There is a 'd' in Indiana

Yup, the IU football team won its first football game. While it really should not be much of a shock, since they did play William and Mary, there were several moments throughout the game that deserve recognition. So, much like the "most likely" awards given out in high school, here are a few given to the team:\nBest move by coach Gerry DiNardo: Last spring, DiNardo moved senior Kris Dielman from offense to defense. Very insightful, considering that Dielman won Big Ten Player of the Week honors yesterday. Dielman had a sack, rushed the quarterback several times, recovered a fumble and had five tackles for a loss. Whoa. No wonder Cam Cameron was fired. Just imagine what the team could have done with him on defense and Antwaan Randle El on offense. Bygones.\nBest Support of a popular belief: Referees are morons. And the ones at the IU game didn't do much to challenge that statement. In the fourth quarter, IU was called for pass interference. Too bad no one told the refs that the pass was supposed to be catchable, not 20 yards out of bounds. And the safeties are supposed to be close to the receiver. Doh!\nMost Dane Fife-like moment: This can also be deemed the biggest bonehead play. Much like Fife fouling Duke's Jay Williams in the final seconds of the Sweet Sixteen game last year, IU's defense decided to rough the kicker, when William and Mary was Fourth and 38. IU was down by a touchdown and could have had great field position. Instead the defense decides to get a penalty, and give William and Mary a fresh start to move the ball down the field. That's probably not the most-used play in the playbook.\nScariest: IU's offense. 263 yards? Total? 50 percent completion on passing for a team that needs to rely heavily on its passing game. That's just not going to cut it in future games. Against William and Mary, it worked, thanks to the defense. Those numbers will probably be okay against Central Michigan as well. But in the Big Ten? No chance.\nNicest Surprise: The IU defense. For a team that just two years ago was called the "Iniana" football team because it had no "d," the defense was shockingly strong. In addition to Dielman, the Jones', Damien and Herana-Daze, created constant pressure on the offense. Damien had caused a fumble, but the earlier-referred-to morons called it back. And let's not forget junior Antonio Watson who saved the game for IU. Watson broke up the final two passes of the game in the endzone, preventing a possible tied game. Go ahead and pat yourselves on the back. You deserve it. Really!\nMost sigh-of-relief worthy: The IU kicking situation. Okay, so sophomore Bryan Robertson missed a field goal attempt in the third quarter. He still made one, and each PAT he attempted was GOOD! Imagine that! And punter Ryan Hamre had a punt that was 45 yards long! Perhaps IU might be able to rely on special teams this year instead of always going for a touchdown because the uprights are 20 yards away from the line of scrimmage. This is just too much.\nMost Sacrificing-the-body moment:\nGranted senior Tommy Jones didn't have the best showing in his second debut as IU's quarterback. We won't remember the three interceptions, or his -0.5 average rush. Well, maybe we will. But he showed he definitely has a knack for blocking. In the third quarter, Jones sacrificed his body to trip up a defender on a reverse play, and helped sophomore receiver Courtney Roby rush for six yards. Way to take one for the team. Now let's talk about the interceptions.\nMost Surreal Moment: Actually it's moments. Because on a few occasions, the team earned enough respect from the crowd to bring it to its feet. Yes, a CROWD! More than once, and most of the time, it was when IU was on defense. AND! There were 33,427 fans in attendance. That's almost 10,000 more than made it to most home games last year. If only the Athletic Department was intelligent enough to make all games free to students, IU could have fans all season. (On a note to fans: A football game lasts FOUR quarters, not two!) But don't let that take away from the huge support the team received Saturday.\nMost soap Opera-like questions: Can IU's offense improve? Can IU's defense continue it's amazing uphill climb towards greatness? Will the athletic department realize that a student section in the endzone is a terrible, horrible, awful idea? Stay tuned to find out. And these are the days of our lives...