There were high hopes for the Indiana Hoosiers going into Kevin Wilson's third year at the helm, but even though the offense was prolific, and there was an historic win against Penn State, things still didn't turn out exactly as predicted.
How They Did
Date | Opponent | Result |
8/29 | Indiana State | W 73-35 |
9/7 | Navy | L 41-35 |
9/14 | Bowling Green | W 42-10 |
9/21 | Missouri | L 45-28 |
10/5 | Penn State | W 44-24 |
10/12 | @ Michigan State | L 42-28 |
10/19 | @ Michigan | L 63-47 |
11/2 | Minnesota | L 42-39 |
11/9 | Illinois | W 52-35 |
11/16 | @ Wisconsin | L 51-3 |
11/23 | @ Ohio State | L 42-14 |
11/30 | Purdue | W 56-36 |
So the Hoosiers went 5-7 in a year that they were expected to go 6-6 and to a bowl game. The likeliest of places for Indiana to get that sixth win would have been against Minnesota, but the Gophers were in the midst of a surprisingly positive season. Perhaps Wisconsin could have been a win, but...uhhhhh, nope.
Versus Michigan: Indiana scored early and often against Michigan, led by quarterback Tre Roberson, who accounted for four touchdowns (one on the ground) and 288 yards through the air. Kofi Hughes torched the Michigan defense with 138 yards and a TD on only six receptions, while Cody Latimer added another 96 yards and a touchdown on only five receptions.The Hoosiers' Tevin Coleman had 11 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown. However, 20 of his 78 yards came on one run. Here's a video of the Hughes touchdown...
When Michigan had the ball: Devin Gardner, 503 yards passing; Jeremy Gallon, 369 yards receiving. Boom!
Best Win: Penn State. The Hoosiers were able to snap a 16-game skid against the Lions going back to when Penn State first joined the league in 1993. Indiana QB Nate Sudfeld had a very good day with 321 yards and 2 TDs, while his co-QB Tre Roberson ran for two more touchdowns. Tevin Coleman rushed for 92 yards on the day, 44 of which came on one run and resulted in his only touchdown in the game. The receiving corps was led by Cody Latimer's 140 receiving yards, but it was Kofi Hughes who caught the lone TD. Perhaps the other story from this game was Indiana's poor defense playing the game of their lives and holding Penn State to a total of only 70 yards rushing.
Worst Loss: from a quality of competition standpoint Indiana didn't have one bad loss on their schedule. Navy went 9-4 (besides, I will never knock any of the service academies; I don't care how bad their record may be), all of the "M" schools had very solid W-L records by the time each met up with Indiana, and Ohio State and Wisconsin were very good. Not that I'm forced to pick something, but I'll throw Wisconsin out there because of the lopsided score (51-3). Indiana went into a cold and windy Camp Randall and laid a huge egg. Leading into the Wisconsin game, the Hoosiers were averaging 327.4 passing yards per game and three TDs, but walked out of Madison with only 122 yards and 0 TDs.
Outlook
Quarterbacks Nate Sudfeld and Tre Roberson will be returning, along with running back Tevin Coleman. Not returning are Kofi Hughes and Cody Latimer, who accounted for 50% of Indiana's receiving yards (1,835 of 3,680) and 16 of 36 touchdowns. That's a huge loss, but with the return of Shane Wynn and Coleman, the Indiana offense should still be potent enough. I'd list some returning defenders, but when you don't have a defense and it returns for the next year, you still don't have a defense.
Do they play Michigan in 2014?
Yes. Indiana will make the trip to Ann Arbor for Homecoming on November 1st, which could possibly be a little more exciting given the offense that Indiana can field.