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Strong defensive effort leads Indiana to upset of Northwestern

Oct 25, 2008 - 10:07 PM BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (Ticker) -- It took a standout effort from one of the weakest defenses in the Big Ten Conference, but Indiana finally put an end to its losing streak.

The Hoosiers forced five turnovers - including a pivotal fumble recovery with less than two minutes remaining - to pull off a 21-19 upset of 24th-ranked Northwestern on Saturday.

"It was a great team win for us," Indiana head coach Bill Lynch said. "When we were struggling, we were turning it over and not creating any turnovers and that was the difference in the game today ... was the turnovers. The defense did a great job in forcing fumbles and getting interceptions."

Indiana (3-5, 1-4 Big Ten) came into the game as one of the lowest-ranked scoring defenses in the country - yielding an average of 30.9 points. The Hoosiers also were second-to-last in the Big Ten in total defense.

But the Hoosiers showed an uncharacteristic explosiveness Saturday, as they won for the first time since September 6 over Murray State. They took the lead late in the first half on quarterback Ben Chappell's 3-yard touchdown run.

The Wildcats (6-2, 2-2) trimmed their deficit to 21-19 and drove into Indiana territory with less than five minutes to play. But junior safety Austin Thomas picked off C.J. Bacher for the second time to end the threat.

"I think we got the attitude back that if we play physically and mentally tough football for four quarters, we can win," said junior defensive end Jamie Kirlew, who had nine tackles and a forced fumble. "They drove on us, but I think we made critical stops when we had to."

Bacher, who turned the ball over three times, took a hit on the play and was knocked out of the game with a leg injury.

The Hoosiers could not capitalize on the turnover, giving the Wildcats one last chance to avoid the upset. But with Bacher sidelined, Northwestern was forced to turn to seldom-used junior Mike Kafka, who failed to jump-start the offense.

After completing his first pass - a 9-yard strike to Rasheed Ward - Kafka lived up to his namesake on a bizarre play that put Northwestern back near its own goal line. He was brought down by a heavy rush, but then launched the ball backward just before hitting the ground.

That set up a third-and-35 from the Wildcats' 5-yard line, and once again Indiana brought pressure. Kafka was pushed out of the pocket and hit just as he tried to let off a pass, fumbling the ball near the sideline. Indiana defensive end Greg Middleton picked it up to end Northwestern's chances.

The game was a close statistical contest, as Indiana held just a 319-316 edge in total yardage.

"You turn the ball over five times, they're going to lunge back," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "A good football team like Indiana, a team that can make big plays, is going to make the play."

Chappell, a sophomore, provided the offense for the Hoosiers, completing 21-of-34 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown.

Freshman wide receiver Tandon Doss registered his first career 100-yard performance, hauling in eight passes for 107 yards and a 28-yard touchdown reception that gave the Hoosiers a 21-12 lead late in the third quarter.

"(Offensive coordinator) Bobby Johnson has done a great job with the offensive line - we kept rotating new people in there today and I thought they really handled themselves well," Lynch said. "Some young freshman wideouts made some big plays for us."

Bacher completed 21-of-34 passes for just 155 yards and a pair of interceptions, while senior tailback Tyrell Sutton was held to just 77 yards on 27 carries - an average of 2.7 yards per carry. His 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter gave the Wildcats their last lead of the game.

Coming into the day, Indiana had given up a combined 100 points in its last two games in losses to Iowa and Illinois.

"This is a big confidence builder for everybody, and you can do so much with confidence," Kirlew said. "You can play your best games with a lot of confidence and, if we continue to play confident and practice confident and go through every game, I think we'll be all right."