Hoosiers bounce back to beat Falcons

The Hoosiers’ sideline erupted when Bowling Green running back William Houston was stopped on fourth down. The drive had lasted over seven minutes, but it netted the Falcons no points.

After allowing 444 rushing yards and 41 points against Navy last week, IU’s much maligned defense held the Falcons to just three points.

“Last week they were the worst defense who ever played in the history of the universe, if you listened,” IU Coach Kevin Wilson said.

IU (2-1) grounded Bowling Green (2-1) with a score of 42-10 and great offensive and defensive efforts Saturday afternoon.

“We got beat bad,” Bowling Green Coach Dave Clawson said. “We got whipped in every aspect of the game.”

The Hoosiers torched the normally stout Falcons’ defense for 601 total yards.
IU had a balanced attack on the ground. Senior Stephen Houston and sophomore Tevin Coleman combined for 284 yards.

The starter, Coleman, had 129 yards on 19 carries for two touchdowns. His backup, Houston, had an arguably more efficient game with 155 yards on just 13 carries.
Both had big runs. Houston made several big plays, with runs of 60 and 50 yards.
“I ain’t broke the seam for a long time,” Houston said. “I got kind of winded, but with time, I’ll start to get my wind back.”

Not to be outdone, sophomore quarterback Nate Sudfeld was dynamic in his first career start. The California native was 17-26 for 335 yards and three total touchdowns. The Bowling Green coach called him a “stud” after the game.

Sudfeld said they were ready for Bowling Green’s man defense.

“At times it can feel a little disrespectful if you’re trying to man us up,” he said. “We feel like we have play makers. And we proved it today with guys making big catches in tight coverage.”

IU’s wide receiver trio of senior Kofi Hughes and juniors Cody Latimer and Shane Wynn accounted for 252 yards and two touchdowns.

Latimer led the way with six catches for a career high 137 yards and one touchdown.
“We got a great bond as receivers,” Latimer said. “We got a good brotherhood. It doesn’t matter who gets the ball. We’re just going for wins so we can get a championship this year.”

The Falcons recorded their lone touchdown on the special teams unit. With less than five minutes left in the first quarter, IU punter Erich Toth had his punt block by Bowling Green’s Paul Senn.

Senn appeared to take the ball cleanly off Toth’s foot and returned it 56 yards for the touchdown.

Bowling Green then kicked a field goal for the 10-7 lead.

After that, the Hoosiers outscored the Falcons 35-0. Wilson stressed being ready to play but also having fun.

“Let’s go out, and don’t worry about the season. Don’t worry about being a bowl team. We’re about today and this week,” Wilson said of his team’s demeanor. “So we just talked about having some fun and playing hard. No matter what happens, have some fun.”

Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.