Hoosiers run, win with wind at their backs

The Hoosiers came away with one of the most emphatic wins of the season against the heavily-favored No. 24 Minnesota Golden Gophers. However, IU had an improbable 12th man on the team -- strong winds. \nThroughout the afternoon, the Hoosiers and Gophers played through winds averaging nearly 25 miles per hour with gusts of up to 40 mph. IU coach Gerry DiNardo said the wind was certainly a factor when drawing up the Hoosiers' scheme for the game.\n"The wind changed the game plan," DiNardo said. "Before the game in the locker room, we talked about how this wind favors a running game. So, we decided we were going to come out and try to run."\nLuckily for the Hoosiers, the run worked as IU gained a total of 238 yards on the ground while sophomore running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis came away with his first 100-plus yard game since the Hoosiers' Sept. 4. win against Central Michigan University with 110 yards on the ground. Green-Ellis said the wind took away some opportunities for big plays and effected the trajectory of the game. \n"It had a bit of an effect because it took a few of our long balls away that would have gone for touchdowns," Green-Ellis said. "But we bounced back, we came back and did what we had to do to win the game."\nWhile IU's rush offense prospered, Minnesota's vaunted ground game faltered as IU's rush defense which had given up an average 213.1 yards per game, was able to stop a ground offense that averaged 278.4 ypg coming into the contest. When it was all said and done, the Hoosiers kept their opponents to a mere 169 rushing yards.\nJunior linebacker Kyle Killion said the wind allowed IU to stop the run because the defensive unit was able to better predict and scheme against the Gopher offense. \n"The wind was huge ... It really changed the game because they couldn't throw it with the wind against them," Killion said. "It really helped us see what they were going to do because all they could do with the wind against them was run." \nThe lynchpin of the Hoosier victory came in the second quarter with IU down 14-0 when junior safety Will Lumpkin picked off a Gopher pass and returned it 42 yards for the touchdown. Again, the wind could not keep its hands out of the fate of the game as Minnesota's sophomore quarterback Bryan Cupito threw the ball into the wind and made it loft into the air. Lumpkin said the interception was one of a kind, both because it was the first of his career and because of the magnitude of the game. \n"It was what you dream about," he said. "It keeps you going when I got hurt last year. When you think about the opportunity to get the big play at Homecoming, in a home game, get a big win for us is just a dream come true."\nMinnesota coach Glen Mason said the wind certainly was a large aspect in the game, but stopped short of saying it was the reason for the Golden Gopher loss.\n"The wind was definitely a factor in the game today; I think that it affected the kicking game more than anything. But you could see in the first quarter how some of passes made by (IU quarterback Matt LoVecchio) were effected by it," Mason said. "There's no doubt that it was strong and it was one of those swirling type winds so it was a factor, but that is not where we got beat today. We got beat because we didn't tackle well, we didn't block well, we didn't catch the ball and we made some bad decisions"\nLoVecchio said the wind only affected the team that threw against it, as both of Minnesota's first quarter scores came with its back to the wind whereas the Hoosiers also scored with the wind in their favor. \n"In the first half the wind was really a factor," LoVecchio said. "We were against it in the first quarter, but we were able to throw the ball a little more efficiently in the second quarter, and we put some points on the board."\nSenior wide receiver Courtney Roby said the ball was especially tough to reel in at times due to the wind. However, he congratulated his team on fighting through the adversity and coming out with its first win in six tries.\n"In the first quarter, it was like the ball went every which way and you had to really concentrate on it," Roby said. "But it's just something that you've got to fight through, it definitely does effect how the ball is caught ... but we just came out with intensity and came out with the 'W.'"\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.