Return to the Glory Days: An Indiana Hoosiers Dynasty

[packersfan4eva]

Nice win! Sometimes a close game is better than a blowout in terms of being fun. It makes your nerves fray, but it's fun! Good job.

I think a game in which you are tied with another team throughout the entire game and then pull away in the 4th is my favorite type of game to play in. No intense, "Oh shit, am I going to lose?" feeling like I got in the Northwestern game, but no, "Oh shit, another touchdown by me," feeling like I got in the Illinois game. It's a good balance.


Updates today

[packersfan4eva]

Indiana Rides 21-Point 4th Quarter to Victory

Evanston, IL - Everything about this game had the making of a huge upset. Indiana, coming in as the #6 team in the nation, was losing to the 2-win Northwestern Wildcats 28-10 with 6 minutes left in the game. But somehow, Indiana managed to score 21 unanswered points--including a last-second Hail Mary touchdown pass--to complete a huge comeback over the Wildcats, 31-28.

"I was on the verge of tears while standing on the sidelines," said wide receiver Damarlo Belcher, who is in his final season at Indiana. "The one thing I've always wanted is a Big 10 championship, and I saw that slipping away. As I recall, Northwestern had the ball with 38 seconds left, and they were at least 20 yards away from our end zone. All they had to do was kneel the ball and we were goners. I would pretty much lose my chance for a Big 10 title."

But this is where God intervened. On 3rd and 3, and with Indiana out of timeouts, something possessed quarterback Evan Watkins (in my opinion, it was Jesus himself) to change the play from a QB kneel to a quick pass at the line of scrimmage. Dropping back, he was hit as he threw the ball by Steve Butler, and the ball fell harmlessly to the ground. So out came the kicking team to seal the game once and for all. Only their kicker missed the kick wide left (and when I say wide left, I mean WIDE left. At least 20 yards), and the Hoosiers got the ball back with just over 20 seconds left.

"I used to be an atheist, but now I'm thinking I might become Catholic," said quarterback Jammone Chester, who passed for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns during the game, "because there had to be some outside force messing with our game. We got so lucky during the game that God had to have played a part."

Chester was right; the Hoosiers got really lucky in the game. Before I go over the final plays of the game, let's see how the Hoosiers even got into this position.

Things started slowly for both teams. Northwestern won the toss and elected to receive, and took advantage of their first possession by driving down and throwing a quick touchdown pass to Jeremy Ebert. Indiana then got the ball and scored a touchdown. Tied 7-7, this game was looking like it would be a shootout. But looks can be deceiving, and the defenses for both teams took over. No one got a first down the rest of the first half, so obviously neither team scored any points the rest of the first half. The Wildcats and the Hoosiers went into half time tied at 7. "I was getting pretty mad," said linebacker Drew Gray, who is out the rest of the season with a broken elbow. "Our defense played amazingly well, but our offense couldn't capitalize on great field position. I wanted to shoot myself because it was so painful to watch."

The second half looked pretty shitty for Indiana. Northwestern finally started clicking on offense, and when the Wildcats get "in the zone", they are unstoppable. They gained 118 yards on the ground in that 3rd quarter, including a 91 yard touchdown scamper by Alex Daniel to put Northwestern up 28-7. But right as the 3rd quarter ended, Indiana ended their longest scoring drought of the season by booting a 41 yard field goal to make the score 28-10 in favor of the home team. "It was devastating to watch us on the sidelines," said kicker Mitch Ewald. "I couldn't stand to look at anybody. Half of us were about to cry, and the other half were yelling at each other and throwing things. It was terrible."

But then a man stepped up to boost the Hoosiers confidence. Can you guess who it was? It was none other than Teddy Schell, the senior quarterback who has been active in 8 plays throughout his career. "I just gave what I thought was a cheesy pep talk, but they ate it up," he told reporters after the game. "I think that's what really got our offense going."

The defense stepped up their play, holding the Wildcats to 28 yards in the 4th quarter. All passing yards. "I wouldn't let them run worth shit," said Tim Alexander, who had 9 of his 11 tackles in the 4th quarter. "I was ready to knock out any player that walked in my way. I was not going to let anyone passed me that quarter." Added Tom Mentioned, a junior practice-squad linebacker who was invited to the game by Anthony Thompson to watch Alexander's play, "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I probably saw the best player in the nation playing at his highest level. In a real game. It was like a dream come true."

But the offense took the pep talk seriously too, and they started working harder than they ever had. Every time they got the ball, you knew they were going to score. If the quarter lengths were a few minutes longer, Indiana probably could have given themselves a 14 or 21 point lead. They were that good.

They scored two touchdowns in two possessions before getting the ball with 25 seconds to go. "I knew we would have to score, and fast," said Duwyce Wilson, who dropped a wide-open pass in the middle of the field with 3 seconds left that would have won the game sooner. "I was just hoping that we had enough time to score." Chester hurled the ball downfield 3 times, and every time it was dropped. Two of the passes were in extremely tight coverage and should have been picked off, but the third (the drop by Wilson that I mentioned earlier) was the play that really hurt the Hoosiers confidence. "I remember him standing wide open about 20 yards away from everyone else," said Damarlo Belcher. "I remember the pass flying threw the air, at least 50 yards down field, and then I remember Duwyce Wilson dropping it. I was heartbroken."

That play set up the play that might forever change Indiana history. Three seconds left, Indiana facing a 4th and 10 on their own 21 yard line, Jammone Chester lining up in a 5-receiver set. He hiked the ball, dropped back, and hurled a bomb down field. "It was the best throw of my life," he would recall later. Damarlo Belcher leaped in the air, snagged the ball over two Wildcat defenders, bounced off one of the cornerbacks, and raced into the end zone for the game-winning score. "It was the happiest moment of my life," said Belcher after the game.

Indiana hopes to continue their winning streak next week, as they head back home to face the Michigan State Spartans.

[Rush]

Closer and closer to 1k posts everytime I see this. Nice wins

[Rush]

You need to calm down ma'am.

[packersfan4eva]

Nice writeup...good luck against State and nice comeback against Northwestern. Get to the Rose Bowl!

Thanks. Michigan State should be a snap, they only have two wins so far. I'm gonna make it to the Rose Bowl. I hope.......

Closer and closer to 1k posts everytime I see this. Nice wins

Thanks rush. My goal is 1k posts, but it'll probably be another month or so before I get there


Update tonight

[packersfan4eva]

More Evidence Found in Matte Murder
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Gun Found in Dumpster Behind Apartment Complex

(AP) - Police officers reported yesterday that they found the possible weapon used to murder Will Matte, the former Indiana football athlete.

"We found a weapon that could have possibly been used in the Matte Murder," said investigator Charles Goodwin. "We will not say what type of weapon it was, and we will not release any more information at this time."

Of course, when someone says don't do something, there is going to be somebody who then figures it's the right time to break the rules. Just minutes after Goodwin closes the case to reporters for the time being, one of the investigators decided to come out with more information. His name? William Matte Sr., the father--and possible suspect--of Will Matte. "The weapon was a Jericho 941 F, 9 mm," he told CBSSPORTS.com reporters outside the crime scene. "We are sending it in now for DNA testing to see who's fingerprints were on it. Then we will know who the real murderer was."

No more information is available at this time, but we will post an article as soon as more information is given to us.

[packersfan4eva]

All right, my flash drive with my Around the NCAA Template got fucked somehow, so I'm going to have a quick update in a few. It will serve as the Around the NCAA for now, but starting next week everything will be back to normal.

[packersfan4eva]

Around the NCAA: Indiana Style

National News

• Damarlo Belcher rises back into the Heisman Race after a six-week hiatus.
• Formerly #1 USF falls to Rutgers 20-3, knocking them from the top ranking
• Virginia Tech, after finally rising to the top ranking in the country two weeks ago, loses their second straight game
• LSU takes over the #1 ranking in the country, with Boise State at #2, Ohio State at #3, Cal #4, and Indiana rounding off the top 5

Heisman News
1. Terrelle Pryor - QB - Ohio State
2. Jameel Owens - WR - Oklahoma
3. Chris Potter - WR - Boise State
4. Damarlo Belcher - WR - Indiana
5. Jordan Jefferson - QB - LSU

Other National Award News
The other award nominee's were announced today, and there were quite a few members of the Indiana football team present on their list. Damarlo Belcher is in 4th place for the Fred Biletnikoff Award (best WR in the country), Tim Alexander is placed first in both the Chuck Bednarik Award (top overall defensive player) and the Dick Butkus award (top linebacker in the country), Duwyce Wilson is 12th in the race for the Returner of the Year award, Mitch Ewald is--again--placed first in the running for the Lou Groza award (best kicker), and Deleon Eskridge rounds off the Hoosiers with a 5th place in the running for the Doak Walker award (best RB in the country).


NOTE: If you did not see my above post, this is a temporary setup. This will only be in place for this week because my flash drive fucked and I can't open my Around the NCAA Template. So bear with me, please.

[T.Dot]

good shit
Belcher doin work

[packersfan4eva]

[packersfan4eva]

Kaplan! Nice signing there. That's a beast class you have there Wish I had ***** interested in me

I think me winning 2 bowl games and going 10-3 and 9-4 interests recruits a little bit. It's hard to get great recruits to be interested in a school ike the Marines

[packersfan4eva]

Haha that's true. But what about schools like USC, Oklahoma, Texas, etc. Either way, great job!

THis is a video game. I can do crazy shit like be the best recruiter.


No update tonight, sorry guys

[packersfan4eva]

Indiana Loses Key Recruits, Lands Another

Bloomington, IN - Anthony Thompson showed us today that his recruiting prowess only works on some recruits, as many of Indiana's top prospects committed to other schools. However, Thompson did managed to land a recruit before the week was over.

Sam Kaplan, a 4 star wide receiver from Birmingham, Alabama, is the 5th four star recruit that Indiana has gotten a commitment from. "It's not that I'm a great recruiter," said Thompson yesterday, "it's that the players on the Hoosiers team are performing at such a high level that it is making recruits want to be a part of it. Indiana would probably be just as good without me." "That's bullshit," replied Kaplan. "The only reason I committed to Indiana was because of how good a recruiter he was. If Thompson wasn't coaching at IU, I wouldn't even have them in my top 50 schools."

So yes, Indiana landed a recruit. But things got a little rough for the Hoosiers recruiters, as many of the most prized players have knocked the Hoosiers off of their lists. Jarrell Lemon, the top wide receiver in this year's class, committed to the Texas Longhorns. Calvin Chance, the top guard in the country (Indiana never really had a chance at getting him) committed to the Michigan Wolverines. Orlando Cleveland hasn't committed anywhere yet, but he just removed the Hoosiers from his list. "I got sick of Thompson calling me every god damn day," he told reporters a few weeks ago.

Four recruits on the Hoosiers board have soft committed to other schools, so it looks as if the Hoosiers will cut their list down within the next week.

[packersfan4eva]

Crap. I have the update finished, but I have to go to basketball practice. I'll get it up when I get home

[packersfan4eva]

PLAY OF THE GAME: *note that when Damarlo Belcher fumbles the ball and Williams picks it up, the camera stays on Belcher. So make sure that you follow #30 as he runs toward the end zone, not Belcher*

http://www.mymaddenpad.com/video/2810.php