A year ago IU had a 25-point second-half lead against Rutgers at home in Memorial Stadium. Chests puffed out, the Hoosiers appeared to be on their way to their first Big Ten win of the season.
Then all hell broke loose.
IU’s special teams unit broke down. Its offense, then led by Nate Sudfeld, became ineffective and turnover-prone. Rutgers’ offense could do no wrong, ended every drive with points and finished IU off with a 26-yard field goal as time expired.
The Scarlet Knights sent the Hoosiers home with a 55-52 Homecoming loss.
The film from that contest isn’t as useful, due to a coaching change for Rutgers, but the majority of Hoosiers who played in that emotional loss are back. However, IU Coach Kevin Wilson stressed this game won’t be about last year’s disappointment.
“We are looking at them this year and us this week, for what it’s worth,” Wilson said. “I mean, it’s not a revenge. There’s no, there’s no — to me, every year, every game, every team, every week’s different.”
IU has yet to beat Rutgers. The two teams have only ever faced off twice. Both matchups have happened since the latter joined the Big Ten, and both ended with Rutgers on top.
This season’s matchup is supposed to be different. IU, 4-4, 2-3 in conference, welcomes a 2-6 Rutgers squad that has dropped each of its five Big Ten matchups thus far. The Scarlet Knights are last in the Big Ten in scoring offense and defense, total offense, rush defense, pass offense, and kickoff coverage. IU sits behind Rutgers in only a few statistical categories.
Even off a win against Maryland that featured a reinvigorated rushing offense and flashes of brilliance on defense, IU Coach Kevin Wilson said he is skeptical.
“We have not been a team that handles success well,” Wilson said. “Going on the road is hard. Winning Big Ten games is hard, and we had some things Saturday that, if we don’t fix and take out of our football, will haunt us. It will be a strong challenge.”
Rutgers enters the game off a bye week and a near-victory against Minnesota, 6-2, 3-2 in conference, in Minneapolis. The Scarlet Knights had a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter before a 28-yard field goal with fewer than 10 seconds left gave the Golden Gophers the victory.
Wilson’s focus on this game is in the trenches. After a few weeks of less-than-stellar play, the Hoosier offensive line was hailed after the win against Maryland for providing the basis for IU’s 400-plus rushing yards. The defensive line is causing more havoc as well and has continued its game-to-game improvement.
“The game is won up front,” Wilson said in a video on iuhoosiers.com. “We can be a spread offense. We can throw it a lot. We can tempo it, and they can do the same thing, but if you can control the line of scrimmage, you have a good chance.”
Wilson is also looking for the IU to get off to a fast start, which it wasn’t able to do in its most recent loss on the road at Northwestern.
If IU’s unable to do so, it puts the team in a hole IU was only able to climb out of against FIU and Michigan State.
“It really is just about execution,” Wilson said in the video. “It would be great to start out executing early. If we do, we have to keep it going. If we do not execute early, we have to find a way to keep it going. We have to take care of the ball, we have to take care of the quarterback, and we have to play 60 minutes on the road.”
