction inbounds for a touchdown. And in the national championship game against Miami, at 4th down and five, Cignetti called a quarterback keeper, and Fernando Mendoza twisted, banged and lunged his way into the end zone. Then, last week against Nebraska, with IU at 4th and one, Cignetti faked Nebraska into expecting a run, but called instead for a short pass from Hoover to wide open Nick Marsh who sprinted for a TD. These were three ballsy play calls that Cig was able to pull off. Yesterday, though, his amazing luck ran out to the great disappointment of this alum and a million others.
Next week IU travels to Ann Arbor to play the struggling Michigan Wolverines (4-2, 1-2); struggling to find consistent quarterback play. This will be a test to see if the Hoosiers can shake off the Ohio State loss and play like they are capable of. Coach Cignetti will have his team ready to play, but the 103,000 Michigan fans in the stadium will do everything possible to ruin Indiana’s party.
