Another week, another loss for Indiana football.
It is a familiar story for a program that has struggled to compete for as long as fans can remember. Maybe this season, the sting is a bit more intense because of the optimism that seemed well founded based on a perfect out of conference start. After a five game skid, things are back to how they used to be for the Hoosier football team. Did anybody ever really expect different? After all, like senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld said after their loss to Iowa, “It’s Indiana.”
Basketball coach Tom Crean used the phrase at his introductory press conference and it’s still referenced by fans today. “It’s Indiana,” is a standard on the hardwood while for football, it’s more of an explanation for poor play.
This team was supposed to be the one that changed that. This wasn’t going to be the same old IU football team. It’s Sudfeld’s senior year. They added a talented running back transfer in Jordan Howard. It’s the second year of a new defensive system. The players know the expectations they had for this year. And they know they face coming up short of those goals if something doesn’t change.
“We still have goals to achieve,” senior tackle Jason Spriggs said. “You’re playing for your brothers, for your teammates.”
One of those goals has to bowling. To be fair, there is still reason for optimism about this season. In every game except for Penn State, the Hoosiers have entered the fourth quarter with a chance to win. That includes games against undefeated teams like Ohio State and Iowa as well as Michigan State. It also includes a historic defensive collapse at home against Rutgers.
At this level of football, moral victories are nice but they’re just that- nice. Not the objective. The objective for this squad is to be the first IU football team to go bowling since 2007. The team has put themselves in position to do that with only one more win thanks to their APR score, but the easiest road to a bowl is to win two of their next three games against Michigan, Maryland and Purdue.
“It’s frustrating because we know what we are capable of and we get the loss then watch film and realize one or two mistakes and (if they were avoided) it’s a completely different game,” Spriggs said. “It comes down to a series or a play where we didn’t focus or whatever it is and the momentum changes.”
The momentum for the last five games has been shifted against Indiana whereas in the first four games, the breaks went their way. Linebacker Marcus Oliver said after the Iowa loss that the first four games of the season the team expected to win and that is something they are trying to get back to.
Does that mean Indiana players thought they would lose once Big Ten play began? Probably not. But in the face of adversity, the team has folded in the last five games. Nobody bats an eye because “it’s Indiana,” may as well be a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point.
That is probably only the case for someone who sees scores on an ESPN ticker. Those watching the product on the field know this Indiana team has competed with top 10 teams. In their most recent game against No. 8 Iowa, the team did a few things well.
“It gave us some confidence,” Spriggs said of the offensive line’s run blocking. “We finally got to the point where we were running the ball and blocking like we know we can.”
Spriggs and his unit knows they are capable of getting the best of one of the nation’s best run defenses. If the passing game fell a bit more in Indiana’s favor, the outcome of that game may have been different. The challenge is consistently bringing that performance through four quarters over an entire season. This team has to finish a ball game the way they start.
The Hoosiers’ next chance to do so is against No. 15 Michigan when they come to Memorial Stadium on November 14th.
“They’re going to play hard, they’re very physical, a lot like Iowa,” Spriggs said. “They’re going to try to play upfield, we’ve seen quite a bit (of film) and we’ve got our gameplan.”
This is the last chance for IU to get a signature win this season. Spriggs said it would be a statement win. At this point of the season, as long as they bring a complete effort against Maryland and Purdue, this Indiana team has shown they have the talent to win and get to 6-6. That is in itself a huge feat for this program.
The fact is, Indiana may or may not beat Michigan. If it does, fans may decide that this five game losing streak wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
If it doesn't, well, it’s Indiana.
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