Northwestern redshirt junior kicker Henry Helms lined up to kick the ball, turned to the side of the tee.
Normally, it would be sitting upright. The kicker would have a longer run-up. Both teams would be scattered much farther apart across the field.
But this wasn’t any ordinary kick. It was an onside kick. With the game on the line. Less than a minute remained in a one-possession game.
Helms lined up and booted the ball with backspin that sent it upright into the air, right above the Indiana players’ heads.
As gravity pushed the ball back down to the ground, both teams dove at each other, hoping to grab it.
Chaos ensued.
Indiana’s special teams couldn’t secure the ball. But neither could Northwestern’s. The ball was bouncing between players. It was an all-out war to see who could control possession.
Eventually, the refs blew their whistles. Who had the ball?
That answer was solved quickly.
Indiana redshirt senior linebacker Isaiah Jones popped up from the Memorial Stadium turf despite two Wildcat defenders being on top of him, with two arms surrounding the brown, oval-shaped object with eight stitched laces on it.
The Hoosier fans celebrated with frantic cheers and sighs of relief. Jones must have had a similar feeling; he tossed the ball to the referee closest to him, putting his head down as he ran to his sideline, with no celebration in sight, despite clinching the victory for Indiana.
The scramble for the onside kick represented the Cream and Crimson's night.
It was ugly. There were plenty of missed opportunities. But it’s better to win ugly than lose altogether. In Indiana’s case, a 29-23 victory against Northwestern will suffice.
As famous boxer Mike Tyson once said, “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
For the first time this season, Indiana football felt what Tyson said. It felt like the Hoosiers got punched in the mouth continuously throughout the contest. But, like a good boxer, they came out on top, even if it wasn’t deserved.
Adversity — whether it was good, bad or downright ugly — was something last year’s national championship-winning group faced and powered through.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti praised his team's resilience postgame. However, he knows flaws were exposed — ones that need to be cleaned up quickly.
“We got a lot of improvement to make,” Cignetti said. “Bottom line is that we found a way to get it done. You can lose those games very, very easily ... we dominated statistically, but the score was tight.”
At the end of the first quarter, Indiana had 144 total yards compared to Northwestern’s one. Yet the Hoosiers only led 2-0.
Overall, the Hoosiers finished with 472 total yards. That said, they should have had plenty more.
In the redzone, Indiana's shortcomings were exemplified.
During the first drive of the game, the Hoosiers ran 15 plays, gaining 67 yards. On a fourth-and-goal from the Wildcats’ 1-yard line, Indiana went for it. But junior running back Turbo Richard was stuffed by the Northwestern interior defense, forcing the Hoosiers to turn the ball over on downs.
In the third quarter, the Hoosiers drove 90 yards down the field. Yet they failed to capitalize.
Redshirt senior running back Lee Beebe Jr. was bottled up twice on first and second down. Then, on third-and-goal from the Northwestern 4-yard line, redshirt senior quarterback Josh Hoover’s pass to junior wide receiver Charlie Becker was broken up in the far corner of the endzone.
Indiana had to settle for a field goal, making it 15-7.
You can’t leave points on the board, especially in conference play.
The Hoosiers nearly got burned for it, as Northwestern marched down the field on the ensuing possession and scored but failed to get the two-point conversion that would have tied the contest.
On the next possession, the Hoosiers faced a third-and-19 from their own 16-yard line. Indiana ran a dump-off to Beebe, who was pulled down due to a facemask. The drive stayed alive, and Indiana made Northwestern pay with a rushing touchdown minutes later.
Football is a game of momentum. Like his coach, Hoover said his team showed a “lot of grit,” but knows the Hoosiers must make improvements and capitalize on scoring opportunities.
“We left 14 points out there, at least on two plays,” Hoover said. “It happens sometimes ... We’ll clean those up and have an explosive offense. We weren’t very good in the redzone.”
The offense picked it up in the second half. The running game led the way, tallying 150 yards in the third and fourth quarters.
Indiana’s defense hadn’t allowed a point in 11 straight quarters, tied for the longest streak by any team this decade, according to ESPN Insights. Northwestern senior quarterback Aidan Chiles broke that streak with a 4-yard passing touchdown in the third quarter and continued to gash a Hoosiers defense that stifled him in the first half.
After allowing only 51 total yards and zero points in the first half, Indiana’s defense surrendered three touchdowns and 274 total yards. Chiles was 5 for 9 with 56 yards at halftime but finished the contest 22 for 29 with 293 yards and two touchdowns.
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Tobi Osunsanmi said the Hoosiers became too relaxed at halftime, content with holding Northwestern scoreless. Osunsanmi also said Chiles’ elusiveness in the second half came down to Indiana’s missed tackles and sacks.
“A lot of sacks were missed because we didn’t get to the high shoulder of the quarterback,” Osunsanmi said. “I know I missed a couple by not wrapping him up all the way. As the game went on, our technique kind of deteriorated... we can’t let fatigue affect us.”
Still, there were positives.
Indiana’s rushing game suffered the loss of Richard due to an injury in the second quarter, but Beebe stepped in and eclipsed 200 rushing yards on 24 carries. The 5-foot-10 running back put the dagger into Northwestern with a 70-yard rush at the 5:10 mark of the fourth quarter, which was followed by a rushing touchdown from Hoover.
Indiana should feel lucky to escape with a win. Regardless, a victory against a Big Ten team to start conference play is nothing to scoff at, no matter how it looked.
“You’re going to face teams that will be tight games whether it’s supposed to be or not,” Jones said postgame. “Anyone can beat anybody on any given day if you don’t show up and execute. Having a tight game like this, there’s always a lesson in the pain.”
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season
