One third of the way there.
Bowl eligibility, the designated benchmark for IU football, is closer at this juncture than it has been since 2012, the last time the Hoosiers were 2-0.
Each win lifts the pressure off the team and eases the tensions of the fan base, many of whom have met the undefeated record — which currently puts the Hoosiers tied atop the Big Ten standings — with levity and cautious optimism.
It hasn’t been pretty, but so far IU has done what it had to to win.
However, lose now and the outlook is bleak. The nonconference schedule is comprised of winnable games — the most decisive of which comes Saturday against Western Kentucky.
If IU can manage to pull out a win, it will be a turning point in the 2015 season.
The Hilltoppers pose the biggest threat to the Hoosiers in the nonconference play, pitting WKU quarterback Brandon Doughty, the nation’s leading passer in 2014, against one of the worst secondaries in the Big Ten.
In other words: a matchup nightmare.
Doughty hasn’t sparked national acclaim because he plays for a mid-major, but analysts project the sixth-year senior as a mid-round NFL draft pick.
IU Coach Kevin Wilson went as far as to call Doughty one of the premier quarterbacks in the country, a Heisman hopeful who will look to catapult his résumé into contention with another win against a power-conference team.
It’s a tall order to ask IU quarterback Nate Sudfeld to outperform a quarterback who threw for 4,830 yards in 2014 — just 59 yards shy of Sudfeld’s career total.
But Sudfeld has a weapon in the backfield that Doughty lacks: junior running back Jordan Howard.
Leon Allen, a 1500-yard rusher for the Hilltoppers in 2014, suffered a season-ending knee injury in WKU’s victory against Louisiana Tech last weekend.
The loss puts even more weight on Doughty, who will likely require a Heisman-caliber performance for Western Kentucky to orchestrate a win in Memorial Stadium.
And against an IU defense that gave up a combined 19 explosive plays — passes of more than 15 yards and runs of more than 12 yards — to Southern Illinois and Florida International, he might just manage to have one.
The Hoosiers won’t be able to stop Doughty on every play or even every drive.
Much like last weekend, it will be their ability to rebound after blown coverages and missed tackles that will keep the IU competitive in what all signs point to be an offensive shootout.
Above all else, the Hoosiers have to remain consistent, a task that has proven hard for them in previous bowl campaigns.
When the Hoosier’s first six drives against FIU — five of which crossed midfield — ended in just 13 points, the game felt all too familiar to some of their other erratic performances. It was epitomized last season in a 22-point home loss to Maryland a week after IU took down the No. 18 team in the country, and in 2013, when a Tevin Coleman fumble cost IU the game against Minnesota and a postseason bid.
One game can mean the difference between hanging up the cleats in November and putting on the bowling shoes in December — and this matchup with Western Kentucky is one of them.
If the Hoosiers can play up to their full potential and put together a cohesive effort, we’ll be singing the chorus to “Livin’ on a Prayer” on Saturday night.
vziege@indiana.edu
