Take your pick. The third down with 11 yards to go that Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard converted for 12 yards to receiver Matt VandeBerg, the third down and 10 completed to Henry Krieger-Coble or the third-and-nine pass to Jacob Hillyer that moved the chains.
IU consistently put Iowa in difficult situations that could have taken the Hawkeye offense off the field, but the Hoosiers continued to let them off the hook.
Now, compare that to IU bringing the score to 21-20 in the fourth quarter, and the trend continues. No matter how close or how many chances IU had, the result was a 35-27 loss to No. 9 Iowa that dropped the Hoosiers to 4-5 (0-5) on the season.
“I’ve got to ask them to keep finding a bit more and dig a little bit more,” IU Coach Kevin Wilson said.
Wilson described the third-and-long woes as an Achilles’ heel for the Hoosiers this season. Iowa converted on 7-of-14 third down attempts. Michigan State converted 5-of-11 two weeks ago.
Senior linebacker Zack Shaw and junior linebacker Marcus Oliver both said those plays start with getting more pressure up front. Shaw said they need to force the quarterback to get quicker passes off.
Oliver said if the passes are quicker, they tend to be lower, so the defense needs to get its hands up to knock down those low passes.
On top of that, the first defender’s job is to wrap up, Shaw said. Then the next guy needs to finish the tackle.
“I didn’t really see that today,” Shaw said.
All of the allowed third down conversions, and all of those close Big Ten games that have gone the other way, come down to making the plays when they are right there, Oliver said. The line is always to focus on the next play and somebody needs to step up and make the play.
When asked what it takes for the Hoosiers to make the jump and actually finish those plays, as well as close games, Oliver said it really comes down to mindset.
The team has proven it can play with the cream of the crop like Ohio State and Michigan State, but it can’t finish. Oliver said he tells his teammates the difference is those teams don’t ever go into games expecting to lose.
“I think we need to start getting that mindset where we are not going to lose, and we know we’re not going to lose,” he said.
Now Wilson said he looks to his leaders. He said seniors like Shaw and others on a long list all provide unbelievable energy. He described the team as maybe a little disappointed and frustrated but still confident.
The Hoosiers will have their final home game of the season when they play a Michigan team that just defeated Rutgers 49-16. Without a Big Ten victory with only three games to go, Wilson said they are getting close.
“I just think we’re right there knocking on it,” Wilson said. “My thing is you just gotta keep knocking and knocking and knocking until you get through it.”
