Sun Belt Sports Fans

Indiana 36, Arkansas State 34

This was precisely the kind of game that misled so many college football experts on the Heisman Trophy race.

Remember when Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson was a Heisman contender? Indeed, that seemed so long ago, but the reason why Robinson originally got onto the Heisman list was that he smoked a bunch of inferior defenses, including the one fielded by the Indiana Hoosiers. Robinson scooted for 218 rushing yards and threw for 277 passing yards when Michigan beat Indiana, 42-35, a few weeks ago. That’s how a brief Heisman storyline emerged, but when real defenses from Michigan State and Iowa came along, Denard suddenly lost the mustard on his fastball. Indiana enabled Mr. Robinson to become a big deal before other, better teams entered the picture.

With that as prelude (and explanation), Indiana didn’t exactly defend up a storm this past Saturday against one last non-conference opponent. The Hoosiers did win, but their defense almost allowed them to blow a game that needed to go their way.

Indiana got all it could handle in its Homecoming contest on Saturday, squeaking past Sun Belt Conference member Arkansas State by just two points. Hoosier quarterback Ben Chappell put up his usual gaudy numbers despite a rough first half.  Chappell completed 26 of 42 passes for 382 yards and four touchdowns.

Red Wolves quarterback Ryan Aplin put up some spectacular numbers of his own, completing 33 of 44 for 275 yards and two touchdowns.  He also ran for two scores.

Aplin gave the Red Wolves a 7-0 lead with a one-yard touchdown run on Arkansas State’s first possession.  The touchdown capped a 12-play, 85-yard drive that saw Aplin complete five straight passes. After a pair of Mitch Ewald field goals provided some scoring punch for Indiana and cut the ASU lead to 7-6, the Red Wolves took a 14-6 lead late in the second quarter on Aplin’s second touchdown run of the game, this time from four yards out. A quick Indiana scoring drive, capped by Chappell’s seven-yard pass to Tandon Doss with 40 seconds left in the half, cut the Hoosiers’ deficit to two at halftime.

Indiana took its first lead of the game when Chappell hit teammate Terrance Turner for a 27-yard touchdown pass that gave the Hoosiers a 19-14 advantage with 4:08 left in the third quarter. The teams then went back and forth in a wild fourth quarter that featured absolutely no defense whatsoever.

After IU took a 22-14 lead on an Ewald field goal, Arkansas State answered with a six-yard run by Sirgregory Thornton with 11:39 to play.  IU was able to hang on to its two-point lead by denying the Red Wolves’ two-point conversion attempt.

The Hoosiers quickly took a nine-point lead on Chappell’s 16-yard pass to Max Dedmond, but Arkansas State answered less than two minutes later when Aplin hit Dwayne Frampton for a five-yard touchdown. What was and is instructive to note is that if ASU had not chased the extra point at the 11:39 mark of the fourth quarter, and had instead been willing to trail by only one point (22-21) instead of two (22-20), Indiana’s subsequent touchdown would have made the score 29-21, which would in turn have given Arkansas State the ability to tie the game on a 2-point try (29-27). Instead, Indiana nursed a two-point lead and ASU was powerless to do anything about the matter.

Then things got worse for coach Steve Roberts’ squad from Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Chappell struck the decisive blow for Indiana just 19 seconds after ASU pulled within two at 29-27. Chappell managed to hit Damarlo Belcher for a 65-yard touchdown. The play re-established a two-score lead, at 36-27, so even though Arkansas State scored, the Red Wolves couldn’t tie or take the lead.

Indiana didn’t play defense on Saturday. Thank goodness it played enough offense, and for the Hoosiers’ sake, thank goodness as well that Arkansas State chased a point on a conversion a few minutes earlier than it really needed to.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer