Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

sports football

Column: The little things that let IU beat Mizzou

Senior Tim Bennett defends a pass during IU's game against Missouri on Saturday in Columbia, Mo. The Hoosiers defeated the Tigers 31-27.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — It was all about the little things that were different.

It was all about getting an interception in the first play of the second half when last week, the defense came out flat after the half.

It was all about making a stop after IU missed a field goal and then gave up a fourth-down conversion on a fake punt.

It was all about settling down and holding the Tigers to a field goal when they marched to the IU 17-yard line late in the game.

It was all about finishing a 75-yard drive at the end of the game to upset No. 18 Missouri in Columbia, Mo.

These little changes were what made the difference in a monumental win for IU. It was crucial for a program that had neither beaten a ranked team since 2006 nor won a road game in nearly two years.

Two birds, one stone, eh?

These moments were such important improvements for a team that just needed to mature enough to make that next step.

The Hoosiers did not get taken with the current that is momentum when things went well for Missouri. They had enough to finally finish a tight game.

I don’t let myself buy into what this means for a program that has been bad for so long.

I don’t think that changes how a team plays football in the slightest when they are out there on that field.

This matters for the guys in the locker room and for the fans, because this team stepped up and finished when, recently, it could not.

This matters for those who watched this team lose in the final seconds last week against Bowling Green.

This win is such a big step because of the tight games the Hoosiers gave away last season against Navy, Michigan and Minnesota.

I wrote last week after the Bowling Green game that the Hoosiers will either let the loss define them or they will define it by how they play for the rest of the season.

They defined it.

The Hoosiers lost their star running back, junior Tevin Coleman, for the second quarter with no assurance he would be returning.

They stayed in the game and went into the half tied. Backup running backs, senior D’Angelo Roberts and freshman Devine Redding, did their jobs and there was not any evident drop-off in the run game.

IU likely would not have been able to win this game without Coleman coming back after halftime, but it means something that they stayed in it without his presence, right?

I understand this win could be an isolated incident, and IU could fall hard back into reality with a home loss to Maryland next week. It is just so impressive the Hoosiers showed signs of being ready to win.

IU Coach Kevin Wilson has not had great success so far, but he has been steadily building a culture and constructing the type of football team he wants to put out on that field.

These teams have slowly become more talented and put themselves in games. Maybe now IU has mentally grown enough to be a ?winning team.

After the game, Wilson said “We ain’t got nothing figured out. We’re the same bunch of bums that played last week. That’s the same bunch of bums this week. We’ll see how we show up next week.”

Yeah, it’s a rough way of saying things, but the message is on point. The group of guys IU puts out there Saturdays isn’t changing. They did not just suddenly become a different squad.

The Hoosiers are still trying to figure things out, and this is no finished product.

What matters is how these guys go out there mentally for each down and whether or not they have it in them to finish games.

It is not the win itself that matters so much for the IU football program.

It is the little things the Hoosiers showed in this game that make the future in Bloomington a little more optimistic.

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe