Do not count Indiana out.
Down 18 points with 100 seconds remaining in Saturday night's game against No. 8 Ohio State, it appeared IU was about to suffer it's biggest loss of the season in front of a home crowd at Memorial Stadium.
And then it happened. Much like the Ball State game, freshman quarterback Nate Sudfeld led the Hoosiers on a late fourth-quarter comeback, however it was not enough in the end.
IU fell to the Buckeyes 52-49, in perhaps it's best fight yet during the Kevin Wilson era.
Trailing 52-34 with 3:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, Wilson benched starting quarterback Cam Coffman in favor of Sudfeld, in hopes of providing the frosh playing experience. At that point in the half, the Hoosiers had allowed four Ohio State touchdowns on six drives as the Buckeyes pulled away.
When Sudfeld came in, IU produced. On a fourth down during his first drive, he completed a first-down pass to diving wide receiver Jamonne Chester. Following two personal foul penalties on Ohio State that same possession, he found junior wide receiver Duwyce Wilson in the endzone for a touchdown.
After the extra point, IU trailed by 11 with 1:40 to go. That is when Mitch Ewald kicked an onside kick that the Hoosiers recovered. That next drive, Sudfeld completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to running back Stephen Houston to cut the Buckeye lead to five.
On the two-point conversion attempt with 1:05 remaining, in an identical attempt to what the Hoosiers did against Northwestern two weeks ago, wide receiver Cody Latimer took a reverse pitch from wide receiver Kofi Hughes into the end zone to cut the lead to three.
On their second straight onside-kick attempt, it almost looked like the Hoosiers were going to be able to recover when OSU returner Corey Brown fumbled the kick.
That is when the magic faded.
Brown found the ball and sealed it, and along with it the Buckeye victory over Indiana. OSU quarterback Braxton Miller, who produced 360 yards of combined offense, kneeled twice, as the clock expired on the Hoosiers' comeback.
IU's 49 points on Saturday was the most it had ever scored against Ohio State, however it is the Hoosiers' fourth straight loss on what was a 2-0 start to the 2012 season.
It's 52 points allowed was also the most the team has let up all season.
Stay tuned for more coverage on IDSNews.com following IU's 52-49 loss to Ohio State.
