There are special moments in sports you cherish. You remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you witnessed it. \nThanks to Austin Starr’s 49-yard field goal in the closing seconds, I’ll always remember watching Terry Hoeppner’s dream come true. \nThe sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium witnessed a true fairy-tale ending Saturday. After IU stormed to a 24-3 lead, Purdue tied the game up late in the fourth quarter. But all they were really doing was adding suspense to what will now be known in Indiana as “The Kick.” \n“Right after I kicked it, I looked up at the sky, and I immediately thought of (Coach Hep),” Starr said. “If you think about what’s happened to us and how our season’s been going, there was no way we were going to lose that game. That’s just not how fairy-tale seasons end.” \nThe Writers Guild of America couldn’t have come up with a better ending. Driving to the game Saturday, I had a feeling. At first, that feeling was rage, because it took me an hour to drive three blocks to the stadium. But the rage soon subsided and was replaced by awe and amazement. \nBill Lynch called it a “real college football atmosphere.” He could have easily titled it the best college football atmosphere in Bloomington in decades. The parking lots and tailgating fields were clustered with fans, trailers, corn hole games, kegs and more. There were so many “IU” and “Purdue” flags that a real-life game of Risk seemed to be playing out between the two schools. \nThe energy inside the stadium trumped the action outside of it. It was like Midnight Madness and the Rose Bowl rolled into one afternoon. \nAnd when the Hoosiers got off to a mind-boggling 21-point lead, you could sense the celebration about to break out. It was like the ball at New Year’s was dropping, except everybody in Times Square started to count down with 90 minutes left. \nThe celebration was premature. The Hoosiers blew the lead, and Purdue came back late in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 24. \nBut IU’s Starr wasn’t about to let them lose the game. After missing a shorter field goal earlier in the quarter, Starr lined up a 49-yard field goal for the season. \nThe rest is history. Starr split the uprights, extending his record for field goals in a season, which he set earlier that night. Once the party on the field culminated, the players gathered in IU’s locker room, where Jane Hoeppner dotted the Old Oaken Bucket with a Hoosier “I,” a symbolic gesture that even the most loyal Boilermaker \nwould appreciate. \nHuddled in an intimate press conference late Saturday night, Hoeppner spoke emotionally about the team and her late husband. When asked what Coach Hep would say after tonight’s game, Hoeppner replied, “We did it. We did it.” \nIU’s biggest supporter pledged her own support for Lynch to be retained as the head coach for next season.\n“They did this for Coach (Hep),” she said. “But they also did this for Coach Lynch.” \nYes, Coach Hep wasn’t the only one to have his dream come true Saturday. The Hoosiers most likely did something that hasn’t been done in 14 years – something a lot of people probably thought wouldn’t even happen for another 14 years. \nBut it did happen, in remarkable fashion. After making the biggest kick in school history, there was only one thing left for Starr and the Hoosiers to do after Saturday night’s win. \n“I don’t know where the party’s at, its probably all over campus, but I’m not going to go to sleep tonight,” \nStarr said. \nWho could blame him? Why go to sleep when you’ve already lived your dream?
Prediction: IU 40, Purdue 37\nActual: IU 27, Purdue 24
