It’s not very often fans leave the game early when their team is up big. With the quality of play in Bloomington, maybe the players were checked out even before the game kicked off.
The game wasn’t easy on the eyes to say the least. 20 penalties, missed tackles and lack of enthusiasm. Despite the frustrating and repetitive mistakes, Indiana was victorious for the first time this season defeating South Carolina State 38-21. In doing so, first-year head coach Kevin Wilson won his first game with the Hoosiers and as a Division I head coach.
There were ideal conditions in Bloomington Saturday–an afternoon contest, 67 degrees and sunny.
Duwyce Wilson manages to pull in a 30-yard pass for touchdown in the Hoosiers 38-21 win.
This was a football game where I didn’t like a heck of a lot more than I liked. Simply because that’s what stands out and sticks in our mind. I wasn’t alone in my evaluation of the Hoosiers play. The official attendance was 41,203…but at halftime, there wasn’t half that and the majority of the students had left the stadium.
Coach Wilson made a big change at the beginning of the game, starting two true freshman and a redshirt-freshman on the offensive line. Postgame, he said he felt that these guys wanted to play more and had earned it.
“My deal if you don’t like where you are at, work hard and change it. Don’t accept it, don’t mope around, don’t feel sorry for yourself, because all you’re doing is proving hey we’re right yeah we’re not suppose to win games.”
Redshirt-sophomore Edward Wright-Baker began under center for the third straight game. He has gotten better with each game but still shows signs of inexperience and immaturity. He finished 19 for 24, 266 yards and two touchdowns. Though Coach Wilson admitted post game, the position is not set.
“He’s (Wright-Baker) not forcing throws and throwing into traffic,” Wilson said. “But when you fumble, you’re going to come out of the game…Ed separated himself a bit but he still has things to work on.”
All three competing quarterbacks got in throughout the game. Dusty Kiel was next, playing a couple series but he never looked comfortable–then again, he also hasn’t the kind of time Wright-Baker has. Kiel was first put in a bad position deep in the Hoosiers territory. They ended up going 3-and-out but Kiel was intercepted, although that was taken away because of offsetting penalties.
Later, true freshman Tre Roberson got in on a series and showed flashes of brilliance. Unfortunately for fans watching, Kiel replaced him after only a few plays. But during his time on the field, Roberson surveyed the field and he was able to escape the pressure on his feet. I think Wilson wants Roberson playing quarterback–but he’s simply not ready.
Bloomington-native D’Angelo Roberts provided a spark for Indiana in the third quarter. He put the team on his back for one drive in particular where he took a bulk of the carries and finished a 7-yard run for his first collegiate touchdown. He is the first freshman to pick up over 100 yards on the ground since Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis in 2003.
Indiana biggest struggle was in the penalty department, amassing 20 for 176 yards. YIKES! It was that bad and frustrating.
Offensive lineman Andrew McDonald was whistled for five false starts, and he is a veteran on the line. Center Will Matte did say afterwards that South Carolina State was doing things defensively that caught them off guard like barking out phony signals.
The Hoosiers set a record tonight and it wasn’t a good thing. 20 penalties was the most ever in school history, with the previous high of 16, last happening in 1998.
It was a great atmosphere, and a good test to the previously winless Hoosiers. The key points that stood were too many penalties, uncertainty at quarterback, and the fact that the defense gave up 21 points to an FCS team that didn’t even play that well.
A win is a ultimately a win–and progress towards on the young season.
“At least to give them some evidence that we’re on track and doing the right things, it was nice to get a good win. We’ve still got a lot of areas to improve on but it was a good win.”
And here is video of Coach Wilson’s post-game press conference.