Column: IU defense shows some grit in ugly win

The game was over. And yet, IU didn’t seem to want it to end.

With less than two minutes remaining, the Hoosiers had a nine-point lead and the ball, facing a third-and-one.

Suddenly, the game wasn’t over.

Senior running back Trea Burgess, who finally got his opportunity to be the featured back with Darius Willis out, fumbled for the second time in a matter of minutes. Burgess forced his defensive teammates to run back onto the field when they should have been preparing to celebrate their fourth win of the season.

The Hoosiers (4-2, 0-2) got the win, but they got it in the ugliest possible way. Arkansas State came within a Bobby Zalud 41-yard field goal of pulling the upset and ruining the Hoosiers’ Homecoming celebration.

To be fair, though, an ugly win is infinitely better than an ugly loss, and IU has suffered plenty of those through the years. (Remember the Michigan game two weeks ago?)

Regardless of what the stat sheet says — I can’t believe I’m saying this — the game was won, in large part, by the defense. For the first time all season, the defense picked up the offense and bought Ben Chappell and his crew time to find its rhythm against Arkansas State’s man coverage.

The Hoosiers saw their first five drives stall without a touchdown. Three of those possessions resulted in Chris Hagerup punts. The other two resulted in Mitch Ewald field goals, which were set up by two Mitchell Evans interceptions.

Later in the game, the defense stepped up again (still sounds funny, doesn’t it?). After a long kickoff return by Arkansas State, the Red Wolves decided to reach deep into their playbook for a double-reverse pass.

A score would have cut the lead to two with ample time left. But defensive end Terrance Thomas received remarkable penetration and not only forced, but also recovered, a fumble.

Every time the defense was put in a difficult situation and needed to make a big play, it did. For once, this unit showed it had a backbone.

“We knew it was just a matter of time before our offense got going,” Evans said. “The defense came together and proved that we can step up when we need to, and it’s not just an offensive team. We were put in some pretty tough situations, and I liked how we responded.”

It wasn’t all positive for the Hoosiers on Saturday, but this was a huge victory for an IU team coming off back-to-back tough losses.

Most of the problem areas for IU against Arkansas State were areas in which the Hoosiers have been solid all season.

They couldn’t cover a kickoff, giving up two returns of at least 62 yards. It’s always bad when your kicker is forced to make more than one tackle in a game.

They committed eight penalties for 80 yards, something that certainly cannot be repeated against a Big Ten opponent.

They turned the ball over two times in the fourth quarter when they were trying to put the game away.

Prior to Saturday’s game, the Hoosiers had lost only one fumble on the season.

Those things can all be corrected. IU has proven in the past that it can perform in
those areas.

What’s important to take from this game, though, is that the Hoosiers’ defense, which had been eaten alive all season, finally showed an attitude, an unwillingness to let another team walk all over it.

The unit proved that IU can win a game without the offense scoring on every possession.

“We’re a team, man, and we’ve just got to get it all clicking together. They’ve been backing us up for the longest time,” Thomas said about the offense, “and it took them a little bit longer to get going. Today, we just had to have their back and
we did.”

Despite the offense’s struggles, Chappell was glad to get the win.

“A win is a win is a win,” Chappell said. “Obviously there are some things we need to improve on, but it’s always good to get a win.”

And what a big win it was because it was a game IU simply couldn’t afford to lose.

E-mail: jmalbers@indiana.edu