In many ways, the controversial missed field goal in overtime Saturday against Duke was a fitting way for the 2015 Indiana football season to come to an end.

It was a season of close calls, both in victory and defeat.

Let’s don’t forget that the season began with IU needing to make a defensive play on a two-point conversion attempt in the closing seconds to escape with a 48-47 victory over Southern Illinois.

Indiana had to hang on to beat an eventual bowl team in Western Kentucky, 38-35.

There was a close game with then No. 1 Ohio State, a gift wrapped 55-52 loss to Rutgers where the Hoosiers squandered a 19-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

There was the Michigan game where the Wolverines scored a touchdown on the final play of regulation to force overtime and then won in the extra session.

And then there was Duke Saturday in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium where Indiana led 41-34 late before the Blue Devils scored a touchdown in the final minute to force overtime.

But I will tell you this. As gut-wrenching of a defeat as Indiana suffered in its most recent postseason appearance may have been, IU football was still extremely entertaining in 2015.

And that’s a start. I don’t think Indiana football will ever be a powerhouse type of program that will mow through the Big Ten schedule and end up playing consistently in a New Year’s Eve bowl situation. That may happen once in a while but in a division that also includes Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State, I think that’s asking a lot.

So the reality is that Indiana is going to have a lot of 6-6 or 7-5 type of seasons and very likely be playing in lower level bowls.

I’m not saying that I speak for all Indiana fans but I think if the Hoosiers played an entertaining brand of football (sure, a little better on the defensive side would help) and made it to a bowl game every year that most IU fans would be happy with that outcome. Of course there will be some who continue with the line of thinking that there’s no reason Indiana shouldn’t be a football powerhouse. The whole ‘If Northwestern, Illinois and Purdue can do, then why can’t IU?’ way of thinking is still prevalent with some.

But one thing all three of those programs do not have in common right now with Indiana is that they are in the other division. And I think the East is just a tad bit tougher than the West. Sure you have Wisconsin and Iowa and usually Nebraska but overall I would trade divisions if I were IU in a heartbeat.

It still comes down to the fact that Indiana had a very entertaining 2015 season in which it scored the most points in school history for one season. In the last four games, Indiana scored 40 points or more in each game. IU boasted two 1,000-yard running backs for the first time in school history and its career record-holding quarterback and some sure-handed receivers, too.

The defense … well … it always come back to the defense. And the reality Saturday was that it was the defense combined with special teams that hurt the Hoosiers. That long kickoff return for a touchdown was a momentum squelcher. And the fumble by Mitchell Paige on the punt return hurt, too.

Still, for me the bottom line was that Indiana was fun to watch in 2015. I go back to my last bowl experience with Indiana in the Insight Bowl in the ‘Play 13’ season after Terry Hoeppner had died and I remember that game was not so much of a game. I think Austin Starr put IU up 3-0 and then it was 28-3 midway through the second quarter. Oklahoma State just ran all over Indiana that day.

What the 2015 season showed me about IU football was that the Hoosiers are closer. Next season IU will have eight home games to utilize in an attempt to make rare back-to-back bowl appearances. That hasn’t happened at IU in more than 25 years.

And that’s what we’ll all be keeping an eye on as the 2016 unfolds. Until then, IU fans can talk about what could have been and whether last-second field goals should always be reviewable or not.

There was one thought that kept coming back to me over and over Saturday afternoon as I sat in the press box at Ross-Ade Stadium following Indiana’s 54-36 victory over Purdue in the Old Oaken Bucket game.

It was simply that Indiana was soon to be headed to a bowl game that it clearly deserved to be playing in.

This was an IU football team that came within a touchdown of then No. 1 Ohio State in a 34-27 loss to the Buckeyes.

This was an IU football team that trailed 28-26 to then No. 7 Michigan State in the fourth quarter before the Spartans raced to a 52-26 victory.

This was an IU team that dropped a 35-27 decision to Iowa, a team that could find its way into the College Football Playoff.

This was an IU football team that lost in double overtime to Michigan 48-41 despite leading by a touchdown before the final play of regulation.

Those four games, all losses, told us something about Indiana football. It told us that the Hoosiers were fighters and deserved a chance to be playing in the postseason.

When IU scored 101 points in the final two weeks of the season in wins over Maryland and Purdue and did so without 1,000-yard plus running back Jordan Howard, we were reminded of just how much talent this Indiana team possesses.

No, make no mistake. This Indiana football team deserves to be bowling come late December. These seniors who have endured some difficult times in their IU careers deserve to be able to play together for another month. Kevin Wilson and his staff deserves to be able to coach them.

And Indiana football fans deserve one more opportunity to see these guys play.

The next stop for the Hoosiers could be New York City or Santa Clara (the town where Nate Sudfeld was born) the day after Christmas. It could be Detroit on Dec. 28 or Fort Worth on Dec. 29. It could be Dec. 30 in Nashville or San Diego, too.

It will be another week before we learn of IU’s bowl destination.

But the only thing that matters is that Indiana took care of business and removed all the guess work out of what lies ahead.

Had IU lost it would have had to have hoped to be one of the 5-7 teams selected to go to a bowl game. But that 5-7 advancement would almost carry an asterisk, too, as the Hoosiers would not have properly earned a postseason bid.

And that’s where I keep coming back to today. Indiana football earned the right to play in a bowl game. Indiana football deserves to be there.

Now we can sit back and learn the opponent and the destination for what will be a historic outcome for the 2015 IU football season.

My students in the Sportswriting class I teach at Indiana University were giving me a hard time last week when I was giving the opinion that I believed the Hoosiers would win their final two football games and get bowl eligible.

Their basic thought was simple: What makes you think Indiana will win back-to-back Big Ten road games when the Hoosiers have only won one Big Ten road game in five seasons under Kevin Wilson?

And they had a point. They didn’t tell me this but here’s something to chew on.

*** The last time IU won back-to-back Big Ten road games was 1993.

*** That means head coaches Bill Lynch, Terry Hoeppner, Gerry DiNardo and Cam Cameron all left Indiana without winning back-to-back Big Ten road games.

*** Just 18 players on Indiana’s current roster were even born the last time it happened. Nate Sudfeld is one of them. He was two months old.

So in other words, they had a good point.

But I was coming at it from a different place. The reality is that I just believed that a battle-tested Indiana squad, having played strong games against Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan and Iowa in recent weeks, would be more than ready to face a pair of 2-8 teams in Maryland and Purdue.

And that clearly played out Saturday at Maryland. To call the Maryland situation pathetic would be a gross understatement. That team was ready for the season to end. The body language showed it, the number of players wearing jerseys over their street clothes showed it and the crowd was perhaps the worst I’ve ever seen in a Big Ten road venue. There was no one there. There were a few extra folks there because it was Senior Day but it was pretty sad.

Maryland jumped out to the 21-3 lead but it was as if that as no big deal either. As soon as IU scored 21 in a row to take a 24-21 lead the body language of the Terps looked like a team that knew it was going to lose again. It didn’t take long for the game to get out of hand.

Now the Purdue game will be different because it’s the Bucket and there will be the rivalry aspect and Indiana trying to bring home the Bucket for a third time in a row for the first time since 1946. I get all of that. At the same time, I just think Indiana has the superior team and will find a way to get it done.

I completely expect us to be sitting here this time next week wondering what lower level bowl the Hoosiers will be heading to. I’ve heard maybe Nashville for the Music City Bowl and I’ve heard maybe Yankee Stadium for the bowl up there. This likely won’t be a Florida locale but just getting to a bowl game would be a huge step for this Indiana program.

That is true especially after IU dropped six in a row in the middle of the season. We all know that if Indiana had taken care of business against Rutgers in the fourth quarter or stopped Michigan on that final play of regulation, Indiana would already be bowl eligible and not have the extra stress going into the Bucket game. Yes, all of those things are true. But I think something should also be said that this Indiana team didn’t give up after dropping to 4-6.

As the players have continued to say throughout the losing streak and then once again following the win on Saturday at Maryland: They still have their preseason goals before them and they’re attainable.

Make it to a bowl game.

Now if Indiana can do that, like my students were quick to point out it would require winning back-to-back Big Ten road games.

And that’s what I really believe that Indiana is about to do.

Here are my thoughts following Saturday’s 52-26 loss to Michigan State, that while closer than the final score, was still a game that Indiana didn’t play well enough to win.

Sorry that it’s a little late being posted but I opted to drive home from East Lansing and work on it from home at a reasonable rather than sitting in the press box at Spartan Stadium and getting home really late.

Here are the numbers that jumped out from Saturday’s game:

· 96: Michigan State ran 96 plays in the game to 60 for Indiana. When your offense gets 36 more opportunities to win a game than you do, it makes matters much more difficult.
· 13 of 20: The Spartan were 13 of 20 on third down, a 65 percent conversion percentage. Making matter worse, several of those were on third and 10 or more. Not being able to get off the field on third down is one of those things that can lead to a team having 96 plays in a game.
· 24: That’s how many points Michigan State scored in the fourth quarter. Go back to the Rutgers game and in the last two games, Indiana has been outscored 46-0 in the fourth quarter. How can any team expect to win football games when faced with a statistic like that one.
· 5: This is the number of points that Indiana left on the field with special teams. Griffin Oakes, who rarely misses any kicks, missed two extra points (one that hit the left upright and the other that sailed wide right) and then a 42-yard field goal with the wind at his back. When the score was 31-26 Michigan State, it should have been 31-all.
· 38:59: That was Michigan State’s time of possession in the game compared to 21:01 for IU. I know that Buck Suhr says on the radio that Indiana doesn’t care about time of possession because it can score so quickly. But the IU defense has to care about being on the field for nearly two thirds of the game.
· 4: That’s how many games that Indiana has now lost in a row after winning its first four. And after a bye next week, IU gets to play Iowa and Michigan back-to-back at home. Oh boy.

What does it all mean?

It means that in its current state, the Indiana football program has to make some changes during the bye week in terms of its tempo in games. Expecting a defense to be on the field that many plays is expecting too much. Perhaps the Hoosiers should slow things down just a tad on offense.

That’s one thought. Here’s a few more:

*** Indiana has to get off the field on third down. Saturday the coverage by the secondary wasn’t awful but Michigan State kept making play after play. The DB’s need to do more than shadow receivers down the field. They also need to look back at the ball every once in a while rather than just allow opponents to go up and make acrobatic catches.

*** Indiana needs to take better advantage of Jordan Howard, Devine Redding and now Mike Majette. There were a couple of third and short situations that needed to be runs to move the chains but instead were passes down field. Some worked, some didn’t. Perhaps Howard and Redding still aren’t 100 percent healthy and that may have added to the game plan but the reality is that when you can pound the ball inside a few times and then use a player like Howard to make a good play action fake, the passing game really has a chance to explode.

*** Special teams has to improve. Oakes needs to make kicks. Erich Toth needs to angle balls inside the 10 rather that booting them out of the end zone, and return guys like Damon Graham need to hold onto the football and get to it more quickly. In a program where the phrase “small margin for error” is often repeated, you cannot afford to have special teams breakdowns.

Indiana has two weeks before it plays again against Iowa on Nov. 7. The Hoosiers need to get some things fixed during this bye week.

My first thought following Indiana’s gift-wrapped, come-from-ahead, 55-52 loss to Rutgers at home Saturday was that with Indiana football there have always been a couple of hard and fast truths.

1. It’s never easy.
2. No lead is ever safe.
3. Always expect the unexpected.

They all came into play Saturday in Bloomington.

Indiana had a 25-point lead with 5:25 to play in the third quarter after the Hoosiers opened the half scoring 28 unanswered points and took a 52-27 lead.

At most college football programs, it’s game over. Warm up the Rutgers busses, put in some guys that normally don’t get to play and watch the individual statistics soar.

But we all know another truth about Indiana football: IU is not most college football programs.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all with the Hoosiers, something like this happens. You can blame Kevin Wilson (and many will). You can blame some poor decisions by Nate Sudfeld late in the game (and many will). You can blame a defense that in key situations simply can’t get out of its own way (and many will).

You can blame an inopportune bad snap on a punt that resulted in a touchdown. You can blame lack of recognition on a Rutgers fake punt in the first half. You can blame not getting enough consistent pressure on the quarterback throughout the game.

There was plenty of blame to go around. But the reality here is that this game should never have had a chance to get to where Rutgers could come back and win. Good teams and good programs just do not allow that to happen. But once again Indiana football proved that when it comes to those two areas IU is 0-for-2.

So who deserves the most blame for this debacle?

Wilson? If you are one of those people in the camp that the fifth-year head coach needed to find a way to win this season and if not could potentially be shown the door, then you’d have to think a loss like this could provide the straw that broke the camel’s back. No question about it. This was an epic loss. This was one that should have been in the books and yet you let it slip away. Indiana should be 5-2 right now with five games to play and needing just one win to get bowl eligible.

Instead, IU will likely have to beat both Maryland and Purdue on the road to get to a bowl game. While a possibility, that’s far from a sure thing.

But back to Wilson. I remember thinking back in 2010 after IU got ripped on the road at Wisconsin 83-20 that that one embarrassment was going to be tough for Lynch to overcome. And he was let go after the season. But I really felt that went IU left Madison that day that Lynch was a dead coach walking.

If Indiana fails to win six games this year, when people look back at Saturday’s debacle will they think about it in the same way? It’s very possible. The other one was inexcusable for different reasons. This was simply a game that once you got ahead 52-27 you simply could not afford to lose. And when the Hoosiers did … well, draw your own conclusions.

After IU took that big lead, Rutgers came back and scored pretty quickly to make it 52-33. But that should still be a lead, with 17 minutes to play in the game that should be safe.

The next time IU got the ball I thought the Hoosiers got a little conservative. Mike Majette, running the ball for the first time in a game this season on Saturday, got the call on running plays on both first and second down. One went for minus-1 and the other for no gain. Now, you’re in third and long and you get an 8-yard completion. On the first play of the fourth quarter, after deciding to punt from the Rutgers 46, there was a high snap over the head of Erich Toth and the senior didn’t have his finest moment on the play. He tried to pick it up but instead the ball was knocked away and eventually returned the other way for a touchdown. Now it was 52-39.

When IU got the ball back the next time, it looked as the Hoosiers were going to be aggressive again. Ricky Jones caught passes of 13 and 23 yards to get the ball to the Rutgers 40. But then Sudfeld had an incomplete pass, Devine Redding had a 1 yard gain, and on third down Sudfeld threw a pick. On this play, the defender made a nice break on the ball and made an acrobatic grab. Still, Rutgers got the ball back and scored on the next possession to make it 52-46.

This is when I thought Sudfeld really made his most questionable throw of the game. On first down at the IU 25, leading by six points with just under 10 minutes to play, Sudfeld threw a pass in the direction of Mitchell Paige deep down the left sideline. But there were three Rutgers defenders in the area and one of them came up with a pick.

Rutgers needed five plays to go 63 yards and the game was tied. Indiana blocked another extra point to keep it at 52-all. But it was only delaying the inevitable.

Indiana had a three and out and never saw the ball again.

Indiana had a ton of superlative performances. Sudfeld had a career-high passing, the Hoosiers may have found another solid running back with the play of Majette, and three IU receivers had more than 100 yards receiving.

But none of it matters because of the ‘L’. That’s the only statistic you could take out of this game.

And ultimately it could be the only statistic in 2015 that separates Indiana from going to a bowl game.

The little bit of good, the mostly bad and then even the ugly of Saturday's 29-7 loss to Penn State.

The Good

1. 0:00 - Yep, the clock expiring ranked as good news on this Saturday in the Keystone State. Playing without their top two playmakers on offense, Indiana saw even more attrition on the offensive side of things as backup quarterback Zander Diamont and Isaac Griffith both suffered injuries. A timetable on Diamont's injury is unknown. Griffith's season came to an end. The emotional and physical toll of the 34-27 loss to Ohio State earlier this month was one of the most understated aspects leading up to Saturday's game. It's best that the contest simply ended.

2. Danny Cameron - So Cameron's second-half performance netted exactly zero scoring drives. The offense as a whole netted 234 yards for the game, so seeing the redshirt freshman enter the game and not appear completely overwhelmed against one of the Big Ten's stouter defensive units was a small bright spot. Finishing 6-of-16 passing for 65 yards certainly wasn't pretty but little was for the Hoosiers.

3. Minnesota - The Gophers won 41-13 in West Lafayette against Purdue. Did we mention it was tough to find good news on Saturday?

The Bad

1. M.A.S.H unit - As stated, Sudfeld and Howard were both out and Diamont left with his arm in a sling. For all the good feelings of seeing Indiana sitting 4-0 after September, the depth is being seriously tested and an upcoming slate featuring Michigan, Michigan State and a resurgent Iowa is looking more daunting every week.

2. Poise - Winning Saturday was a long shot a best going in. But Indiana wasn't able to keep it together in two tough spots and both proved costly. In the first quarter Indiana looked to have forced a turnover in Nittany Lion territory on a strip sack by Tegray Scales. But a hands to face penalty (which seemed sketchy at best) gave Penn State the ball back and sent the defense into a quick tailspin. Two plays after the penalty Penn State was streaking to the end zone with the game's first score for a 7-0 lead.

Later, after what appeared to be a late hit on Diamont following a run into Lion territory, the IU sideline was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that turned 2nd-and-4 into a 2nd-and-19 - and Diamont was injured later in the series after scrambling on third down. The margin for error was razor thin already for a shorthanded IU team. Those two small sequencing both played a hand in slamming the door.

Ugly

1. 234 yards, 7 points - Indiana has spoiled its fanbase to the point where performances like Saturday are nearly vomit inducing. Again, the Lions are one of the conference's best defensive units. They have players that will play on Sunday all over their front seven. But seeing four quarters of anemic, flat offense with little or no hope for a big play harkens back memories to eras that Indiana fans don't wish to speak of.

2. Bret Bielema - It goes without saying that every Hoosiers' favorite former Wisconsin coach has his own wing in the ugly section because of his history with the program but this week the Arkansas coach outdid himself by simply being Bret Bielema. The guy can't make himself not look like some sort of dullard can he? Questioning the Big Ten's overall strength before losing to MAC teams is one thing. Ripping Kliff Kingsbury before seeing his team get ripped by Texas Tech on the field is another, but this week Bielema initiated contact with an Alabama offensive lineman to draw a flag and then danced a jig when the SEC official fell for the bait. The Razorbacks lost BTW because that's what Arkansas does when Bret Bielema is their head coach.

Once again, Indiana football is six games into the season and the focus is on the quarterback position.

Indiana fans can only hope this year works out a lot better than one transpired a season ago.

Last year, in the sixth game at Iowa, Nate Sudfeld injured his non-throwing shoulder and was lost for the season. IU eventually went with Zander Diamont for the final six games and the Hoosiers went 1-5 to end the year.

Saturday, it was Diamont, making his first start of the year in place of the injured Sudfeld, who went down with a third quarter shoulder injury and didn’t return. Danny Cameron ran the offense for the final quarter and a half and Indiana came out on the losing end of a 29-7 decision at Penn State.

But as IU prepares for a critical Homecoming matchup next Saturday at Memorial Stadium against Rutgers, all eyes will be on the quarterback position and what the Hoosiers will be able to do.

If Sudfeld can play, and has reasonable mobility on his ankle, Indiana has a good chance to win and improve to 5-2 which would put the Hoosiers within one game of bowl eligibility with five games to play. But if it’s not Sudfeld, then the Hoosiers could be in jeopardy of dropping a third consecutive Big Ten game to open the 2015 conference season.

Following the game Saturday, Kevin Wilson was asked what went into his final decision not to play Sudfeld or starting tailback Jordan Howard.

“I waited to see how much they could do,’’ Wilson said. “Nate practiced (Friday) a little bit more. Jordan didn’t do as much. Nate could have played. He just wasn’t very mobile. I don’t know how many plays he could have extended and been able to protect himself. It’s kind of the way it was last week at the end of the game. He could have played. Personally I didn’t feel good with it. He was available today but he was limited and we didn’t want to put him in harm’s way.’’

As for Diamont, Wilson said it was too early to tell but he didn’t think the sophomore quarterback’s injury was a serious one.
“Zander’s thing I don’t think is that bad,’’ Wilson said. “I don’t think it’s anything major.’’

And so that’s where Indiana football sits at the halfway point of the Big Ten season.

The bottom line is that for Indiana to not only have a shot to become bowl eligible but to then have a chance to win a postseason game, the Hoosiers need a healthy Sudfeld and Howard. Sure, Wilson could have played Sudfeld on Saturday but he had he further aggravated his injury then the Hoosiers could have been basically throwing away the season. Give him another week of rest and see how it heals up and hopefully the senior QB will be ready to go against Rutgers.

But I just think it’s asking too much of the other guys at that position to think that you can win Big Ten football games.

Diamont does some good things but he never looks comfortable out there, he’s not an accurate throwing quarterback and he takes a few too many chances running the ball which ultimately can get him in trouble. The fact that he was 1-5 as a starter last year tells the story pretty accurately. I think he’s better than he was a year ago but there certainly isn’t anyone thinking there’s a quarterback controversy in Bloomington if both Sudfeld and Diamont were healthy at the same time.

Myself, I think Indiana has a better chance to win with Cameron. He looks more poised in the pocket an I’d like to see what he could do if he had a full week of No. 1 reps to prepare to start against an opponent. Well, I say that and actually I’d rather that wasn’t the scenario. I would prefer Sudfeld getting all the reps and playing Saturday against Rutgers.

Ultimately, that’s where it will all be decided. If Sudfeld can get back to being able to play consistently and lead the offense then Indiana should still be able to win six or seven games and get bowl eligible this season.

But if he doesn’t, I just think it’s going to be a long haul for the final six games for Indiana.

Nate Sudfeld and Jordan Howard are travelling to Penn State on Saturday for the Big Ten matchup against the Nittany Lions.

That much we know.

And yet, as I drive to State College on Friday, that will continue to be the theme of my thought process as the Hoosiers try to bounce back from last week’s loss to Ohio State.

The obvious question: Can Sudfeld and Howard be ready for Penn State?

My best guess is that at the very least Sudfeld will try to give it a go. I know he wanted to get back in the game on Saturday against Ohio State but the coaching staff opted to take the safe approach. It didn’t hurt that Zander Diamont had led IU on a long touchdown drive and then scampered 79 yards for a touchdown a little bit later. That had to make the Sudfeld decision a little easier.

But when you look at Saturday’s game at Penn State and ask yourself who gives you the best chance to come out of Happy Valley with a victory over the Nittany Lions for the first time in school history, you have to think that’s Sudfeld.

All you have to remember is what Sudfeld did against these same Nittany Lions two years ago in Bloomington. He completed 23 of 38 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns and IU manhandled Penn State that day 44-24.

Contrast that to last season when Penn State won in Bloomington, 13-7. The quarterback that day was Diamont, filling in for the injured Sudfeld. Most people left Memorial Stadium that day believing that IU had missed a golden opportunity to beat Penn State for a second year in a row. But the reality was that without Sudfeld at the helm, the Hoosiers just couldn’t get it done.

Diamont was 13 of 27 for 68 yards. He also ran for 58 yards but IU’s offense was stuck in second gear. Indiana’s only touchdown last season against Penn State was on a 47 yard interception return for a score by Mark Murphy.

And I haven’t even talked about Howard. If both Sudfeld and Howard are in the lineup, I honestly believe that Indiana has a chance to knock Penn State off in Happy Valley. If the IU offense is unpredictable in terms of running and throwing the football and the play action fake is working with Howard in the lineup, Indiana has a chance to put a big number. And if you can score 30 or more in this game, one would think you’d have a pretty good chance to win.

But we’re getting too far ahead of ourselves. The big question right now is how will Sudfeld and Howard feel tomorrow when they step on the field early, go through their paces and see if they can play against the Nittany Lions.

If they can, don’t be surprised if IU heads to Homecoming with a 5-1 record. If they can’t go, however, I would think 4-2 would be a lot more realistic.

I couldn’t help but think as I was watching Indiana play No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday what the Southern Illinois people were thinking when they heard today’s final score.

Or when they saw that the Hoosiers were beating Ohio State 10-6 at halftime.

They had to figure it was a misprint. Or that ESPN had somehow messed things up when they scrolled that score across the bottom of the screen.

I can just see the Saluki fans shaking their heads and saying, “Isn’t that the same team that less than a month ago we put 659 yards of offense against?”

They had to wonder if Indiana was suiting up a completely different defense than it had just a few weeks back. They had to wonder how the defense they scored 47 points against could possibly go toe to toe with the No. 1 ranked team in the country.

Maybe, they wished they could play the Buckeyes, too.

But the reality is that Indiana played some of its best defense in years Saturday afternoon in the 34-27 loss to the Buckeyes.

The way that Indiana came out and fought and set the tone for the game was pretty impressive. If the Hoosiers can do that against all competition and not just when they’re hyped up to play the best team in the land, this is a bowl team.

Indiana made a lot of plays Saturday. That interception that Tegray Scales had was absolutely huge deep in IU territory. Or the forced fumble that Marcus Oliver created when he wrapped up the Ohio State receiver from behind. Or the play that Rashard Fant made on the fumble recovery on the Ohio State sideline.

IU created three more turnovers Saturday. In recent years, Indiana’s defense did not create turnovers. And that made it too easy for teams to drive up and down the field against IU because the Hoosiers were simply not opportunistic.

But this team leads the Big Ten in that category.

Now, the thing that drives Indiana football fans crazy is how quickly opposing teams can score and how big plays seem to always be the norm when you’re facing Indiana. And there are no two ways around that one. Ezekiel Elliott had touchdown runs of 55, 65 and 75 yards. You simply have to eliminate those big plays in order to have a shot in a game like this. I’m not questioning that.

But here is something else I know. Ohio State managed 517 yards of offense on 61 plays. If you break that down, the Buckeyes had 195 yards of offense on three plays and 322 yards on the other 58 plays.

And here’s something else I know. In talking with IU players in the postgame, this is becoming a confident bunch of players. This is a team that now expects to play the way it did for much of the Ohio State game every week.

This team expects to go on the road and beat Penn State. It expects to come home and throttle Rutgers for Homecoming. It expects to play every game at a high level.

That has not always been the case with Indiana defenses. It hasn’t been the case for many of the years

I’ve covered the team. I’m not certain it was the case when the Hoosiers looked awful in the opener against Southern Illinois.

But I do those this: If Nate Sudfeld and Jordan Howard can get healthy (and I think both will play next week), this could be one of the best Indiana teams I’ve covered in 18 years.

And I think that’s saying something.

The last time Indiana was 4-0 in football, Operation Desert Storm was just beginning as the United States and the UK sent troops to Kuwait.

Some of the popular films were Home Alone, Ghost, Pretty Woman and The Hunt for Red October.

A gallon of gas cost $1.34.

And it had only been three years since Indiana had last won a national championship in basketball.

The point is being 4-0 is significant for the Hoosiers. And after hanging on to beat Wake Forest 31-24 Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C., Indiana is 4-0 for the first time since 1990.

And 4-0 is a significant milestone for Indiana football. Now the Hoosiers just have to take care of business from this point on and IU fans will have the opportunity to watch their team play football beyond Dec. 1 for just the third time in more than 20 years.

Quick quiz: What are the two years since 1994 where Indiana has played football beyond Dec. 1? The answer: 2001 and 2007. The 2007 season was the Insight Bowl. The 2001 season was when the IU-Kentucky game was postponed because of 9-11 and played in the first week of December. That game was also noteworthy because it was Cam Cameron’s final game at IU.

But I digress.

For as long as I can remember everyone has always had the same formula for Indiana football. Win your four non-conference games and find a way to win at least two Big Ten games and you’ll go to a bowl game.

Take a look at IU’s final eight games of the regular season and it appears there are two or three games that IU should be favored in. Rutgers, Maryland and Purdue, you would think any way, would be games that IU could win.

And there are other games where the Hoosiers should have a chance to pull off an upset.

But once again, none of it matters at all if Indiana isn’t 4-0 heading into next week’s game against top-ranked Ohio State.

Saturday, from my birds-eye view from the radio booth at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, I thought Indiana looked particularly impressive for three quarters against Wake Forest. The fourth quarter I felt that the IU defense had a couple of miscues, the IU offense got ultra conservative and Wake Forest made a couple of big plays, none bigger than recovering the onsides kick.

But I keep going back to one thing that is different about this Indiana football team compared to the other 17 seasons in which I’ve covered the Hoosiers.

This team finds a way to win instead of finding a way to lose.

No one is going to pretend that any of the four Indiana wins to date have been a thing of beauty. But no one is also going to argue that in year’s past Indiana would have found a way to lose at least one of these games and maybe more.

But this Indiana team just keeps winning.

Jordan Howard continues to be a beast. Nate Sudfeld continues to make enough plays. And the defense has done enough good things. Six sacks and constant pressure Saturday were something we haven’t seen a lot of out of IU for a long time.

And the Hoosiers just keep winning.

Now Indiana plays Ohio State Saturday at Memorial Stadium in a great situation for the Hoosiers to be in. Lose and everyone expected you to lose. In fact, I’ll be surprised at how many people will go out on a limb and pick the upset this weekend. But win and the momentum in this football program would be as high as it has been in decades.

The most important thing I think most Indiana fans are hoping for next Saturday is that the Hoosiers can be competitive. Hang around, have a chance in the second half, and most of all don’t let it be a blowout. If those things happen I think most Indiana fans would be pleased.

And it wouldn’t hurt if GameDay decided to come to Bloomington either but I’m not holding my breath there.

At halftime of Saturday’s Indiana-Western Kentucky game, with the Hoosiers trailing by 11 points, I told a couple of colleagues on press row that Indiana had the Hilltoppers right where it wanted them.

There was a laugh or two and some shaking of heads and then like clockwork, Indiana went out and outscored WKU 21-0 in the third and went on to win, 38-35.

Indiana has now trailed all three of its opponents to date at halftime and has come back to win all three games.

Good pattern? Probably not. But here is what I’m choosing to take away from this at this point in the season.

For the first time that I can remember in all of my years covering Indiana football, the ‘Here we go again’ mentality may finally be a thing of the past for the Hoosiers.

In past years whenever bad things would happen, that little voice would go off in the back of people’s heads whether they were watching the game on television, listening to it on the radio or sitting in the stands at Memorial Stadium that would say, ‘Here we go again.’ I know for a fact that players thought about it like that, too. I’ve had several players over the years confirm that to me. Especially the older guys that had been through it a few times before.

But this group doesn’t appear to feel that way. And if they do, it’s a different kind of ‘Here we go again’. Now, it means, here we go again as in let’s go out and rally to win the game.

It’s a complete shift in the mentality of a football team.

But in order for Indiana to compete for postseason play and beyond it was a shift that had to take place.

At the very core, this football team has to believe it can find a way to win. And with a balanced offensive attack as Indiana possesses, it’s easy to see why the team believes.

Saturday, a couple of turnovers by WKU really came in handy in that third quarter. That blocked field goal didn’t hurt either. But Indiana showed that it can play smash mouth football and go right after you, too.

Here are a couple of things I liked:

*** One of the most impressive things about Indiana Saturday was that IU had touchdown drives of 99 and 97 yards. And on those drives it never panicked, it just continued to go to the well which was Jordan Howard or Devine Redding and good things were happening.

*** How many times in recent years did Indiana find itself in third and two or third and one, and not be able to gain that critical yard or two? It was better last year with Tevin Coleman but it’s much different now. Now you have a back in Howard who hits that hole hard and can get the yards.

And get this? Indiana had 18 first downs rushing the football on Saturday. There have been years where that might be a four-game total or more.

*** I also like the run after the catch abilities of players like Simmie Cobbs, Ricky Jones, Mitchell Paige or even Howard. A couple of those scores yesterday were fun to watch.

Now, no one is looking past the fact that Indiana has given up 104 points in three games on its way to a 3-0 start. But I still think the prospects are good. The Wake Forest game has always been the one I’ve been most concerned about only because of IU’s track record on the road against non-conference opponents. The Missouri win last year was the exception. The Bowling Green loss last year was more of the rule.

The good thing I think IU has going in its favor though is that ‘Here we go again’ in 2015 means something completely different than it has in the past.

It’s time for a perception vs. reality check with Indiana football.

Two weeks in, the Hoosiers are 2-0. And in a bottom line business, that’s really the only thing that matters. If Indiana was anything but 2-0 after playing Southern Illinois and Florida International the noise around the IU football program would be at a deafening level.

But IU found a way to take care of business. It trailed in both games at halftime, but the bottom line is that IU got it done.

Today’s game with Western Kentucky is a huge game for the Hoosiers in terms of perception.

Win today, and IU will be off to its first 3-0 start under Kevin Wilson and all of a sudden the reality that Indiana could have a bowl kind of season would be at the point where you could allow yourself to start thinking about it.

Lose today, and it will be the ‘same old Indiana football’ talk that rears its ugly head.

The problem for anyone who has been around Indiana football for any length of time is the knowledge that if something appears to be too good to be true with IU football is usually is. This program has a history of disappointing its fan base. Almost to the point where the diehards refuse to allow themselves to get disappointed any more.

So when it comes to Indiana football, it’s pretty much an eternal ‘wait-and-see’ mode.

And yet if Indiana was 3-0 with a road game against a beatable Wake Forest team looming next weekend, all of a sudden things could be moving ahead with an optimistic tone in Bloomington.

If IU is 2-1, however, now Wake Forest becomes a must-win game and it’s just a completely different feel about this program moving forward. The new reality would be that IU squeaked past Southern Illinois, needed a big defensive play at the end to beat FIU and the Hoosiers lost to Western Kentucky. Not exactly a great resume.

On the flip side, if Indiana wins today, all you have to say is that IU took care of business three weeks in a row and has positioned itself well at this point in the year.

Myself, I expect Indiana to win today. I think Western Kentucky will get its points, and most likely get them through the air against a young IU secondary. But I think IU will take advantage of the WKU defense, too, both on the ground and through the air.

I think there’s a good chance Indiana puts up a big number today.

At the same time, having watched Indiana football as long as I have (from the press box the last 18 seasons), I reserve the right to be a little bit skeptical until it happens, too.

It just seems like I’ve been down this road before.

Over and over again.

Here are a few things I took from Indiana’s 36-22 victory over Florida International Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

· If the Indiana defense can hold opponents to 22 points or less the Hoosiers will win a vast majority of those games.
· Jordan Howard is so much fun to watch. You have to love how hard he hits a hole and what he does after an initial hit. And here’s a factoid I like as well: Howard has carried the ball 47 times and gained 304 yards and two games. More importantly, he has only lost 1 yard total in two games.
· Indiana has never been known as a turnover creating defense in recent years but the three Florida International miscues Saturday night resulted in 20 Indiana points.
· Nate Sudfeld has had a couple of near picks this year but for the most part he’s making great decisions with the ball. His inside fake to Howard at the goal line that resulted in him walking in for a 1 yard TD was a thing of beauty.
· If you want to talk about Jameel Cook’s 96-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter you had better talk about the pass deflection that Dawson Fletcher made in the back of the end zone on the play before. One play set up the other.
· How about Marcus Oliver’s game on Saturday night? He led the Hoosiers with seven tackles, had a big fumble recovery and pancaked FIU quarterback Alex McGough after that pick 6 play.
· Through three quarters Indiana had run 70 offensive plays. It finished with 85.
· Indiana has outscored its first two opponents 23-0 in the second quarter.
· IU has now trailed at halftime in both games and rallied from at least an eight-point deficit in each game.
· Mitchell Paige’s spin move on his 16-yard touchdown catch may not get the same attention that Braxton Miller’s did but I’m looking forward to watching the replay of the game just to play that back a few times. Ricky Jones had a nice downfield block on that play, too.
· Some of Indiana’s tackling in the first half in particular left a lot to be desired. IU’s young secondary in particular has to be better in that area.
· Eleven penalties for 110 yards is just too much. I know it was getting chippie out there but the five off sides penalties on Indiana in particular were hard to watch. The pass interference calls were close, and at least one of the roughing the passer calls were questionable, too.
· I must admit I didn’t expect to hear a referee say into his live microphone during a game, Bob Knight’s favorite word. Looking forward to that on the replay, too.
· Indiana had 205 net yards rushing against a defense that only allowed 46 yards rushing a week ago.
· The defense played much better than it did a week ago, and having Ralph Green III and Darius Latham inside was significant. Looking forward to seeing what Tegray Scales does next week when he returns to the lineup.
· You had to love seeing the tight end position get involved in the IU offense Saturday night. Michael Cooper had three catches for 66 yards and Anthony Corsaro also had a catch.
· It was good to see Griffin Oakes bounce back to hit his third field goal of the night (that one from 40 yards) after badly hooking one wide left from 44 yards out two quarters before.

Those are some free flowing thoughts off the top of my head. I’m sure there are many other topics to discuss, too. What have you got? I’d like to hear from you the ones you think I missed.

Stay tuned to a couple of more stories today and in the morning as Ryan Palencer was also on hand with me at Memorial Stadium Saturday night.