Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Defensive end Tobi Osunsanmi pounded the Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium turf in elation, celebrating Hoosiers cheering around him, somewhere underneath it all Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey uncoiling from Osunsanmi’s victory clinching sack.
Indiana had survived 23-16 in overtime Saturday night over Minnesota and the way it happened reflected a season in which nothing comes easy except Hoosier Nation angst.
“We’re in the entertainment business,” head coach Curt Cignetti said with a hint of a smile, “so we thought, with (ESPN College GameDay) here, we ramp it up and make it entertaining for everybody.”
And then …
“I can’t say enough about this team finding a way when it really looked dire.”
How dire?
Nineteen seconds left in regulation, down by three points and needing at least 30 yards to have any shot at a score with a back-up quarterback?
No problem.
A 60-yard field goal from kickoff specialist Paddy McAteer, who had made just a 21-yarder in his three previous attempts this season, to force overtime?
Piece of cake.
Back-up quarterback Grant Wilson, having thrown just five passes all season (completing four), completed a crucial late-game 33-yard pass to Charlie Becker to give McAteer a chance, and then a 25-yard touchdown pass to Becker on the first play of overtime for the eventual winning points.
Got it.
Starting quarterback Josh Hoover, his previously banged up right arm dangling at his side from a bruising first-half hit, using his left arm to fist bump Wilson in a sideline greeting in the aftermath of that overtime touchdown.
It was all there.
Once again No. 4/4 Indiana, despite escalating mistakes that would have broken a less mentally tough team, found a way.
“Most people would go, the game is over,” Wilson said. “We believe. We believe in everything. You give us one second, we trust the process, trust the play call. Just execute.”
Previous Cignetti teams were known for early game score separation. Not this season. This is IU’s fifth Big Ten game to go down to the wire, the second straight to go into overtime. The Hoosiers (8-1 overall, 5-1 in the Big Ten) won four of them and just missed winning the fifth against Ohio State.
“We’re a band of brothers,” Becker said. “We’re going to fight through whatever we need to do to come out with a victory.”
Take those final 19 seconds of regulation. It came just after Minnesota kicker Luke Drzewiecki had made his own 60-yard field goal for a 16-13 Gopher lead. The Hoosiers seemed finished. Instead, they were just getting started.
“We prepare for that all the way through the spring, through fall camp,” Wilson said. “We do the two-minute and one-minute drills.
“Charlie Becker is the best receiver in college football. Just give him a chance and he makes the play. And then Paddy makes an unbelievable kick. He’s a man.”
First-half mistakes -- including an interception, punts of 15 and 27 yards, a blocked field goal attempt, a missed 31-yard field goal attempt, fair catching a punt inside the 5-yard line and a holding penalty that negated a first-down-producing pass -- left IU trailing 10-7 at halftime.
A botched fourth-quarter field goal snap seemed to end Hoosier chances. They fell behind 13-10, then 16-13.
Instead, it added another thrill to the Cignetti legacy.
“We withstood it,” he said. “The offense was frazzled a little bit. Special teams, we have a good punter and he had a rough day. We have a good field goal kicker and he had a rough day.
“But we hung in there. Other guys made plays and we overcame.”
Hoosier problems surfaced 20 minutes before kickoff when veteran linebacker Rolijah Hardy hurt his back in warmups and was unable to play, forcing true freshman Jacob Savage into starting action. Savage finished with four tackles and two pass breakups.
“That was a shock,” Cignetti said about Hardy's injury. “It was an adjustment we had to make.”
Even without Hardy, IU’s defense was ferocious, especially early on, when it held Minnesota (5-3, 3-2) to 12 yards in 13 plays over four possessions. That included one sack and four tackles for loss.
Overall, the Hoosiers held the Gophers to 215 yards and 10 first downs. They had four sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Osunsanmi had two tackles for loss and that victory clinching sack. Safety Preston Zachman led with nine tackles.
“We don’t need to be superheroes,” said Osunsanmi. “We don’t need to do anything out of the ordinary. Just rely on all the guys to do their jobs.”
Added Cignetti: “We’ve got really good (defensive) players. We’re really good up front. Our linebackers are good. Our DBs are good. The defense is the strength of this team. There’s no doubt about it.”
Offensively, Hoover was 8-for-19 for 119 yards, one touchdown and one interception, all in the first half. Running back Lee Beebe Jr. ran with a refuse-to-go-down fury. He had 84 bruising yards in 15 carries. Becker caught eight passes for 149 yards.
The Hoosiers finished with 419 total yards.
“The offense was not so good early on,” Cignetti said, “but played better in the second half.”
Cignetti’s halftime message to Wilson was brief and to the point -- your number is being called, get ready.
Wilson, who is in his seventh college season after previous stops at Fordham and Old Dominion, did as he was told.
“It’s the journey I’ve been on, seven years in college, a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “The emotions were, just do your job, be prepared and make sure you’re doing the right things.”
Wilson finished 9-for-17 for 156 yards and a touchdown. He also ran four times for 26 yards.
“Grant has some real qualities,” Cignetti said. “He’s a big, tall, strong guy. He has a strong arm and can push the ball down the field. He can run.
“I have total confidence in him. He’s a great team guy. The guys on the team love him.”
Through it all, Wilson never wavered.
“I’m so thankful to be here and that Coach Cignetti believed in me.
“It’s trust in our system. We have the two best offensive coordinators (Mike Shanahan and Tino Sunseri), the best head coach, the best position coaches in the country. Then you look to your right and your left and you see Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh. You can’t go wrong.
“We have the best O-line, the best running backs, the best tight ends. It’s trust in this group. They made awesome plays and we got the win.”
Becker wasn’t surprised Wilson delivered when it mattered most.
“He’s a super talented quarterback. We have all the faith in the world in him. He can handle any situation. He balled out and got us the W.”
Two seconds remained in regulation and IU trailed 16-13. McAteer, a native of Ireland who grew up playing Gaelic football and who didn’t kick an American football until he was 20 years old, had his chance with the weight of Hoosier Nation on his shoulders. Blessed with a strong leg, his main role was as kickoff specialist.
On Saturday night, Halloween night, his role expanded. He never flinched.
“I love those moments,” he said. “That’s the way you have to be. It’s a moment you dream about as a child.”
Dream came with this reality. IU never practices 60-yard field goals. McAteer called it the “forbidden zone.”
“It’s very rare you see guys hit them in a game, and we had two of them,” he said.
“For me, I don’t know if there will be many better than that.”
McAteer’s kick would have been good from at least 65 yards.
“My man Paddy drills that field goal right down the middle,” Cignetti said. “He’s made them in practice. I just told him, ‘Swing nice and easy’ because sometimes those kickers want to over kick those things. He’s got plenty of leg and as soon as he hit it, you knew it was good.”
Added Becker: “He nailed that thing. That was sick. It was so cool.”
Minnesota’s game-opening possession lost one yard in three plays. IU lost four yards in its first three plays. A 15-yard IU punt gave the Gophers the ball on the Indiana 27-yard line and led to a 37-yard field goal and a 3-0 Minnesota lead.
Enter the defense. Safety Byron Baldwin Jr. blitzed and forced a fumble. Defensive lineman Josh Burnham recovered and ran it to the Gopher 14-yard line. Hoover’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Nick Marsh made it 7-3 with 6:43 left in the first quarter.
An Indiana drive that included a 17-yard completion to Becker and a 14-yarder to Tyler Morris ended with a blocked field goal.
Trickery from two pitches enabled Minnesota to complete a 39-yard touchdown pass after a 27-yard IU punt for a 10-7 Gopher lead with 4:15 left in the half.
The Hoosiers responded with a 22-yard pass to Marsh and a 33-yard completion to Shazz Preston to get the ball in the red zone, but the drive ended with a missed 31-yard Nico Radicic field goal attempt.
A deflected Hoover pass was intercepted resulting in the 10-7 halftime score.
Wilson took over at quarterback to start the third quarter. His 18-yard run got the Hoosiers out of a big hole near the end zone. Then it was Khobie Martin and Beebe Jr. running IU to midfield, then Wilson’s 11-yard pass to Becker and, finally, a 46-yard Radicic field goal for a 10-10 tie late in the third quarter.
After Minnesota retook the lead on a 52-yard field goal, Wilson hit Becker with a 47-yard pass. Beebe Jr. broke multiple tackles for a 13-yard run. A called touchdown pass from Wilson to Preston was overturned. A field goal snap was botched, with 9:11 left, the score remained 13-10.
Radicic tied it with a 34-yard field goal with three minutes remaining. The Gophers pushed ahead with their 60-yard field goal with 19 seconds left, which IU matched with McAteer’s 60-yarder, setting up Wilson’s game-winning overtime TD throw to Becker and the Hoosiers’ final defensive stand capped by Osunsanmi’s sack.
Now, after nine straight weeks, IU gets a bye.
“Nine straight weeks is tough,” Wilson said. “The guys banded together. Now we get a little break to get everyone healthy. Let’s finish the season one game at a time.”
For Wilson, it started with a phone call to his parents.
“They weren’t here. I just want to talk to them.”