Football coach remains patient

Many coaches in Cam Cameron's shoes would be frustrated by now.\nFor three years, the football coach has witnessed his team lose too many close games in the final minutes. This season is no different, as three of the Hoosiers' five losses have been decided in the last minutes of the game. Saturday against Penn State, Cameron's team fell 27-24 on a field goal with less than one minute remaining. \nIU had its best chance in six meetings to knock off the Nittany Lions, but couldn't stop Penn State from kicking a game-winning field goal in its final drive of the game. \nDespite losing another close game, Cameron said at his Tuesday news conference if he started to show signs of frustration, it would only create new problems for the Hoosiers.\n"If you start feeling frustrated, that's going to carry over to everyone else in the program," Cameron said. "Obviously, you're disappointed after the ballgame; you're disappointed for the seniors who don't get another chance to beat a Penn State. But you can't let frustration get the best of you. If you do, you give yourself no chance."\nIU (3-5, 2-3 Big Ten) started the season losing close games. In their opening game against North Carolina State, the Hoosiers blew a 12-point lead in the final five minutes and lost 41-38 to the Wolfpack. A week later at Kentucky, the Hoosiers led 26-21 at halftime before losing 41-34. \nAfter winning close games against Iowa in Week 4 of the season and Week 7 against then-No.22 Minnesota, the Hoosiers took a step back against Penn State. \n"If you look at every game, it comes down to one play, and one play that someone could've made where it could've been a difference in the game," sophomore defensive tackle Jamil Frink said. "We are a good team."\nThe Hoosiers must now win their three remaining games to qualify for postseason play. After the Illinois road game, the Hoosiers play Wisconsin at Memorial Stadium and close the season Nov. 18 in West Lafayette against No. 11 Purdue.\n"We know we've made some mistakes," senior cornerback Marcus Floyd said. "but we can't change the past. All we can do is learn from it. We're trying to stay positive. Our goals for the season are still alive and we're just trying to take it one game at a time."\nCameron said he told the team after the Penn State game a few plays at the right time and the Hoosiers would've picked up a "heckuva" a win against one of college football's premier teams. Now, Cameron and his team must find a way to regroup for IU's final three games. Cameron said this week, the Hoosiers are focusing on Illinois and nothing else.\n"We got three games to play mentally," Cameron said. "One of our goals would be to play in the postseason and this game gets you one step closer to that. That's why we're not focusing on three games, we're focusing on one game. There's still a lot of football to play this season"