Hoosiers fail to adapt in must-win game

EVANSTON, Ill. – Evolution was at work on a nippy afternoon at Northwestern.
As both the Hoosiers and the Wildcats fought for their seasons’ lives, adapting to changes was the difference between ecstatic victory and heart-wrenching defeat.

When senior cornerback Ray Fisher dashed to the end zone for a 93-yard kickoff return to put IU up 28-3 with less than eight minutes to go in the first half, it looked like the Hoosiers were the far superior team.

They weren’t.

Northwestern, following its most basic survival instincts, acclimated to the conditions. The Wildcats responded to the Fisher return with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that proved to be the beginning of the end for IU.

Going into the half, with their initial 25-point lead down to 11, the Hoosiers decided not to adapt.

“As a defense, we didn’t need to make many adjustments,” senior linebacker Matt Mayberry said. “We were playing them pretty well in the first half, so we didn’t really need to make any adjustments.”

Little did they know that Northwestern, living and dying by quick passes to the sidelines, made some lethal changes. With IU exposing the middle of the field, the Wildcats attacked with slants and draws, slicing the Hoosier defense in its heart.

Still, despite the signs of impending doom, the defense managed to force turnovers. But when the offense got the ball, the lack of adjustment was even more evident.
After the first of three

interceptions from Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka, the Hoosiers offense faced a third and one on their own 27. Rather than giving it to a bruiser or letting junior quarterback Ben Chappell sneak forward, the Hoosiers ran an option with junior wide receiver Mitchell Evans. 

The result was a loss of three yards and a punt.

With a fourth and goal from the one-yard line two possessions later, the Hoosiers went back to Evans under center, this time with the intention to throw. The play broke down, however, and Evans was stopped short by his own lineman.

“It’s one of those plays, on the one-yard line on fourth down, we really thought a touchdown was what we needed,” IU coach Bill Lynch said of the play. “I sensed that was a game that was going to take some points.”

There’s no doubt going for six was the right move, but with at least three backs completely capable of pounding out a yard, and a quarterback who had already sneaked one in from the same distance, hindsight shows a game-clinching chance blown away by a cutesy play call.

As they continued to simultaneously create and destroy chances to clinch the game, the Hoosiers, who once looked at the scoreboard in glee, now watched in horror.

However, the clock pasted on that same scoreboard didn’t seem to affect IU too much. With a slim two-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the Hoosiers abandoned the run, throwing six passes and punting the ball back after only 1:38 of possession time.

The Wildcats, with time and momentum on their side, continued to out-perform, out-will and out-coach the Hoosiers. As they took over with about seven minutes remaining after yet another turnover on downs, it was officially the Wildcats’ game to lose. 

And, unlike the Hoosiers just hours before, the home team didn’t let it slip away.
With Northwestern’s game-winning field goal through the uprights and a 59-yard attempt from freshman Nick Freeland landing short, the Hoosiers left the field victims of their own decisions. 

IU played this game to win in the first half, but they played   it not to lose in the second. 

It’s a strategy that has brought football programs to their knees for years, and for the umpteenth time in IU lore, barring a series of groundbreaking upsets, it’s a strategy that has crippled the Hoosiers’ postseason hopes. 

The Wildcats proved they are the fittest, and because of their ability to adapt, they will survive another week in the always-unforgiving Big Ten season.
The Hoosiers meanwhile, are on the verge of extinction.