Badgers come to Bloomington for Hoosiers’ last home game

The window of opportunity in 2008 is nearly shut.

Saturday, the IU football team plays the first of its final three games this year. To become bowl eligible, they must win all three. The Hoosiers start with their final home game against a struggling Wisconsin team.

The Hoosiers (3-6, 1-5) and the Badgers (4-5, 1-5) have both underperformed in the Big Ten. Both teams had aspirations of playing in a bowl game and both are on the fringe of closing the book on their seasons in November rather than December.

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If history proves consistent, though, Wisconsin should have the edge over IU. The last three meetings between the two teams have gone to the Badgers, including the Hoosiers’ 33-3 loss at Camp Randall Stadium last year.

“The last four years, they have really gotten after us, and we’re going to try and make it a good game,” sophomore wide receiver Mitchell Evans said.

Last week, the Hoosiers lost 37-34 against Central Michigan primarily because of backup quarterback Brian Brunner’s 485 passing yards. On Saturday, they expect a different type of attack from Wisconsin.

Powerful running back P.J. Hill – who is in pursuit of a third straight 1,000 yard rushing season – comes to Bloomington after rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown last week against the Spartans.

Last year, the Hoosiers only saw Hill for the first quarter because of a leg injury, but he still notched 57 yards and a touchdown in his time on the field.

“You’ve got to game tackle him – you have to get to him,” said IU coach Bill Lynch. “They do a lot of different things with the running game that stress you.”

In determining Hill’s effectiveness, considerable pressure falls on the defensive front seven, most notably the linebacking corps. Juniors Matt Mayberry and Will Patterson, who lead the team in total tackles with 57 and 54, respectively, will have to plug the holes and keep Hill at bay. Still, Lynch said it doesn’t stop there.

“Your safeties have to be involved in the running game, too,” Lynch said. “That’s why a great power running team stresses you so much because you have to get the safeties involved to stop the run and worry about the play-action pass over the top. ... It’s a balancing act.”

The more success Hill has, the more susceptible the IU secondary will be to the play-action fake – the same secondary that nearly gave up 500 yards in the air last weekend.

And IU’s secondary has continually been beaten up by injuries in the past few weeks. Against Northwestern, the Hoosiers lost junior safety Austin Thomas for the season, while junior safety Nick Polk suffered an undisclosed injury during practice, though Lynch seemed optimistic about his status for Saturday.

As for the skill position players, junior quarterback Kellen Lewis practiced with the starting offense and seems ready to play, and Lynch said he is just as confident that senior running back Marcus Thigpen will be back as well.

The addition of both players provides Lynch with more offensive options. Throughout the year, the team has shown flashes of success, but for the most part has played sporadically.

“We really don’t know,” said junior wide receiver Andrew Means when asked why the Hoosiers have played inconsistently this year. “We’re asking ourselves the same thing, too.