Hoosiers show glimpses of past and future in loss

This team was supposed to be different.

The 2009 Hoosiers preached from August to November about the changes in the program and about how they were going to make football relevant at IU.

In a 38-21 loss to Purdue, that progress was hard to find.

It was an all-around ugly game on both sides, as was to be expected between two mediocre teams playing for nothing but pride. No one expected a perfect game, but signs of change would have been sufficient.

But the program’s directional change IU coach Bill Lynch and company talked about was, admittedly, hard to see on the field.

“On the outside, all you see is what’s played on Saturday and the final score, and that’s obviously what we’re judged on,” Lynch said. “But if you’re asking me about making progress, it’s what I see every day in the halls of this complex in terms of work ethic and accountability and leadership and all those things that you get tired of hearing me talk about.”

What everyone sees is a team that, despite all the talk of improvement, finished 2009 with only one more win than last season at 4-8 on the season. It’s a team that has finished at the bottom of the Big Ten yet again.

Adding to the disappointment, at least for those outside the locker room, was another missed opportunity to hook a legion of fans to IU football.  

Just as it did when Ohio State came to town, Memorial Stadium’s student section expanded and sold out. It was a refreshing sight for my eyes, as a packed and rabid student section should be a staple of every Big Ten football stadium. It was a godsend for the IU Athletics Department, with its largest money-generator finally paying off.

However, just as they did Oct. 3, those students left early while IU dropped a game it never really had a chance to win.

It’s hard not to argue, though, that the team does appear to have a heightened desire to win and a feeling of greater responsibility. You could see it in the defense’s intensity in the second half Saturday, and you could hear it in the upset voices in postgame interviews.

But while shoulders sagged as Purdue celebrated with the Old Oaken Bucket on the Hoosiers’ field, Saturday showed some reasons to remain optimistic.  

IU’s brightest future lies in the wide receivers, and junior Mitchell Evans threw his name into the ring with 10 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. And freshman running back Darius Willis showed he could be an All-Big Ten player when healthy, scrambling for a game-high 142 yards on 19 carries.  

The influx of young talent could neutralize the effects of losing the Hoosiers’ senior leaders, but that will depend on their commitment to turning the program around. One of those seniors, running back Bryan Payton, said he’s leaving a team primed for success.  

“They’re in good hands,” Payton said. “I think the young talent on this team is definitely going to carry the team to great heights. There is no doubt in my mind they’re going to be a great team next year.”

Filling the running back’s shoes, Willis will be one of the main weapons counted on to be a leader in the next few seasons, and he said he feels he’ll be part of a much different team.  

“We don’t give up anymore; people play all out,” Willis said. “There’s a lot of togetherness, We’re playing as a team, and you can see that in the locker room, and you can see that on the field, even at practice.  

“This program is changing, and we have the right people. We’ve just got to keep moving forward.”  

It’d be nice had it changed already, but for at least one more winter, we’ll have to wait.