Burgess' career day blemished by late turnovers

A career day turned south quickly for senior running back Trea Burgess.

Elevated to the primary position after sophomore Darius Willis was ruled out for the season with a knee injury Thursday, Burgess yielded his first career 100-yard game on 19 carries.

But the rushing success didn’t seem to matter to the fifth-year player as he sat on the IU bench late in Saturday’s game, looking dejected after losing his second fumble in as many fourth-quarter drives.

His second — lost after being hit on a sweep to the right as IU tried to pick up a clinching third-and-one with less than two minutes to go — allowed the Red Wolves to convert the turnover into a touchdown that narrowed IU’s nine-point lead to two with 47 seconds to play.

But Burgess and the Hoosiers (4-2, 0-2) didn’t fumble away Homecoming when an Arkansas State (2-5) onside kick sailed out of bounds, allowing the Hoosiers to kneel twice, running out the clock and securing their second nonconference schedule sweep under coach Bill Lynch.

“It happens to the best. But it’s something that I’ve got to fix,” Burgess said after the game, seeming a bit subdued from the mistakes. “It’s something I’ll work on in practice and get it fixed.”

Burgess was slow to get up after a few hits — he diagnosed the pain as shoulder stingers — and noted they were a small factor when asked if the soreness contributed to the fumbles.

“Yeah, it was a contributor, but I don’t have no excuses,” Burgess said. “I’ve just got to hold on to the ball. This week in practice, it’s something I’m going to work on even harder.”

Burgess’ playing time thanks to Willis’ injury didn’t surprise him, nor did it put him into a role he wasn’t used to. At Ohio State, Burgess started at running back when Willis was ruled out just before the game.

“It’s rough, but it’s football,” Burgess said. “You never know who’s going to go down. The next person has always got to be ready. That’s why Coach rotates us all in and makes sure we all know what we’re doing and makes sure all of the backs get a look at all of the plays.”

In fact, IU has used a bit of committee-like approach to the rushing game this season.
Six players have rushed more than 10 times, though Burgess and Willis have netted the lion’s share (104) of the total team carries (184).

Previously, Burgess’ best game as a rusher was a 59-yard output on 13 carries at Akron last season. He has appeared in all six games this season and has carried the ball 40 times for 185 yards and a touchdown.

“He played a great game,” senior quarterback Ben Chappell said. “I felt bad for him there at the end losing those couple of balls. But he played a hell of a game, catching the ball, doing stuff that he hasn’t done. That’s what we’re going to need from him the rest of the season. I know he’ll continue to do it.”

Lynch agreed that Burgess was effective aside from the turnovers.

“I think Trea Burgess played well,” Lynch said. “You know, too bad for him that he had the fumbles at the end. But I think all in all he played very well. We had some guys that got dinged up and couldn’t play, so he had to go. “

Two of those running backs, freshman Antonio Banks and redshirt freshman Nick Turner, had limited playing time due to injuries sustained during the game. Turner only had one positive offensive play, an eight-yard catch from Chappell.

Lynch wasn’t immediately aware of why they were unavailable.

“In the heat of the battle, heat of the game I don’t spend a lot of time getting the injury report,” Lynch said. “Either a guy can go or he can’t. I’m not really exactly sure what that situation was.”

There was no hesitation to give the ball to Burgess, Lynch said.

“I do think in a close game there was a conscience effort to go with Trea,” Lynch said. “He’s a fifth-year senior, and it’s important to him. He was pass-blocking very well, and we thought he was our best guy.”

Lynch had noted earlier in the season that Willis had excelled as a pass blocking back in an offense geared to throw the ball, and Chappell said Burgess is making headway in that area.

“Trea is a big guy. He can hang in there,” Chappell said of the 6-foot-1-inch, 226-pound player. “I think it’s a lot of technique stuff. He’s doing well. He’s improving. Obviously the more you do it, that’s one of those things where it takes some reps with linebackers coming at you, guys blitzing and stuff.”

Burgess, who also caught two passes for 15 yards Saturday, was just glad that his team could hold on after fumbles.

“We got the win, that’s the most important thing,” Burgess said. “But for me, myself, I know I need to, especially in critical conditions, get better. I need to work on holding on to the ball more, but a win is the most important thing to me.”