Two 60-Yard Field Goals and Overtime: Indiana Escapes Minnesota
Indiana came within seconds of disaster Saturday in Bloomington. Trailing 16-13 with 19 seconds left after a 60-yard Minnesota field goal, the fourth-ranked Hoosiers answered with a 60-yard field goal from Paddy McAteer as time expired. In overtime, backup quarterback Grant Wilson found Charlie Becker for a touchdown on the first play, and the defence held. Indiana wins 23-16 and moves to 8-1.
A first half with no rhythm
The game had started well enough for Indiana. After a 37-yard field goal from Minnesota's Luke Drzewiecki, the Hoosiers' defence forced a fumble and recovered it 14 yards from the end zone. Two plays later, Josh Hoover threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Nick Marsh: 7-3.
Then Indiana's offence stalled. Minnesota took the lead in the second quarter on a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drake Lindsey, and the Golden Gophers led 10-7 at halftime. It was their offence's only touchdown of the game, but it was enough to put Indiana under pressure.
At halftime, head coach Curt Cignetti made a bold call: Hoover stayed on the bench, replaced by Grant Wilson. The backup brought a bit more movement to the offence. A long third-quarter drive let Nicolas Radicic tie the game with a 46-yard field goal, 10-10.
Special teams, from weak spot to lifeline
Indiana's problem on Saturday showed up mostly on special teams. The Hoosiers attempted five field goals: three made, one missed and one blocked. Another chance was wasted on a botched snap. That is a lot of points left on the field in a game decided by almost nothing.
Minnesota took advantage. Drzewiecki put the Golden Gophers back in front in the fourth quarter with a 51-yard field goal, 13-10. Radicic tied it again with a little over three minutes left, from 34 yards. Then Minnesota got the ball back and pushed to the edge of its kicker's range.
With 19 seconds to play, Drzewiecki lined up for a 60-yard attempt, the longest of his career. The ball split the uprights: 16-13 Minnesota, and defeat looked inevitable for Indiana.
Indiana's defence, for its part, did its job. Minnesota scored only one offensive touchdown all afternoon; its other nine points came from Drzewiecki's foot, on three made field goals, two of them from beyond 50 yards. Without that defence, the special-teams mistakes would have cost Indiana the game much earlier.
Two plays to force overtime
It took two plays to turn everything around. On the first, Wilson threw deep to Charlie Becker, who hauled in a 33-yard pass. There was only time left for one kick, and Cignetti trusted Paddy McAteer, also from 60 yards, also for the longest make of his career. The ball went through, time ran out, and the score was 16-16.
Overtime lasted a single play for Indiana's offence. Wilson went back to Becker, this time in the end zone, for a 25-yard touchdown. Minnesota then had its possession to tie, but the Hoosiers' defence stopped it and ended the game. For Wilson, who entered at halftime in a game going the wrong way, it was hard to imagine a better answer.
Two 60-yard field goals in the same game, seconds apart: it is a rare sight, and it sums up a contest in which the kickers often mattered more than the offences.
A win that worries as much as it reassures
Indiana moves to 8-1, 5-1 in the Big Ten, heading into a bye week. The defending national champions again showed they can win close finishes: it is their second straight overtime win, after beating Michigan last week, and their fourth straight game decided by one possession.
But the margin for error is shrinking. The offence has struggled to sustain drives for several weeks, the starting quarterback question is now open after Hoover's benching, and special teams nearly cost the game. The bye week comes at the right time to sort things out. Indiana then hosts USC on Nov. 14, in a November that will decide its playoff fate.
For Minnesota (5-3, 3-2), the loss is cruel. The Golden Gophers led for most of the afternoon, capitalized on every Indiana mistake and thought they had the win with 19 seconds left. They were one defensive stop, on a single pass, away from the biggest result of their season, on the road, against the country's fourth-ranked team.
