There aren’t many scenarios in which IU goes on the road to a power-five conference team and is billed as a daunting opponent, but somehow, the storyline out of Winston-Salem was that IU would “run roughshod” over Wake Forest.
The truth is, two historically bad programs met up in BB&T stadium. The difference? IU is a program on the rise.
Allow me to explain.
No, the Hoosiers weren’t commanding.
Yes, they let Wake Forest back into the game in garbage time, allowed the Demon Deacons to recover an onside kick that could have led to the tying score, and toyed with fans emotions until the last minute, literally.
But IU football won when it needed to, a feat accomplished sparingly in the last few decades.
The season is one-third of the way complete, and IU has yet to suffer a loss. The Hoosiers are two wins away from bowl eligibility and three away from a winning season.
Were the first four wins unnecessarily close? Absolutely. But the Hoosiers now enter Big Ten play battle-tested and able to hang in — or hang on — with anyone.
Changing the mentality of a losing football team is an onerous task. IU Coach Kevin Wilson has done the heavy-lifting the past four seasons, and now, he’s seeing his efforts pay off.
Though Wilson will continue to fight perceptions throughout this season and likely many more to come, this is an important milestone for the IU football program, the crown jewel of which would be hosting College GameDay in Bloomington or — the understandably ostracized elephant in the room — beating Ohio State.
But, whether or not the Hoosiers can keep up with an elite team, let alone the No. 1 team in the nation, remains to be seen.
Though Wake Forest is a power-five conference team, they weren’t better than any other IU has faced this season.
The Demon Deacons started a true freshman at quarterback in Kendall Hinton who looked lost — completing only 19 of 46 passes — alongside a run game that produced just 99 yards between five rushers.
They have yet to create a turnover on the year.
They also went for a fake punt on 4th-and-15, a play as miserable as it was inexplicable.
A broadcaster from the ACC Network actually called the Hoosier defense “stingy” at one point, an adjective rarely used to describe the unit, even against FCS opponents.
So, setting aside the garbage time comeback effort, IU’s defense was stout — but it should have been.
Credit to the Demon Deacons for putting up a late fight, but that was more IU going concave with penalties and sloppy play than anything.
On the other side of the ball, IU confronted one of the best run defenses in the nation heading into the day, but it quickly unraveled at the hands of junior running back Jordan Howard, who once again was the heart of the Hoosier offense with 33 carries and 168 yards.
The offense also sputtered for the third game in a row, punting on 8 of 14 drives, a concerning trend that will meet a crossroads in the Big Ten’s No. 1 defense and fifth in the FBS in yards allowed.
What next weekend will have for the Hoosiers is anyone’s guess.
But change has come to Bloomington — and boy, does it feel good.
vziege@indiana.edu
