Indiana can't catch up in loss to Boilers

Indiana Hoosiers - 2009 Season ... Head Coach: Bill Lynch

Indiana Hoosiers 

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 4-8
2009 Record: 4-8

9/3 E. Kentucky W 19-13
9/12 Western Mich W 23-19
9/19 at Akron W 38-21
9/26 at Michigan L 36-33
10/3 Ohio State L 33-14
10/10 at Virginia L 47-7
10/17 Illinois W 27-14
10/24 at Nwestern L 29-28
10/31 at Iowa L 42-24
11/7 Wisconsin L 31-28
11/14 at Penn St L 31-20
11/21 Purdue L 38-21
11/28 OPEN DATE

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 5-7
2008 Record: 3-9

8/30 Western Kent. W 31-13
9/6 Murray State W 45-3
9/13 OPEN DATE
9/20 Ball State L 42-20
9/27 Michigan St L 42-29
10/4 at Minnesota L 16-7
10/11 Iowa L 45-9
10/18 at Illinois L 55-13
10/25 Northwestern W 21-19
11/1 Central Mich L 37-34
11/8 Wisconsin L 55-20
11/15 at Penn St L 34-7
11/22 at Purdue L 62-10

Nov. 21
Purdue 38 … at Indiana 21
Joey Elliott threw four touchdown passes including three in the first half on the way to a 21-0 Purdue lead, and it was a hole too big for IU to climb out from. The Hoosiers made it interesting with Ben Chappell running for a score and throwing two second half touchdown passes, but Purdue always had an answer. Chappell closed out the first half with a one-yard rushing score in the final seconds, but Purdue’s Al-Terek McBurse took the second half kickoff for a touchdown. IU pulled within tem in the fourth quarter, but Keith Smith put the game away on a 31-yard touchdown catch. The Hoosiers outgained Purdue 462 yards to 329, but they committed four turnovers.
Player of the Game: Purdue QB Joey Elliott completed 21-of-29 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 23-39, 266 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Darius Willis, 19-142, Receiving: Mitchell Evans, 10-112, 1 TD
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 21-29, 205 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Jaycen Taylor, 20-110, Receiving: Jaycen Taylor, 7-59, 1 TD
What It All Means: Purdue got the passing game going early, was +4 in turnover margin, and came away with the Old Oaken Bucket as it showed what it could do when it played up to its capabilities and didn’t make a slew of mistakes. While this wasn’t a bowl season, closing out with four wins in the final six showed how much progress was made under Danny Hope, and it showed how close the team came to having a special year. Purdue lost five games by seven points or fewer. Against IU, Joey Elliott was nearly perfect, and closed out his career on a high note after throwing a key late interception in the loss to Michigan State.
What It All Means: Indiana closed out with a five game losing streak and finished 4-8, but it was better than the final record. Ben Chappell had a nice second half of the season, and Darius Willis provided hope for the future of the running game with a 142-yard day, but in the end, IU had a losing season and couldn’t come through when it needed to. For next year, the defense has to be better after finishing last in the Big Ten in yards and points allowed. The offense will be good, but it won’t be so good that it can consistently crank out 35 points per game.

Nov. 14
at Penn State 31 … Indiana 20
Penn State struggled early on, getting down 10-0 with Damarlo Belcher catching a perfectly thrown 26-yard pass, and then the machine started to work. Evan Royster took a pass 13 yards for a touchdown and Navarro Bowman took an interception 73 yards for a score on a 24-point midgame run. Indiana kept it close and got within 11 on a Tandon Doss catch with just over a minute to play, but that would be it for the drama. Matt Mayberry made 15 tackles for the Hoosiers.
Player of the Game: Penn State LB Navorro Bowman made12 tackles, an interception for a touchdown, a sack, a broken up pass, and two tackles for loss
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 32-51, 298 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Bryan Payton, 9-30, Receiving: Damarlo Belcher, 9-95, 1 TD
Penn State: Passing: Daryll Carter, 17-28, 198, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Evan Royster, 17-95, 1 TD, Receiving: Evan Royster, 4-39, 1 TD 
What It All Means: The Hoosiers aren’t going to beat anyone on talent, but once again, they showed they could at least hang around with the big names. Matt Mayberry was terrific making 15 tackles, but the defense couldn’t slow down the Penn State balance after the first quarter and the offense didn’t get anything out of the running game. Ben Chappell is a nice passer to build the offense around next year, but he needs playmakers around him. Primarily, he needs RB Darius Willis back and healthy. This might be a losing season, but the team certainly didn’t play like it.
Oct. 7
Wisconsin 31 … at Indiana 28
Wisconsin ran for 294 yards with John Clay running for a 14-yard score and Montee Ball scoring twice from short range, but had to hang on late as Trea Burgess scored on a two-yard run with just over four minutes to play to pull the Hoosiers within three. The Badgers were able to run out the clock helped by a key 18-yard Nick Toon catch on third down. Ben Chappell and Tandon Doss hooked up for two first half touchdown passes for the Hoosiers, with the scores coming from 11 and 46 yards out, and Chappell connected with Terrance Turner for a six-yard touchdown in the fourth, but Wisconsin was able to control most of the game with the running attack.
Player of the Game: Wisconsin RBs John Clay and Montee Ball combined for 249 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries.
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 25-35, 323 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Bryan Payton, 8-48, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 6-92, 2 TD
Wisconsin: Passing: Scott Tolzien, 11-20, 194 yds, 1 TD Rushing: John Clay, 15-134, 1 TD, Receiving: Nick Toon, 5-123 
What It All Means: How many more times can IU get its heart ripped out in a close game? The Hoosiers had all their momentum going their way helped by a wonderful day from QB Ben Chappell and the passing game, but they couldn’t get the ball back late as the Badgers were able to close out with a pounding running game and a big third down pass. With a trip to Penn State up next the hope of a bowl game is all but gone, but the team is playing far, far better than a 1-6 record in the last seven games might suggest. RB Darius Willis was lost early on with a leg injury.

Oct. 31
at Iowa 42 … Indiana 24
Indiana was in complete control of the game, outplaying Iowa in every way with Ben Chappell throwing two first half touchdown passes on the way to a 21-7 lead. After recovering a fumbled punt, Indiana was going in for a dagger of a score midway through the third, but a Chappell pass bounced off of several players and into the hands of Tyler Sash, who took it 86 yards for a touchdown. IU rebounded with a field goal, and saw a touchdown catch get overturned by replay, and then it was all Iowa. Ricky Stanzi threw five interceptions in a miserable day, and then he went ballistic in the fourth with a 92-yard pass play to Marvin McNutt igniting a 28-point fourth quarter with Brandon Wegher running for two scores and Derrell Johnson–Koulianos scoring on a 66-yard touchdown catch. The two teams combined for nine turnovers, with the wind playing a big role in the passing game. Player of the Game: Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi, for his fourth quarter. He completed 13-of-26 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns and five interceptions on the game.
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 23-41, 227 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Darius Willis, 21-54, 1 TD, Receiving: Damarlo Belcher, 6-89, 1 TD
Iowa: Passing: Ricky Stanzi, 13-26, 337 yds, 2 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Brandon Wegher, 25-119, 3 TD, Receiving: Marvin McNutt, 4-155, 1 TD
What It All Means: How do you possibly recover if you’re Indiana? Blowing a big lead last week against Northwestern is one thing, but melting down against Iowa in a game that might have changed around the program is another. It was a combination of bad luck (the bouncing interception for a score and the bad replay call on a touchdown catch) and being demoralized, but there’s still time to turn things around. If the Hoosiers can come up with a win against Wisconsin next week, the home game vs. Purdue will be for a bowl bid (assuming a loss at Penn State in two weeks). 

Oct. 24
at Northwestern 29 … Indiana 28
Northwestern overcame a 28-3 deficit with the final 26 points of the game finished off by a 19-yard Stefan Demos field goal with 21 seconds to play. IU had one last shot, but Nick Freedland’s 59-yard field goal attempt fell short. Mike Kafka ran for a touchdown and connected with Zeke Markshausen for an eight-yard score with seven seconds to play in the first half. He also hit Andrew Brewer for a 51-yard touchdown early in the fourth. IU got out to the big early lead helped by two big plays with Darius Willis running for a 70-yard score just 20 seconds in, and Ray Fisher returning a kickoff 93 yards for a score. Willis also added a three-yard touchdown run.
Player of the Game: Northwestern QB Mike Kafka completed 26-of-46 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions, and he ran 17 times for 65 yards and a score.
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 15-26, 159 yds
Rushing: Darius Willis, 14-103, 2 TD, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 6-40
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 26-46, 312 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Scott Concannon, 16-73, Receiving: Andrew Brewer, 8-135, 1 TD 
What It All Means: In theory, IU going for it from fourth and three from the 33 was a statement moment for the team’s season, but it was a ridiculous call when a late field goal would’ve forced the Wildcats to go for a touchdown to win. And it’s not like the IU kicker, Nick Freedland, couldn’t have made the kick, he almost hit the 59-yarder in the final seconds. This was disastrous. Now the Hoosiers have to go to Iowa with Wisconsin and Penn State to follow. The bowl hopes likely went bye-bye on that fourth down misfire.

Oct. 17
at Indiana 27 … Illinois 14
Indiana QB Ben Chappell threw for a career-best 333 yards with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Damarlo Belcher, a 44-yard scoring pass to Tandon Doss, and a 13-yarder to Troy Wagner. Illinois held an early 7-3 lead on a Juice Williams 30-yard touchdown pas to A.J. Jenkins, but two Williams fumbles proved costly. The Hoosiers were up 27-7 before the Illini got back on the board with a three-yard Jeff Cumberland touchdown catch with just under five minutes to play.
Player of the Game: Indiana QB Ben Chappell completed 23-of-38 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns
Illinois: Passing: Juice Williams, 22-37, 258 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Mikel Leshoure, 12-78, Receiving: Arrelious Benn, 9-95
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 23-38, 333 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Mitchell Evans, 9-84, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 7-130, 1 TD
What It All Means: It wasn’t the prettiest of performances by the team, but Ben Chappell came up with a great time to have his best game of his career. He was decisive, he spread the ball around well, and he kept the offense moving. Illinois made mistakes, Indiana didn’t, and that was the difference. IU has to make big plays happen with the defense, and even though Matt Mayberry made 14 tackles, 12 solo, the Illini ran better than it had all year. The bowl dream is still alive, but next week’s game against Northwestern is a must win with a tough final month to deal with. If Chappell keeps playing this well, IU has a shot at a 13th game. 

Oct. 10
at Virginia 47 … Indiana 7
Mikell Simpson ran for four short touchdowns and Jameel Sewell threw a 21-yard touchdown pass and ran for a score on the way to a 47-0 lead. Indiana didn’t get on the board until midway through the fourth on a 12-yard Bryan Payton run, but the Hoosier attack had been limited gaining just 272 yards. The Cavaliers outgained IU 231 yards to 82 on the ground.
Player of the Game: Virginia RB Mikell Simpson ran 15 times for 83 yards and four touchdowns, and he caught four passes for 66 yards.
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 22-33, 177 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Demetrius McCray, 13-47, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 9-76
Virginia: Passing: Jameel Sewell, 20-30, 308 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Mikell Simpson, 15-83, 4 TD, Receiving: Vic Hall, 6-85, 1 TD
What It All Means: The Indiana defense ran into a surprising buzzsaw. Virginia could do nothing wrong, early on, Indiana couldn’t do anything right, and the loss now the Hoosiers have to regroup in a hurry and not blow the layup against a dying Illinois team. This isn’t an IU offense built for comebacks, and once it got down, Ben Chappell wasn’t able to do anything to mount a comeback. The running game is needed for IU to win, and that was taken away immediately. The big concern going into next week is that if Virginia’s mobile QB, Jameel Sewell, could be so effective, then Illinois QB Juice Williams might have similar success. 

Oct. 3
Ohio State 33 … at Indiana 14
Terrelle Pryor threw three first half touchdown passes and he ran for another as Ohio State was never threatened. IU pulled within three in the second quarter on a seven-yard Tandon Doss catch, but Pryor took over leading the way to 23 straight points before Ben Chappell threw his second touchdown pass of the game with no time left on the clock. IU was held to 228 yards of total offense.
Player of the Game: Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor completed 16-of-27 passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, and he ran 16 times for 63 yards and a score.
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 20-34, 210 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Darius Willis, 11-23, Receiving: Damarlo Belcher, 4-48
Ohio State: Passing: Terrelle Pryor, 16-27, 159 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Saine, 17-113, Receiving: DeVier, Posey, 4-51, 1 TD 
What It All Means: As expected, the pass rush continues to be solid, but it’s not bringing the results needed. The IU defensive front didn’t do nearly enough to bother Terrelle Pryor, while there were too many mistakes to win a game like this. With nine penalties, to OSU’s two, and with three penalties, IU had to be far tighter and QB Ben Chappell had to make more things happen down the field. A bowl game is still possible, but it’ll be a must to take advantage of the easy part of the schedule, with at Virginia, Illinois, and at Northwestern up next.

Sept. 26
at Michigan 36 … Indiana 33
Tate Forcier threw two touchdowns and ran for another, and the defense held on late as Michigan got all it could handle from the Hoosiers. IU had a shot late, but Michigan’s Donovan Brown and IU’s Damarlo Belcher caught the ball at the same time with Brown ripping it away when on the ground for an interception. Carlos Brown took a pass 61 yards for a score and ran for a 41 yard touchdown in the first quarter for an early Wolverine lead, but IU’s Darius Willis provided some fireworks with an 11-yard scoring dash in the first and a 85-yard touchdown run the fourth for a 33-29 Hoosier lead. But Forcier would find Martavious Odoms on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 2:29 to play for the win.
Player of the Game: Michigan RB Carlos Brown ran 11 times for 83 yards and a touchdown, and he caught a pass for 61 yards and a score.
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 21-38, 270 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Darius Willis, 16-152, 2 TD, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 5-104
Michigan: Passing: Tate Forcier, 11-21, 184 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Carlos Brown, 11-83, 1 TD, Receiving: Martavious Odoms, 3-40, 1 TD 
What It All Means: Indiana might have lost the battle to Michigan, but it finally unearthed a running back and a running game that has been missing for years. Darius Willis was the star recruit of two years ago, and the redshirt freshman showed why with home run hitting ability and the potential to carry the offense. More than anything else, Indiana showed that it’s not going to be a pushover and it’s not an automatic lock to be the 11th team in the Big 12. However, with Ohio State coming up next, the offense will have to find a whole other level to play at needing a more efficient passing game.
 
Sept. 19
at Indiana 38 … Akron 21
Ray Fisher took the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown on the way to an early 10-0 Indiana lead, but Akron fought back with a 49-yard Deryn Bowser touchdown catch and a blocked punt for a score. And then, helped by four interceptions, IU went on a 28-pound run with two short touchdown runs from Trea Burgess and Darius Williams and two Ben Chappell touchdown passes. Matt Rodgers made the final score closer than the game was with a nine-yard touchdown run in the final seconds.
Player of the Game: Indiana’s Austin Thomas made two interceptions and a tackle
Akron: Passing: Matt Rodgers, 14-23, 165 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: DeVoe Torrence, 2-32, Receiving: Deryn Bowser, 3-86, 1 TD
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 18-28, 163 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Darius Willis, 15-66, 1 TD, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 7-60
What It All Means: 3-0 is 3-0. Indiana has made its tour of the MAC, and while it’s not exactly blowing up on offense and isn’t getting enough overall pop, the attack has been balanced and the defense is forcing mistakes. Emerging from the win was a nice rushing rotation with Darius Willis leading a three-way tandem that should keep defenses working a little bit. The key to beating Michigan next week might be to win the turnover battle, and there can’t be the two turnovers the Hoosiers committed against the Zips.

Sept. 12
at Indiana 23 ... Western Michigan 19
Western Michigan had its chances late but couldn't come through. A blocked kick set up a drive deep into IU territory, getting down to the five, before losing a fumble. Forced to punt, the Hoosiers took a safety to get out of their own end, but the Broncos almost made them pay with a wild hook-and-lateral play that just missed. Demetrius McCray ran for 134 yards with a 59-yard scoring dash, and Nick Freeland nailed three field goals to keep the Hoosiers ahead, but WMU fought back with a 41-yard Robert Arnheim touchdown pass and a 35-yard John Potter field goal, but the comeback fell short.
Player of the Game: Indiana RB Demetrius McCray ran 17 times for 134 yards and a touchdown
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 18-28, 185 yds
Rushing: Demetrius McCray, 17-134, 1 TD, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 6-85
Western Michigan: Passing: Tim Hiller, 28-43, 266 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Brandon West, 15-36, Receiving: Jordan White, 7-55
What It All Means: Indiana isn't good enough to not be near-perfect at the little things. It took too much effort to close out the Broncos after the game appeared to be in hand, the offense was too inconsistent, and the 13 penalties were a major problem. On the plus side, the defense came up with three fumble recoveries and kept the high-powered WMU passing game from exploding. Demetrius McCray was fantastic and needs to become a regular star for the ground game. Ben Chappell and the passing attack aren't going to be explosive, so McCray will be relied on more and more over the coming weeks.

Sept. 5
at Indiana 19 … Eastern Kentucky 13
The Indiana offense sputtered, failing to score in the second half, but the defense came through with a Will Patterson sack for a first quarter safety while holding the EKU offense to two second half field goals. IU’s Ben Chappell connected with Damarlo Belcher for 33-yard touchdown pass to give the Hoosiers a 19-7 padding, and the defense did the rest with a key forced fumble late and keeping EKU to 278 yards of total offense.
Player of the Game: Indiana QB Ben Chappell completed 27-of-36 passes for 326 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
Eastern Kentucky: Passing: Cody Watts, 12-16, 171 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: T.J. Pryor, 4-37, Receiving: Evan Cromer, 9-124
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 27-36, 326 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Demetrius McCray, 13-49, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 8-125
What It All Means: The Hoosiers were extremely shaky against a mediocre Eastern Kentucky. Yes, the defense was fine when it had to be, but it gave up too many plays to the passing game and wasn’t a rock against the middling attack. Ben Chappell was fine, he threw for 326 yards, but he needs more help from a running game that has to show up in a big hurry. 73 net rushing yards won’t get it done.