Second Half Comeback Against Michigan State Shows Why 2022 is not 2021
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Written by: @zachegreene
The Indiana Football team displayed tremendous fight and love for each other during the second half of the Hoosier's upset win over Michigan State. They came into the game 10.5-point underdogs and left the field after the first half down 24-7. Whatever Tom Allen said in the locker room worked and it rallied the troops to tie the score leading to a crazy overtime.
“I just want to say that I am really proud of our players; the fight that they showed today was unbelievable. Down at halftime, all we had going here recently, just having a hard time getting wins, just being able to come on the road and get a huge win, and to win a trophy game. I just could not be more proud of our guys,” Said Allen in his opening statement
Saturday’s upset win brought glimpses of the 2020 6-2 season in the second half. The Spartans are by no means great this year and were missing a bunch of players, but a win is a win and especially in a trophy game is vital for this program which has taken hit after hit these past two seasons.
“I'll tell you what it gave us a chance to be even more resilient. And to do it on the road is really tough, and in these conditions, that was one of the colder games I have ever been a part of in terms of temperature and the wind,” said Allen after the game.
Believe it or not, this program has shown resiliency all season. While many believe that wins are the only stat that matters, we need to acknowledge the fact that the Hoosiers won the second half against Cincinnati and held their own against Michigan. Yeah, the Hoosiers had some really bad losses, but any rebuilding program will.
Saturday’s victory will guide the future of the program and possibly an upset victory against Purdue next week.
“There's always a difficult analysis of what causes things to happen, and how do you dig yourself out. So, there is no question that you begin to lose your confidence once the game does not go your way, and so, when you start to get that back it is a powerful thing. Belief is a powerful thing, and I think our guys had shown they could go score, that builds that belief and the ability to give that little extra effort on every single rep: just block a little longer, just enough for our guy to get a few extra yards to stay on the field,” said Allen.
The belief was always there for the program this year, it just has not turned out the way people have wanted. Looking at last season people wanted to see what they saw in 2019 and 2020 season. Obviously, they did not.
Looking at this season people did not really have any expectations for this program. One thing is clear this program has not regressed.
I’ve heard many people talk about regression, strictly looking at wins. The Hoosiers have two more wins than last year, including two more conference games.
Last week, I wrote about the young players playing and yesterday proved that they provide hope for the future. If they can stick together good times are ahead. More specifically quarterback Dexter Williams and Running Back Jaylin Lucas.
Williams only had two completed passes which are crazy considering the Hoosiers were able to pull out the victory. I’m sure there is a stat somewhere where this might be the fewest number of completions for a Quarterback who played the whole game and pulled out a victory.
Williams displayed an ability to run and navigate the field. He scrambled for a crucial first down early in the 4th quarter. This is what the young man can bring to this program.
“Obviously, the quarterback runs are a big part of what we wanted to do, just felt like that would give us a chance to run the football and honestly, we knew we had to. We just knew we had to run the football against these guys with these conditions with the way they were going to play the game on both sides, so that was the plan going in. I am just really proud of our coaching staff and our guys for executing,” Said Allen on Williams's ability to run.
The offensive line did have a reasonable game and kept the offense in sync. One of the best games of the season so far and youngsters got much valuable experience. Joshua Sales Jr and Khalil Benson played.
“The offensive line stepped up running the football, Dexter Williams II in his first start gets a win and just trying to maximize our roster to help us find a way to get the ball in the end zone and get some key stops and find a way to win. I was really proud of our guys and our coaching staff for staying together and fighting to the finish,” said Allen on Williams and his offensive line.”
Going into this week Allen should name Williams his starter against Purdue. He earned it after the win. His ability to persevere even after Sorsby came to the Penn State game before Williams only motivated Williams even more.
If the Hoosiers can pull out an upset victory against the Boilermakers, it will be clear that the program has not regressed from year to year. And hopefully bring some much-needed attention to the football program.
The Hoosiers For Good and Hoosiers Connect organizations are running a $1 Million match campaign (until December 31st) for IU’s NIL effort. Fans can donate to the organizations here