Turnovers fuel IU’s comeback, demise against Virginia

In a game where momentum ebbed and flowed with the turnover battle, IU’s turnover-fueled comeback in the second half was effectively negated by a turnover of its own.

Sophomore quarterback Edward Wright-Baker fumbled with 1:13 remaining in a tie game on IU’s own 14 yard line.

It set up Virginia’s game-winning field goal and canceled out a 28-point second half rally by the Hoosiers.

However, had it not been for turnovers forced by the Hoosier defense, the game would likely not have been that close to begin with.

“It was a lot of momentum swings,” sophomore cornerback Lawrence Barnett said. “When we made turnovers, the offense came out and made plays.”

With IU still trailing by 13 points late in the third quarter, Virginia fumbled the ball on a punt return, allowing sophomore wide receiver Kofi Hughes to recover the ball and give the Hoosiers a short field. IU scored 73 seconds later.

During Virginia’s next drive, the Cavaliers’ march downfield was cut short when Virginia running back Perry Jones fumbled after a hit from senior strong safety
Jarrell Drane.

Barnett picked up the ball and ran back untouched for a touchdown that gave the IU its first lead of the game.

“I just went in there and hit him,” Drane said. “The ball was on the wrong side, I think. I hit him, and I saw the ball come out. I tried to pick it up, but I saw Lawrence picked it up before I did.”

Drane said senior free safety Chris Adkins had been in a similar situation earlier in the game and had tipped Drane off to the Virginia offense’s blocking tendencies.

“Give the credit to Chris Adkins,” Drane said. “He told me earlier that he was in the same situation. He was able to shoot that gap, and nobody blocked him. I was down in that same situation, and I shot the gap. Nobody blocked me. I hit him, and he fumbled.”

Sophomore cornerback Greg Heban, who picked off the Cavaliers’ first play from scrimmage in the first quarter, helped the IU defense end a third consecutive Virginia possession with a turnover when he intercepted quarterback Michael Rocco’s pass at the Indiana 24-yard-line.

“Watching all the film and everything slowed the game down a little bit,” Heban said. “I was able to understand the receiver’s route, the quarterback drops and everything. It was just right place, right time, I guess.

“The momentum shifts so much during the game. Once Lawrence got that fumble recovery, I feel like the momentum shifts straight to our side. We were rolling.”

Once again, the IU offense capitalized on the turnover with a score to take a 31-23 lead that ultimately did not hold up.

Wright-Baker credited the defense with giving the offense momentum to begin their drives.

“It energized us a lot,” Wright-Baker said. “It pumped us up. It gives us a chance to score.”

Beyond simply energizing the offense, Barnett said he thinks the turnovers affected another party as well and hopes they will continue to do so this season.

“I just think that the plays we made energized the crowd, and the crowd stuck there with us,” Barnett said. “Every home game, every away game, we need a good crowd. The crowd stuck in there with us even though we were down 23-3. The crowd stuck in and they helped us come back.”