Column: Heartbreak continues for IU

ANN ARBOR, MICH. – This season was supposed to be different.

This was supposed to be the season IU won the close games. The season the program turned around. The season the heartbreaking losses turned into program-changing wins.

Saturday night’s 63-47 loss at No. 24 Michigan showed that it is not.

At least not yet.

Saturday night was another in a laundry list of heartbreakers that had fans thinking maybe, just maybe, the Hoosiers would find a way to pull the upset.

In a game that looked like the first offense to blink in the fourth quarter would lose, Michigan blinked. The Wolverines fumbled a snap at the IU 2-yard-line. Trailing 49-47 with 8:34 to go, it looked like this was the time – this was going to be “The Drive.”

Then Michigan’s Thomas Gordon intercepted IU sophomore quarterback Nate Sudfeld’s pass, and Hoosier Nation released a collective expletive as its dreams were — once again — smashed.

The IU optimist will say it’s impressive that IU had a chance to take the lead — late in the game, no less — on the road with over 100,000 people cheering for the opposition.

But IU has been here before. It’s been in these games.

There’s the 31-27 loss to Michigan State last year. There’s the 52-49 loss to then-No. 8 Ohio State last year. There’s the 18-13 loss to then-No. 15 Iowa in 2010 when fans saw Damarlo Belcher drop the winning touchdown pass in the closing moments of the game. That one still hurts.

And then there’s the last time IU played Michigan before Saturday, the 42-35 loss in 2010 to the No. 19 team in the land when Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson ran away with a packed Memorial Stadium’s hopes of change.

IU has been close. It’s been so, so close so many times. Saturday didn’t show any progress.

“As a senior, it’s really upsetting just because we’ve been close for a long time,” wide receiver Kofi Hughes said. “I’m running out of time. That’s one thing we were saying the whole game, ‘We’re tired of being close. Let’s go guys. Let’s go. Let’s go.’
“To fall short once again, it’s just that same horrible feeling over and over.”

IU still has a chance at making a bowl game. The best part of the season could still be ahead.

But it’s getting frustrating for the players, the fans, the coaches — everyone associated with this program — to watch a team on the cusp of breaking through the “IU football can’t win big games” barrier, fall just short again, and again, and again.

“We really wanted to win this game for the seniors,” Sudfeld said. “That’s why we’re so disappointed. Guys like (senior safety Greg) Heban, Kofi and (senior wide receiver) Duwyce (Wilson) — and it goes down the list — (senior tight end) Ted (Bolser). Those guys really deserve one of these big wins.”

Senior kicker Mitch Ewald became arguably the best IU kicker ever Saturday, becoming the school’s all-time leader in made field goals and also put his first career 50-yard field goal through the uprights. But that wasn’t what was on his mind Saturday. He’s frustrated, he said. He’s tired of being close.

He’s tired of losing these games.

“We want to win so bad, especially with these seniors,” he said. “Us group of seniors, we’ve worked so hard. It’s not cliché. I’m not just saying that. We’ve worked so hard over these past four and a half, five years. We want to win. It’s time to win. We’ve only got so many chances left.”

Very few people were predicting IU to win this game. Right now, it wasn’t a game IU had to win to make a bowl. IU just needs to win its three remaining home games.

But it’s almost worse having the game ripped away — again. It’s a reminder that this team still hasn’t gotten over that final obstacle.

IU still has time. It still has chances to pull off a big upset win against either Ohio State or Wisconsin on the road and leap over that IU football stereotype.

But if IU only manages to stay in those games and has victory intercepted from its hands, then this season is just the same as all the others.

Then nothing has changed.

­— robhowar@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Robby Howard on Twitter @robbyhoward1.