It happened again. And it’s baffling.
A team that can compete but can’t finish.
A home fanbase that was vocally edged out by Iowa — who traveled six hours to get to Memorial Stadium — to give the Hawkeyes rare home field advantage in a Big Ten road game.
A conference No. 1 passing offense limited to just 180 yards by a team whose one point of weakness heading into the matchup seemed to be its secondary.
With a top-10, undefeated team on the ropes for the third time this season, IU has been consistent in its losses, but the way those fourth-quarter deficits come to fruition aren’t as easy to understand.
IU Coach Kevin Wilson tried something different. He played more conservatively, punting twice from midfield. He tried to control the time of possession by rushing early before falling behind late.
“My thing is you just need to keep knocking and knocking and knocking until you get through it,” Wilson said.
IU doesn’t have a problem with knocking from game to game. What it does have a problem with is knocking from quarter to quarter. The stamina tapers off in fourth quarter, with the Hoosiers’ being outscored 84-20 in that span in conference play.
It’s easy to say the teams IU faced were just better. That’s a blatant untruth. IU has the talent to win — just look at Jordan Howard.
The junior running back rushed for 174 and two touchdowns on the No. 5 rush defense, the most by any rusher against the Hawkeyes this season.
No, it’s not talent. It’s the execution that’s lacking, as it has been all season.
Mistakes in the game could and should have been controlled: dropped passes, missed tackles and two memorable third down conversions for Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard when the IU defense should have had the stop. One was a 3rd-and-6 on the Iowa 9 that led to a 95-yard, six-minute touchdown drive. The other was a 3rd-and-11 that put the Hawkeyes up eight with 10 minutes remaining.
I’m tired of knocking. Senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld said he is, too.
“Obviously we’ve been competitive all season against the best teams in the nation, but I’m tired of being competitive,” he said. “We’re good enough. I know I’m a good enough player to win these games, and I know we have good enough players to outplay the guys we’re playing against.”
With red-hot Michigan — a team much better than even its 7-2 record would indicate — looking to put the stranglehold on IU next weekend, it’s looking more and more like IU will need back-to-back Big Ten road games to make it to a bowl-clinching six wins.
The last time the Hoosiers managed that feat? 1993. But Sudfeld said he doesn’t feel any pressure to pick up those two wins.
“It’s Indiana, no one really expects much of us,” he said.
Here, too, is another blatant untruth.
I expect more, and I don’t think I’m alone in that expectation. Hoosier nation believes their football team can win close games against the Big Ten’s elite.
It’s time for IU to deliver.
