Hoosiers battle back for win

With about 10:00 left in the third quarter, things were not looking good for the Hoosiers. Already trailing 29-13 to Central Michigan, the Chippewas picked off senior Gibran Hamdan's pass and had the ball on the IU 15 yard-line. Central Michigan looked as if they would extend their lead. \nBut on their second play of that drive, senior Jeremy Belcher forced a fumble from CMU running back Robbie Mixon, and senior defensive lineman Kris Dielman recovered for IU.\nWhat could have been a 20 point Central Michigan lead was trimmed down to six as the Hoosiers marched down 88 yards in 8 plays for the score. At the four-yard line Hamdan dropped back to pass, then scrambled into the end zone for the score. The score was the start of a comeback that would eventually give the Hoosiers a 39-29 win.\n"Nothing looked good, and they had been blitzing on third down," Hamdan said. "I got through there luckily. I'm sure I'll get a call from Antwaan (Randle-El) saying 'I had a stopwatch on you, and it took you eight minutes to get to the end zone."\nHamdan was 14 of 23 for 290 yards with one passing and the one rushing touchdown. He also had one interception and one fumble.\nOn the ensuing kick-off, CMU's Mixon made another error. He received the kick-off in the end zone, stepped out, then stepped back in and knelt down. The play resulted in a safety for IU and cut the lead to four.\n"Them giving us points is nice," Dielman said. "The ball rolled our way for a change, and we took advantage of it. Our defense stepped it up in the second half and pretty much held them to nothing."\nFrom there, the defense was relentless by not allowing another Chippewa point while the Hoosier offense scored two touchdowns by freshman Yamar Washington. Washington rushed for 129 yards on 26 carries and three touchdowns on the day. This was the second week that Washington has gone over 100 yards.\n"I think it was hard work from the running backs and the offensive line combined," Washington said. "We emphasized running the ball, and pound it in there, pound it in there. When we do that, their defense is going to get tired."\nWashington said the key for the offense going into the game was red-zone efficiency. Last week against Kentucky, the Hoosiers were one of four. This week, IU was a perfect three of three. Central Michigan came out in the first half and confused the Hoosier defense with a no-huddle offense. The Chippewa offense was able to wear down the defense.\n"They did a great job of running their offense and changing their personnel," said defensive coordinator Tim Kish. "We tried to match up with our base personnel, and it wasn't that easy for us to get that done. That is a tempo offense. No excuses. We practiced against it, but it's hard to simulate."\nCentral Michigan got on the board first with a 12-play drive that only lasted 4:07. IU came right back on the next play from scrimmage when Hamdan found sophomore wide receiver Courtney Roby for a 76-yard touchdown pass. Roby finished the day with four catches for 153 yards and the touchdown.\nCentral Michigan scored another touchdown before IU got a field goal and Washington's first touchdown to take a 16-14 lead in the second quarter. \nThe Chippewas rolled off two more touchdowns before the half and led 26-16 at the break. CMU got a field goal on their opening possession of the second half to take a 29-16 lead. That proved to be their last score.\nCoach Gerry DiNardo said the key was the adjustments that the coaching staff made at halftime after a late turnover gave Central Michigan momentum.\n"There wasn't any panic," DiNardo said. "Putting together a plan doesn't do you any good unless the team plays as hard as it played. This team deserves incredible credit for how hard they played in the second half."\nJunior Brian Lewis also was a big factor in the rushing game. He split time with Washington in his first game back from an injury he sustained during the William and Mary game. "I made some mistakes. I was a little rusty," Lewis said. "It all works out for the best. The rotating allows us to be fresh. It gives us a breather when one of us is sitting on the sideline. I think both of us had a pretty decent game."\nWith the win, IU is now 2-2. It is the first time since 1998 that the Hoosiers will head into the Big Ten season with at least a .500 record.\n"The win was extremely important," Hamdan said. "It gives us a 2-2 record. We're even. Now we just have to go in and play real well in the Big Ten. It was extremely important for us today"