Hoosiers take it to Gophers, win 40-20

Chants of “Terry Hoeppner” rained down from the few students remaining in the stands. Several IU football players triumphantly hoisted their crimson helmets to the sky, where they met the October afternoon sun. And for the first time since 1994, the IU football team was 5-1. \nIU’s 40-20 home win Saturday against Minnesota put the Hoosiers just one win away from their ultimate goal – playing a 13th game – a bowl game – for Hoeppner, their late coach. The Hoosiers last played in a bowl game 14 years ago. \nBut IU’s quick start has caused many on the team to re-evaluate their preseason goal.\n“Our goal is, of course, get to a bowl victory, but we’re trying to get to a big bowl,” said junior wide receiver James Hardy, who caught a touchdown pass on the day. \nBut Hardy won’t let the team get ahead of itself. He remembers last year when a big home win put IU within one game of becoming bowl eligible. In the next game, the Minnesota Golden Gophers trounced IU 63-26 in Minneapolis. \nThat’s one reason why Saturday’s win meant that much more. \n“I made sure everyone knew that they annihilated us last year. ‘Don’t take it lightly coming in and just try to annihilate them this year,’” Hardy said. “We weren’t able to do that, but we got a good victory that got us to five wins.”\nHardy helped IU on its quest for payback by hauling in two catches on the first drive – a 51-yard bomb and a fade route that put the Hoosiers up 7-0. \nMinnesota responded with a successful drive, spurred by a crucial third-and-long pass play from Gophers quarterback Adam Weber to Tray Herndon. After a deep pass of their own from Weber to wide receiver Eric Decker, Weber scampered into the end zone two plays later to tie the score. \nThe big play aided the Hoosiers again when sophomore running back Bryan Payton sprinted up the middle for a 48-yard touchdown run. \nBut Payton had some help from his offensive line. \nAnd the video scoreboard. \nAfter sprinting past the line of scrimmage untouched, Payton had to beat a few defenders in the Minnesota secondary.\n“I looked up at the big screen and saw somebody coming, gave him the dead leg and got in the end zone,” Payton said. \nHe finished the day with 13 carries for 90 yards and three touchdowns. \nAfter Payton’s first score, the Gophers knotted the game up again with a 10-play, 60-yard touchdown drive, capped off by Gophers running back Duane Bennett’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.\nBut after that, the IU defense held Minnesota’s offensive attack in check. \nThe Gophers were limited to just 11 yards rushing in the first half, and the Hoosiers sacked Weber twice, including once for a 17-yard loss by sophomore defensive end Greg Middleton, who still leads the Big Ten in sacks with 8.5.\nMeanwhile, the IU offense continued to put points on the board, either off the leg of junior kicker Austin Starr or with Payton’s runs. Starr booted four field goals on the day, including a 47-yarder. \nIU scored on seven of its first eight drives. The only time IU didn’t score was when sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis threw an interception in the third quarter. Lewis finished the game 24-of-36 for 235 yards with one touchdown and the interception. He also rushed 10 times for 75 yards.\nThe Hoosiers didn’t punt the ball until there were less than 13 minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter. \n“Going into the fourth quarter, I didn’t even think I was going to have to go out there and punt,” said senior punter Michael Hines. “Kellen Lewis would come over and he was talking to Starr, saying that he was sorry for putting so much pressure on him with all those field goals, and I was just thanking him for keeping me off the field. I was like ‘Hey, you’re making my job pretty easy today.’”\nThe Hoosiers travel to East Lansing, Mich., for a prime-time matchup with Michigan State at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Spartans are 4-2 on the year and are coming off an overtime loss to perennial Big Ten bottom feeder, Northwestern. \nThe Hoosiers are currently receiving the fourth-most votes of any unranked team in the AP Top 25 and the eighth-most votes of any unranked team in the coaches’ poll. Payton said the future may be even brighter for the Hoosiers.\n“We have fans who are loyal to us, but I feel there’s always that little doubt in everybody’s head,” Payton said. “There’s always a little doubt, going ‘What if? What if?’ There is no what if. ... We know that, with what we’re capable of, we can beat anybody on the schedule.”