Pinstripe Bowl Recap: Indiana Football causes trust issues

No man should be put through the emotional instability in which Indiana University Football embodies week after week.

I myself am new to it all. I am only a freshman at IU. I was not around for the brutal times. I am new to this Indiana Football program and with that, I come with optimism. This optimism at times can be a blessing and at other times could be the reason why today’s loss is more mentally destructive.

I sat in section 226, row 5, seat 14 of Yankee stadium for the game.  I was seated next to a nice family that made the trip all the way from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Of course, they knew of one of my professors, Paul Helmke, the former Mayor of Fort Wayne. So, we bonded over that.  We bonded prior to the game over little Indiana small talk, and then we strapped in.

We strapped in because Indiana Football is a more tumultuous rollercoaster than Kingda Ka.  (There should actually be Indiana University seatbelts. Someone, please make that a thing.)

The consistently inconsistent.

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It seemed as if both teams wanted to win this game so badly, that no one wanted to win it. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but it seemed as if both teams were remarkably talented at shooting themselves in the foot.

Not even some basic pistol shots. Straight shotguns, in both hands.

The game opened just like every other Indiana Football game. (It ended like every other Indiana Football game too, but we’re not up to that yet.)

The IU offense struggled to find itself early, everything seemed predictable, and IU quickly found themselves down 10-0 thanks to an 85-yard touchdown run by Shaun Wilson.

What a surprise, a big running touchdown!

Then Indiana grabbed a little bit of momentum off of a massive Rashard Fant interception where Fant somehow remained in bounds.

They scored 2 possessions later with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Luke Timian as Devine Redding really started to get going behind this strong Indiana offensive line.

Redding’s continued success would be crucial in keeping Indiana in this game throughout and it led to IU’s next touchdown which left the game at 14-10.

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So let’s regroup. IU started slow, started to figure it out thanks to the running game, and then they took the lead with 90 seconds left in the 1st half.

Genuine reason to be confident? Not really, but you can, at least, be satisfied.

Then about 8 seconds later, Thomas Sirk broke a 73-yard run to the end zone for a touchdown.

What a surprise, a big running touchdown!

Ok cool, this is IU football and everyone and their mother knows we give up big runs. Let’s drive down the field and grab a field goal before the half and call it even.

So they did. 17-17 at half time.

Then both teams came out in the second half to provide us with more of the same up and down football.

An early Duke drive helped by a Nick Mangeri offsides made it 20-17.

Then a very composed Nate Sudfeld drove down field and freshman Nick Westbrook grabbed his first career touchdown. (First of many)

From there Indiana forces a big stop on third down and appears to put themselves in prime position to run away with this game.

Dec 26, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Nick Westbrook (15) catches a touchdown pass in front of Duke Blue Devils safety DeVon Edwards (27) during the third quarter in the 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. The Blue Devils won 44-41 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

BUT NO, THERE’S NO FUN IN HAVING A DOUBLE DIGIT LEAD!!!!

Mitchel Paige fumbled the ensuing punt, things got rowdy and Duke scored on a Tim Tebow-esqe touchdown pass.

This left us with a 27-24 game in Duke’s favor late in the 3rd quarter.

NOT FOR LONG!

An Indiana touchdown from Alex Rodriguez (Yes, he did score a touchdown at Yankee Stadium), a big Darius Latham interception, and a Hoosiers field goal left Indiana once again in the drivers seat at 34-27.

BUT, NOT FOR LONG!

Horrible attention to detail on the kickoff led to a Duke 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Shaun Wilson.

Two more strong drives by each team leave the game at 41-41 with exactly 41 seconds left. Crazy right? Just enough time for IU to drive down field for a long field goal opportunity and miss it? You guessed it!

So the game heads to overtime. Duke hits a field goal early, and Indiana gets stopped early on their drive. Perfect opportunity for a field goal that will tie the game and give the fans at home, even more, football?

TOO SOON MAN! WE’RE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW!

Final Score: Duke 44, Indiana 41