Rose Bowl is in sight

On Saturday evening, I sat in my cozy seat within the confines of the press box at Memorial Stadium and was astonished at the thought that crossed my mind.

Indiana controls its own destiny in the Big Ten Championship Game, which takes place just one hour north of Bloomington at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. And if by some miraculous set of circumstances the Hoosiers were to win that title game, they’d head to the most improbable destination in the history of the program: The Rose Bowl.

Those looking in from outside the IU program are likely chuckling at that thought, but they haven’t seen what I’ve seen during the past two weeks.

I saw IU Coach Kevin Wilson and his team go on the road to Illinois last week and beat the Fighting Illini by two touchdowns, the first Big Ten Conference victory for the Hoosiers in Wilson’s command.

Then, the Hoosiers returned to Bloomington and beat Iowa, 24-21, for the first time since 2007.

With that victory and the ensuing discussion of IU’s chances to reach the promised land of Pasadena, Calif., the conclusion that must be made is that this IU team is for real, it is legitimate and it is no longer the laughing stock of college football.

The engine that has revved this Indiana team into the forefront of the Big Ten Conference picture and out of irrelevance has been an offense that can seemingly score on anyone, anywhere and at anytime.

It’s an offense that tacked 473 total yards on an Iowa defense that entered Saturday’s contest ranked 39th nationally in total defense, allowing an average of 355 yards per game.

Sophomore quarterback Cameron Coffman was the catalyst of the aerial attack that gouged the Iowa pass defense for 406 yards. In the process, Coffman might have grabbed his starting position by the horns, after watching all but the first drive of last week’s victory against Illinois from the bench.

Wilson made clear the significance of Coffman’s performance, despite having his confidence in the Peculiar, Mo., native waver in the first half.

“I’m very proud of the way Cam came back in because he played solid the second half,” Wilson said. “The two-minute drive to end the first half was huge to get momentum because we really struggled in the first half.”

Yet in the shadows of Coffman’s tremendous outing are ugly numbers.
The Hoosiers accumulated a total of only 67 rushing yards and turned the ball over two times, one of which was a costly interception from freshman quarterback Nate Sudfeld that was returned for a touchdown.

Coffman was quick and willing to address those problems shortly after the win.

“We’re starting to see a little bit of our work paying off, but at the same time nowhere near where we need to be,” Coffman said. “We’ve got to continue to work every day and get better every day, just like our goal.”

While Indiana is light-years away from being perfect, the road to glory is perfectly traversable for these Hoosiers.

And if all goes as planned, they might have just enough time to stop and smell the roses.

­— ckillore@indiana.edu