Indiana Has a Chance to Buck a Trend and Score a Culture Building Win at Maryland

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Over the last 10 to 15 years of Indiana University football fans and media alike have been labeling big games (against ranked opponents) as chances for the IU football program to score “program changing” wins. Personally, I don’t buy into any single victory as “program changing” and recent history has shown that to be true. Indiana needs a program changing season, however Saturday’s matchup against Maryland is a chance for the football Hoosiers to take the next logical step in building their football program.

Everyone wants that win over Ohio State or Michigan. I’ll admit it, I would like that too. However, the Hoosiers need to walk before they can run. Over the past 15 years one of the bugaboos of Indiana football has been winning games against matchup opponents, whether that be on the road or at home.

Last year, it was a 38-31 loss to Minnesota and a 28-21 home loss to Purdue that crushed bowl hopes. In 2017 it was a 42-39 defeat at Maryland along with a 31-24 loss at Purdue that kept the Hoosiers from postseason play. IU lost at home to Wake Forest in 2016, yet finished  6-6 and in 2015 the Hoosiers coughed up a 52-27 lead to Rutgers, but recovered to win six. In 2014, before the season-killing injury to Nate Sudfeld, the Hoosiers lost at Bowling Green before winning on the road at No.14 Missouri. That win was supposed to be a “program changing” win. Instead, the Hoosiers fell flat in front of a sparse crowd to Maryland.

The list goes on and on. In 2013 IU beat Penn State for the first time, but dropped a home game to Minnesota on a backwards pass that was a fumble. Heck, go back to 2006 when IU upset Iowa at home, it was the same year they dropped home games to Southern Illinois and Connecticut (there were unique circumstances surrounding those two games as Terry Hoeppner was dealing with brain surgery). You get the point.

Go through the recent history and you’ll see plenty of times IU upset ranked opponents only to fall into an abyss. Oregon, Wisconsin, Minnesota…all ranked wins during the Gerry Dinardo Era. Terry Hoeppner beat a ranked Iowa team, Bill Lynched knocked off a Northwestern squad that was ranked 22nd in 2008, Kevin Wilson had ranked wins over Missouri and Michigan State and even Cam Cameron had ranked wins over Michigan State and Minnesota and before Cameron, legendary IU football coach Bill Mallory had ranked wins over Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.

Indiana football has 12 ranked wins since 1987 and only once did IU back it up with another win (1987 IU beat Minnesota after knocking off Ohio State). Only one of those wins can be labeled as “program changing”. Ranked wins are great, but how many casual fans recall the Dinardo wins over Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin? The occasional ranked win is like a Roman candle, it burns bright for about 30 seconds and then fizzles out until next summer. Fans remember bowl seasons, 1967, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2007, 2015 and 2016. That’s the list that needs to be built in order to build the program. That’s how you change the culture.

On Saturday, head coach Tom Allen and Indiana have the chance to start to change the culture and attitude surrounding the program with a win over a matchup opponent on the road against Maryland. The Hoosiers enter the contest at 4-2 (1-2), a win would push their record to 5-2 with games against Nebraska (in Lincoln) and Northwestern (in Bloomington) and give the Hoosiers plenty of momentum to get bowl eligible before the first week of November.

Fans don’t trust this team yet, that was evident in the sparse homecoming crowd, but a win at Maryland should start to change the tides. This is a game that Indiana has historically struggled with. Now, it won’t be easy to come away with a win. Maryland is 3-3 (1-2) and needs this win to get back into the bowl hunt, but they have been bitten by the injury bug. The Hoosiers have the second-best passing attack in the Big Ten while the Terrapins are the worst pass defense in the conference. For once, the stars could align for the Hoosiers in one of these games.

The Hoosiers are past the need for a program changing win, heck I don’t think they exist anyways, IU needs a program changing season. There are chances for program building wins and wins that can help bring a jaded fan base back into football happiness, Saturday’s game is just that.

Sure, a win at Maryland doesn’t stop the presses, but a win Saturday takes away the chance of an all-too-familiar missed opportunity loss. The Hoosiers are a road favorite, they have a very talented, young squad who looks like they’re starting to get rolling. Will a Hoosier win Saturday instantly change the culture of the program? Probably not. Only a winning season, a bowl berth and a bowl win can do that, but it’s a huge step in the right direction.

A win on Saturday puts Indiana in the driver’s seat for a postseason game needing one win in five games to get eligible. A win would buck many recent trends for the Hoosiers. A win would start turning the tides of Indiana football. Program building, not program changing.