Disappointing season marred by inconsistency, injury, comes to close

WEST LAFAYETTE – No player, no game plan, not even a little prayer to the football gods could reverse the 180-degree turn IU football has taken in the past 12 months. At Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday, that sentiment was as evident as any of the other low points this season.

Long faces, few positives and a 62-10 drubbing left IU humiliated. Leaving nothing in the tank, Joe Tiller’s team emptied all of its emotion on the Hoosiers and handed the program its worst loss in the rivalry game in 115 years.

“It’s pretty disappointing,” said senior kicker Austin Starr. “You can’t really sugarcoat it. Words can’t really describe it.”

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Four months ago, this Hoosier team was supposed to put IU football back on the map. Led by returning stars and one of the better recruiting classes the program had seen in years, the Hoosiers weren’t only expected to go back to their second straight bowl game – they wanted to take the next step and win one.

But as brightly as last season shone on the program, things changed for the worse quickly this year.

Injuries mounted, the fan base became discouraged and losses took their toll. Players who were expected to perform well – such as juniors defensive end Greg Middleton and quarterback Kellen Lewis – did just the opposite week to week.

On Saturday, Middleton did not even register on the stat sheet and saw a drop-off of 12 sacks from last year. Lewis, whose statistics make him one of the more prolific passers in IU history, completed 13-of-25 passes against the Boilermakers for 92 yards, two interceptions and one touchdown, capping an underwhelming junior year.

Both had hoped to follow up on all-conference first- and second-team performances from a year ago, respectively, indicative of IU’s season as a whole.

And a year after finishing 7-5 in the regular season and nabbing an Insight Bowl bid, the program essentially has nowhere to look but up.

“There’s so many unfortunate things, things you can’t control,” said junior defensive end Jammie Kirlew. “From injuries to just everything going on. It gives me something to look forward to. ... I know we’re going to work so hard over this off-season.”

During their post-game interviews, seniors, such as running back Marcus Thigpen and kicker Austin Starr, said they are leaving the program in better shape than when they began their careers. But so often this Big Ten season, this team was abused and humiliated time and again.

IU averaged a woeful 20.5 points per game this year, compared to putting up just shy of 32 points each game a year ago. The defense allowed 423 points this year, and IU’s opponents scored at least 40 points six times. Last year, that happened twice.

It will be a tough off-season for Bill Lynch and Co., as the coach lost support from much of the fan base throughout the year. Now he will get only a short time off before he goes back to work again to rebuild a program that once again seems to be lacking direction.

“It’s a disappointing year, it’s a disappointing game,” Lynch said. “But we’re going back to work once we get to Bloomington. ... Nobody’s going to hang their head, and we’re going to get our guys going.”