Hoosiers' miscue leads to loss

It seemed like a harmless penalty -- something that wouldn't hurt the Hoosiers in the big picture. But it would start the downward spiral that would ultimately lead to the Hoosiers' 43-22 loss to Wisconsin Saturday at Memorial Stadium.\nIU had a 6-0 lead as the first half was coming to an end. The Hoosiers (3-7, 2-5 Big Ten) had the ball and had worked their way to the Badgers' 10-yard line with just under two minutes on the clock. Facing a third down and needing four yards, sophomore tight end Bobby Brandt was whistled for a false start, pushing IU back five yards.\nThis is where things went downhill for the Hoosiers. On the next play, junior quarterback Antwaan Randle El was flushed from the pocket and rolled to his right. Forced to make a play on the move, Randle El tried to squeeze a pass into junior receiver Derin Graham in right corner of the end zone. The pass was picked off by Wisconsin's defensive back Mike Echols for a touchback.\n"I was trying to give (Graham) a chance when it comes to just making a play on a third down, but it was too short," Randle El said. "(Echols) made a great play on it to pick it off."\nThe Badgers (7-4, 4-4), starting from their own 20-yard line with 40 seconds on the clock, quickly moved down the field behind the arm of redshirt freshman quarterback Jim Sorgi. With starter Brooks Bollinger out of the game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle, Sorgi filled in and brought the Badgers back.\nWith 15 seconds left in the half, Sorgi hit sophomore receiver Lee Evans for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Badgers a 7-6 lead at the break.\n"That's a 10 point swing in the last minute of the half," coach Cam Cameron said. "We were never able to get ourselves back into position after that."\nIU forced three Badger fumbles in the opening 30 minutes, but the Hoosiers' offense was only able to muster two field goals by Andy Payne.\nJust as well as the Hoosiers' defense played, the Badgers defense also played well. The interception by Echols, one of four on the day by Wisconsin, sparked the Badgers.\n"There was a buzz throughout the team," Evans said of Echols' interception. "We just started going."\nCameron could not help but wonder how the game would have been different had Randle El been able to dispose of that last pass.\n"We're with a minute to go in the half and you're throwing the football to give yourself an opportunity to score," Cameron said. "If it's not there, we have to make sure we get an incompletion and get (a field goal)."\nAlthough things seemed to unravel at the end of the first half, the Hoosiers remained focused.\n"There was never a thing of backing down or anything like that," Randle El said. "We just had to come out and make plays."\nThe importance of the last 60 seconds of the first half was only accentuated by the way the Badgers came out in the second half. Sorgi led Wisconsin through an 80-yard drive that consumed the first five minutes of the third quarter that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end John Sigmund. The play gave the Badgers a 14-6 lead.\nThe Hoosiers responded with a touchdown of their own to make the score 14-12, but Wisconsin would hold the lead the rest of the way as they eventually turned the game into a blowout. In the end, the bad penalties in crucial situations and poor decisions that mired that last minute of the first half led IU to their demise Saturday.\n"All those things," Cameron said, "add up to reasons why you're not able to take advantage of opportunities"