Remembering IU’s 2015 Shootout with Western Kentucky

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The job of then head coach Kevin Wilson was very much on the line as Indiana entered the 2015 season. Despite some gaudy offensive performances, IU had failed to put together consistent on-field competency and fans were growing increasingly restless with the continued subpar performance of the program. The Hoosiers survived in week one against Southern Illinois and then muddled their way through a win over Florida International before a very talented Western Kentucky squad came to Bloomington. The Hilltoppers, coached by Jeff Brohm, were 2-0 themselves and expected to contend for their conference crown.

The game was expected to be a shootout and it did not disappoint. IU opened the scoring as Mitchell Paige returned a punt 91 yards to put the Hoosiers on top early in the first quarter. Western Kentucky’s offense then went to work with a 65-yard drive and a 90-yard drive that were both finished by D’Andre Ferby touchdown runs. IU’s offense responded with a 99-yard drive that ended with a Ricky Jones touchdown from Nate Sudfeld. Western Kentucky’s quarterback, Brandon Doughty, carved up IU’s secondary all afternoon and he found Tyler Higbee for a 15-yard score to put WKU back up. IU’s Griffin Oakes connected on a field goal with 1:25 left in the half but that left too much time on the clock and Doughty connected with Taywan Taylor for a 78-yard score right before the half to put the underdogs ahead 28-17 at the half.

The third quarter belonged to Indiana as Sudfeld threw a pair of touchdown passes and Devine Redding scored from 2-yards out and IU led 38-28 after three quarters. Then a freshman, safety Jonathan Crawford had two key interceptions for the struggling IU defense and a late Jared Dangerfield touchdown reception was not enough to help WKU pull off the upset as IU hung on for a 38-35 victory.

The win would prove crucial for the Hoosiers as they finished the season at 6-6 and made the Pinstripe Bowl, losing to Duke in heartbreaking fashion. Western Kentucky went on to win their conference and 12 games before Jeff Brohm exited to become the head coach at Purdue. The two teams combined for more than 1100 yards as Nate Sudfeld threw for 355 yards with three touchdowns and Jordan Howard ran for 203 yards including 155 in the second half.

Looking back on this game shows you how good of a win that was for Indiana and how much talent ended up being on the field that afternoon. Taywan Taylor plays for the Cleveland Browns and Tyler Higbee has been a successful tight end. IU had Simmie Cobbs, Nate Sudfeld and Jordan Howard in addition to a couple of NFL offensive linemen. This game ended up being a pretty good microcosm for the soon-to-be ended Kevin Wilson era. The game was exciting, the IU offense roared for more than 600 yards against a poor defense, the IU defense gave up a bunch of yards to a very competent offense and IU ultimately squeaked out a win against a non-ranked team. The Hoosiers and Hilltoppers meeting on a regular basis makes sense for both parties and it is a series that we hope to see continued for years to come.