Stubbornness costs Indiana in 31-27 loss to Michigan State
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Kevin Wilson’s offensive genius helped Indiana take an early 17-point lead against Michigan State.
His stubbornness blew it.
The Hoosiers led by 10 points and had the ball heading into the fourth quarter, despite the fact that Michigan State clearly had figured out how to stop their short passing game on Saturday. So what happened?
Most teams pound the ball when trying to preserve a lead, but Indiana did the opposite. The Hoosiers ran seven plays, all passes, in the final 15 minutes. Indiana gained no first downs and possessed the ball for 1:40 in the fourth quarter. Its final two drives lasted 20 seconds and 36 seconds. The quick possessions gave Michigan State the opportunity to come back and steal a 31-27 win.
Now, I realize that Indiana runs a fast-paced, no-huddle offense, and the team is set up to throw the ball. But when you’re that close to being able to putting a game out of reach, you’ve got to be able to trust your running game a little. Stephen Houston appears to be a decent back. Even if he gains nothing, time runs off the clock.
If Wilson wants to see how to put a game away, he can punish himself and watch Michigan State’s final drive. After Indiana’s Cameron Coffman threw three straight clock-stopping incompletions, Michigan State got the ball back with 5:59 remaining. Le’Veon Bell then ran 10 times for 31 yards on Michigan State’s final possession. The last play was a 2-yard gain on a fourth-and-1 from the Indiana 9-yard line in the final minute.
Drive summary: 11 plays, 58 yards, five minutes, 59 seconds.
Game over.
Bell finished with 37 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn’t spectacular, but he allowed Michigan State to be balanced and gave the Spartans the option to pound the ball when necessary.
So, what to make of all this?
The Hoosiers have offensive weapons. Coffman completed 23 of 30 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. They have capable receivers. The offensive line looks capable of holding up for long enough to allow Indiana to execute its short passing game. The Hoosiers are decent up front on defense, but the secondary is a bit slow and sometimes doesn’t make plays on the ball when it should.
Indiana’s offense makes the Hoosiers good enough to bother Purdue and Wisconsin, but they will only be pests if they can’t establish a running game. The offense let the defense down Saturday because the lack of a running game forced the defense to be on the field for most of the second half. Michigan State had the ball for 21:54 in the second half to 8:06 for Indiana. The Hoosiers threw 48 passes and ran 19 times in a close game. That’s not fair.
The result is, Wilson still doesn’t have a conference victory in his second season and the fans are a bit restless. I say don’t throw him out yet. The defense was much better than the one that gave up 704 yards against Northwestern and the offense, when infused with a dash of imagination, is very effective. If the Hoosiers can actually win a few of these kinds of games, they’ll be able to recruit more defensive speed. There could be a future for football in Bloomington.
For now, they’ll have to settle for being almost there.
Here’s video of Kevin Wilson’s postgame press conference, courtesy of our friends at Inside Indiana.
