LINCOLN, NE – Indiana appears to simply be a team of destiny.
Surely there was magic, or some other imperceptible force, in play when the Hoosiers won 16 straight games en route to a national championship a year ago. Surely that imperceptible force persisted into this season, and factored into the Hoosiers stunning Nebraska on Saturday, late in what would become a 20-17 win, their sixth consecutive victory of the year.
Except, as far as the human race knows, magic doesn’t exist.
Calm coaches do, though, as well as undaunted defensive fronts and elite pass catchers. Preparation exists. Composure exists. Perseverance exists. Standards exist. Execution to meet those standards exists.
“I’m not sure it’s completely sunk in that we won,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said in his opening statement after the game, “because it took everything the players and coaches had in that one to find a way to overcome.”
In the first quarter against Nebraska, Indiana fell behind on the scoreboard for the first time this season, and even deep into the fourth frame, the Hoosiers had to work from a deficit in order to capture the lead.
Indiana opened the second half with a field goal, but remained down by four points until almost three minutes into the fourth quarter, when Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea exercised his dual-threat abilities and pranced 39 yards down the field to the end zone.
Suddenly, Nebraska led by two possessions. The momentous score occurred with seemingly too little time on the clock for the Hoosiers to realistically mount a comeback, especially considering Indiana’s struggles on offense. Still, the Hoosiers surged, all the way into the lead and to victory.
“‘Good teams find a way to win a game like this at the end,’ that’s what I told them and that’s what we did,” Cignetti said.
Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover, among others, appreciated Cignetti’s composure and belief.
“I think the big thing today,” Hoover said, “was when your coach just has that calm demeanor like, ‘Guys, we’re going to win this game.’ It just gives everybody this sense of confidence that your leader, your head coach, he’s ready for the moment and I think everybody else just feeds off that.”
Nebraska’s sellout crowd stood in stunned silence twice. Once when Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh took a slant route to the house for a 75-yard touchdown, and once when Hoover schematically swerved from the heavy-set personnel Indiana put on the field on fourth-and-1 and flicked another touchdown pass to Marsh, that time from 44 yards out.
“I think Nick (Marsh) is getting more comfortable,” Hoover said, “he’s getting better every week. He’s a baller. He’s a big dude, it got tough for guys to cover him just because of his size and speed.”
Stunningly, Indiana was in front with just over seven minutes left. It was as if Cignetti authoritatively waved a magic wand, but of course, there were no wands in sight.
Indiana’s theft of the lead was swift and sudden, but not materially unexplainable.
After all, in order to dash 75 yards down the field and score, Marsh had to beat his defender by at least a step. Then, Hoover had to hit his target. Marsh won the initial one-on-one matchup, Hoover completed the pass and then Marsh incessantly sprinted until his cleats hit red turf.
In order to later toss the ball back to Marsh for another explosive score on fourth down, the Hoosiers had to design the diversion, and then actually execute it. They did.
“We’re all we’ve got, and we’re all we need,” Indiana defensive lineman Stephen Daley said.
It’s true that Indiana catapulted out of its doomsday deficit out of nowhere. It’s true that the pace and vehemence of the surge, especially considering how late it took place, was unforeseen by the majority of the stadium – but it wasn’t magical.
Nebraska committed to stopping the run, and succeeded, holding the Hoosiers to just 65 yards on the ground. In response, Indiana’s receivers created separation outside, opening the door for Hoover to propel the offense down the field.
On the other side, Indiana’s defensive front didn’t eliminate Colandrea’s legs from the equation, but it limited the damage he could inflict on the ground. The secondary pieced together a strong performance, too, climaxing with Jamari Sharpe’s interception in the third quarter.
Nebraska played well, but blundered a few possessions, like all college football teams do – except for Indiana. The Hoosiers didn’t beat themselves, at least not enough to catalyze a loss.
Nebraska swung big with tricky lateral motions and daring decisions in opposing territory, but hit more proverbial foul balls than home runs. An inaccurate toss to a receiver in motion led to a fumble, the lost yardage from which forced Nebraska to punt. A deep pass from outside the pocket resulted in Sharpe’s interception. Optimistic but unsuccessful throws towards the end zone at the end of the first half caused Nebraska to kick a field goal from 40 yards out, which the wind pushed wide left.
Everyone contributes to their own demise to some degree, in Nebraska’s case because the Cornhuskers needed to take a few risks if they were to knock off the reigning national champions, but the Hoosiers rarely commit more blunders than their opponents.
It’s not destiny, it’s discipline. It’s not conjuration, it’s consistency.
Indiana hasn’t lost in 22 months for a reason, and it’s not because the universe, or any entity that might govern it, just wants it to be that way.
It’s because Indiana, until proven otherwise, is verifiably and undeniably the best. It’s because its process is so precise and it holds its standards in such high regard that no one, even with all of the odds in their favor, seems to be completely capable of outdueling the Hoosiers.
Indiana makes one more play than the opponent does. Indiana doesn’t interrupt its own progress.
Indiana doesn’t need magic. It just needs itself.
