Upset bid falls through IU's hands, 18-13

The lone difference of what Saturday could have been for the IU football team fell haphazardly to the turf, just out of the grasp of wide receiver Damarlo Belcher.

It could have ended a two-game losing streak.

It could have been their first conference win of the season.

It could have put them one step closer to the oh-so-elusive bowl berth.

And maybe, perhaps most importantly to those within the IU program, it could have quieted growing questions about the future of Bill Lynch as the Hoosiers' head coach.

The Hoosiers (4-5, 0-5) dropped, in every sense of the phrase, a stunning heartbreaker to No. 15 Iowa (7-2, 4-1) Saturday 18-13 at Memorial Stadium. A sure-fire touchdown pass -- the aforementioned 'it' - to Belcher fell through his hands with 28 seconds left.

The play - a fourth-and-10 from the Iowa 18 yard line with 35 seconds to play - developed with IU senior quarterback Ben Chappell dropping straight back in the pocket. As the Iowa defense closed in, Chappell targeted a suddenly open Belcher as he streaked over the middle.

Belcher jumped for the perfectly-thrown pass, appearing to snare it right under his jersey numbers - inciting a thunderous roar from the home crowd thirsty for a conference victory.

Even the IU bench, with a partially blocked view as Belcher tumbled to the end zone turf facing the Iowa sideline, erupted at the perceived catch.

Quickly, the referees were waving their arms side-to-side, indicating an incomplete pass - an excruciating way to dishearten the home faithful.

"That was definitely rough," IU senior safety Mitchell Evans said. "I just saw everyone jumping up and down, and I stopped looking when it hit his hands. I guess that's the way it goes, that's football. … I am disappointed that it had to end that way."

Meanwhile, the Iowa contingent themselves roared after securing their seventh win of 2010.

The play was reviewed by the officials but stood - leaving Belcher a catch shy of potentially winning the final home game for IU's 13 graduating players.

Belcher finished with an otherwise average day per his season standards, leading the team with 50 yards receiving on seven catches. Fellow junior wide out Tandon Doss - who left the game with an injury in the fourth quarter - also had seven grabs.

"I'm sure that (Belcher) is pretty beat up, but he needs to forget about it," Evans said. "He had so many other great plays in the game."

Aside from the last-minute theatrics, the game looked and felt like several of IU's recent contests against the Hawkeyes. The teams have split the last 10 meetings against one another before Saturday's Iowa win.

Last season, the upset-minded Hoosiers travelled to Iowa City and held a lead entering the fourth quarter, before mistakes and turnovers allowed the then-No. 7 Hawkeyes to rattle off 28-straight points in the final 13:03 of the game.

Iowa won 42-24.

The Hoosiers entered the fourth quarter of Saturday's game in the same position, leading the Hawkeyes 13-9 with the final 15 minutes on deck.

IU had gained the lead with the leg of redshirt freshman kicker Mitch Ewald. Booting two field goals - 37 yards and 28 yards, respectively - Ewald was IU's only scoring player in the first half.

The Hoosiers finally found the end zone after a drive that nearly closed the third quarter culminated in Chappell rushing behind junior center Will Matte for the game's first touchdown.

The Hoosiers were able to take that lead after holding the Hawkeyes to one field goal in each of the first three quarters - each on trips to the red zone. All three, in fact, saw the Hawkeyes make it inside the IU 10-yard line.

Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi, however, found space in the passing game in the fourth quarter trailing 13-12. After two straight first down passes were completed to Iowa wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Stanzi hit receiver Marvin McNutt on a deep route over the middle for a 52-yard touchdown.

A two-point conversation attempt by the Hawkeyes failed, though it would prove not to matter.

In the first half, with the game tied, Lynch had several of his more animated moments of the season after he felt his club was both being penalized unjustly while the favor wasn't being returned to Iowa. After several plays, Lynch emphatically berated the officials.

Finally, when Iowa was called for holding, he raised his arms in triumph - drawing the home crowd to its feet.

"Yeah, I wanted to win," Lynch said afterward. "The kids deserve for me to be fighting for them, and that's what we did. We just came up a little short."

During that same press conference, Lynch seemed to arrive more emotional than previous games - the strain of both the tight game and its ramifications toward his future possibly to blame.

In less than six minutes, his talk with the gathered media was one of his shortest of the season. It was also one where he was very much to the point on every question.

"(It's) very difficult because they care, and that's what this is all about," Lynch said about the loss emotionally for him and his team. "The investment that these kids put into this football program. ... I can't say enough for them because they never give up on themselves, and they just keep battling."

Lynch and his Hoosiers now face a schedule with just three games left and the necessity to win two for postseason eligibility. Their next test comes Saturday at No. 9 Wisconsin.

"When you know our kids, the message never changes," Lynch said. "They're going to battle no matter what happens. They'll come back, go to work on Monday and get ready for the next one."