Hoosiers insist they’ll ‘Play 13’

Last season, IU was 5-4 after a win against Michigan State with three games remaining on the schedule. The Hoosiers would have been bowl eligible if they had emerged victorious the following week at Minnesota. Sadly for IU, it was thumped 63-26, and then dropped its remaining two games of the year to finish 5-7 – prolonging the bowl drought.\nLast Saturday, IU had another chance to become bowl eligible but once again got shellacked on the road, losing 52-27 to Michigan State. The Hoosiers insist their fate will be different this year.\n“The difference between last year and this year is last year, we lost and we put our head down ... I wouldn’t say we pointed fingers, but a lot of blame was placed here, a lot of blame was placed there,” sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis said. “This year we lose the game, look at the film, get over it and move on to the next game.”\nThat next game will come Saturday for IU (5-2. 2-2) in its homecoming bout against Penn State (5-2, 2-2). It is the second game of a difficult three-game stretch for the Hoosiers, who will face Wisconsin on the road Oct. 27. If IU plans to chalk up their sixth win of the season in their game against Penn State, Lewis said the ability of the team to bounce back after a loss will be a key factor. \n“I’m not sure we showed up for the whole game Saturday,” Lewis said. “If we don’t come to play we could lose again, but if we do come to play we’re capable of beating anyone in the Big Ten.”\nThe Hoosiers have shown resolve so far this season. \nAfter jumping out to a 3-0 start, IU dropped its Big Ten opener to Illinois. But in their next two games the Hoosiers won handily by scores of 38-20 at Iowa and 40-20 against Minnesota. IU coach Bill Lynch expressed his confidence in the Hoosiers’ ability to persevere. \n“I’ve said this many times: It’s a resilient group,” Lynch said. “I know they’re looking forward to getting back after it and having a chance to play again.”\nWhile there are similarities between the blowout at Minnesota last year and the loss at the hands of the Spartans last week, Lewis insisted that it wasn’t as complicated as IU pressing for its sixth win – IU was simply outplayed.\n“From the snap they came out and they were pumped the whole game,” Lewis said. “They never let off. We weren’t able to match that intensity like we did with Iowa. After they got up a couple of scores they kept rolling.”\nDating back to that loss at Minnesota last season, the Hoosiers have been 0-4 the last two years in games where they’ve had a chance to earn bowl eligibility. Last season was the first year that anyone on the Hoosiers’ roster had the opportunity to get to a bowl game. Although the lack of experience in those types of games may have hurt them, junior defensive tackle Greg Brown said the experience his team went through last year has made them a stronger unit this season.\n“We were in this position last year, and I didn’t think we knew how to take it because we’d never been in that situation before,” Brown said. “Obviously we’re a way better team now. We’re more experienced.”