Errors cost Hoosiers game

Forty-four yards and it seemed the football team was back in the game. \nAfter a strong goal line stand by the defense, the offense used momentum to take the ball down the field. After a 44-yard touchdown pass from senior Antwaan Randle El to senior running back Levron Williams, IU was a score away from the lead.\nBut this came after a multitude of personal foul penalties, a blocked punt, a missed field goal and the defensive inability to make third-down stops. It came before IU let Ohio State convert a third-and-seventeen into a first down on a 21-yard pass that led to the final Buckeyes touchdown. It was enough for IU to help itself to a 27-14 defeat.\n"Defensively, you are going to give up things," coach Cam Cameron said. "There are too many good offenses these days. It comes to critical downs. If you can get them into a tough third-down situation, then you better get them stopped. You better be good on all three downs. It's a matter of not making plays."\nBlown chances, a.k.a The Tale of the 2001 Hoosier Football Team. \n"We talked to our football team and we knew going in that it was going to be a close game and a good football game," Cameron said. "We wanted to get the game into the fourth quarter. We go back and score and it's 20-14. We get the ball back and we're in the situation we wanted to be in and we just didn't make plays. We missed opportunities. You saw the same things I saw."\nCameron and spectators saw his team give up almost 400 yards to the Buckeyes (2-1), who, coming into the game averaged 345.5 yards in two games. \nThis was an OSU team that was successful once in 14 chances against UCLA in third down conversions. Against the Hoosiers (0-3), they converted seven times on 15 attempts.\n"On defense, there were a couple times in the first half and the second half when we would get stopped on first down and second down, and we'd get them into third and long, and if you don't get them stopped in those situations it's not going to be good for the defense at all," senior linebacker Justin Smith said. "That's the thing we are going to be focused on this week, getting them stopped when we have them stopped."\nTwice, the Hoosiers had the Buckeye offense in a third-and-long position. Each time, Ohio State was able to pass out of trouble. On the Buckeyes opening drive, IU gave them the first down for free with a facemask penalty. The Hoosiers had them to a third-and-ten before the penalty, but the drive resulted in an OSU field goal.\nThe Hoosiers kicking miseries that were supposed to be remedied looked all too familiar as freshman Bryan Robertson had the same problem as fellow field goal kickers before him. Just enough leg, not enough aim. He missed a 44-yard attempt that sailed wide left.\n"You've watched two weeks in a row, where we could have, should have, would have won the ball game," Cameron said. "Are we a team that has to play mistake-free football? Yes."\nNot to say the Buckeyes play was unblemished. Their kicker helped IU keep the score close by missing two of his field goals attempts. Ohio State had seven penalties and gave up 47 yards, but three times when they committed penalties on their own drive, they were still able to score.\nAs bleak as the state of the team looked on Saturday, the Hoosiers repeated what they have said after each loss: they may be down, but don't count them out.\n"It's tough, but none of us is going to quit," senior Craig Osika said. "I don't care who you are on this team, no one is going to quit. We can't accept that and we won't accept that"