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.
Wish I had ***** interested in me
