Third-down conversions propel football team to 38-21 victory

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — College football games are won and lost on third down.

For the IU football team Saturday, the game was won on third down.

Converting 10 of 12 third downs helped the Hoosiers claim a 38-21 victory at Western Kentucky.

IU senior quarterback Ben Chappell converted time and time again to keep drives going.

Whether he was hitting IU junior wideout Damarlo Belcher on an out route or finding senior receiver Terrance Turner on a slant across the middle, Chappell continuously went through his progressions to find the open man on third down.

Chappell’s favorite target of the day was Belcher, who recorded his first career hundred-yard game. Belcher’s 10 catches and 135 yards both represented career highs.

Chappell’s third-down excellence resulted in a career-high 366 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

On third-down passing plays, Chappell was a perfect 8-for-8 with 119 yards and a touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Tandon Doss.

“It’s a good feeling to have him as your quarterback because he’s in total control offensively,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “I think everybody feeds off of him because they have so much confidence in him.”

A fumble by sophomore running back Darius Willis on the second play from scrimmage set the tone for a running game that struggled throughout the day. With limited holes opening up for Willis and the rest of the IU backs, it was up to the fifth-year senior to keep the IU offense afloat.

Chappell responded.

When the Hoosiers trailed 7-0 and faced a third-and-four in the first quarter, Chappell found Belcher for a 19-yard gain to keep the chains moving.

Facing a third-and-nine at the end of the quarter, Chappell again found the Fort Wayne native for a 21-yard completion.

“It makes me a lot more confident because that’s what I want as a receiver,” Belcher said. “I want him to throw me the ball on that third-and-short. I want to get that first down.”

Fittingly, the drive ended with Belcher hauling in an 11-yard catch and faking out a couple of Western Kentucky defensive backs to get the Hoosiers their first touchdown of the contest.

The IU receivers’ significant size advantage against the Hilltoppers’ defensive backs was evident as early as pregame warmups.

“They have some trees over there, and we have grass,” Western Kentucky coach Willie Taggart said.

The early success of Belcher opened up Chappell’s arsenal of weapons for third-down conversions throughout the game. Turner and freshmen Duwyce Wilson and Ted Bolser each had key third-down conversions to keep the Hoosiers’ drives in progress.

Chappell’s plethora of weapons to go to on third down is a strength Lynch has repeatedly stressed.

“He doesn’t have any favorites,” Lynch said. “I think that’s why our wideouts run so hard because they know if they get open, they got a chance of the ball coming to them.”

Lynch had emphasized improving on the team’s 2-for-10 third-down conversion rate in its season opener against Towson during the 16-day layoff.

“We weren’t as good as we needed to be in the opener,” he said. “That’s something we went back to and worked very hard on.”

Chappell’s performance showed that having a fifth-year guy at quarterback can be advantageous when trailing on the road.

“Game experience from last year has definitely helped and knowing that every game is a long game where you can’t get too high or too low,” Chappell said.

The Hoosiers did not have to face that problem Saturday. A 2-0 start was the goal coming in, and that is precisely what the team will take back to Bloomington.

“I think we have a maturity about this football team,” Lynch said. “That’s kind of the makeup of this team.”