Hell of a Job by the Hoosiers (Not the Refs) in Ann Arbor

September 26, 2009 By 3 Comments

I was in Memorial Stadium the last time Indiana beat Michigan in football.

The year was 1987, and Indiana was just a few years removed from a winless season. With Bill Mallory as head coach, and led by Anthony Thompson and Dave Schnell, the Hoosiers put together one of the best seasons in school history that year. They beat both Michigan and Ohio State and found themselves in the top 10 for the only time since I’ve been alive.

Today, the Hoosiers — this edition coached by Bill Lynch and led by freshman RB Darius Willis and junior QB Ben Chappell — almost knocked off the Michigan Wolverines for the first time in two decades, but ultimately fell just short.

And the Hoosiers should justifiably be feeling cheated as they fly home.

Who knows what would have happened if the referees had not awarded possession to Michigan on a controversial interception with 2:30 left in the 4th quarter, but it sure would have been nice to see the Hoosiers have a chance to drive down the field.

(Follow the link to ESPN’s recap of the IU-Michigan game, including video of the controversial play and Bill Lynch going nuts.)

The team, its coach, and its fans deserved better.

But Indiana has been getting screwed in The Big House for years. One of the only times I ever saw the great Bill Mallory lose his composure was after a game against Michigan.  I don’t remember the exact nature of the call, but I know it was on special teams and went against SS James Summerall. Mallory rightfully called out the officials in the post-game press conference and was disciplined for doing so.

I haven’t seen Bill Lynch’s press conference yet, but I hope he spoke his mind. The Hoosiers deserved better.

Congratulations on a great effort IU. There are no moral victories, but there are losses that you can be more proud of than others. This was one of those days for IU.

And you can bet that Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes won’t be sleeping on IU next weekend.

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* – Bill Lynch photo credit: Herald Times Online

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Filed Under: Big Ten Football, CFB Tagged With: ben chappell, Big Ten football, bill lynch, CFB, darius willis, indiana hoosiers, indiana-michigan, Michigan Wolverines
About Jerod Morris

A proud graduate of Indiana University, Jerod Morris founded Midwest Sports Fans in August of 2008 and has been its Managing Editor every day since. Follow him on Twitter (@JerodMorris) for MSF updates, sports discussion, and a compelling daily assortment of funny and interesting links.
In addition to his work at MSF, Jerod hosts the fast-growing Indiana basketball postgame show The Assembly Call and provides regular music recommendations at IndieChristmas.com. He also helped develop the Synthesis Managed WordPress Hosting platform on which MSF and all of his other sites are run.

  • coachmo

    The last time a coach spoke his mind after a near miss at Michigan with questionable referee calls, he got suspended for a game. Bill Mallory!! Defending his players who had played a great game, and deserved to beat Michigan, just like the Hoosiers did today.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/JerodMSF JerodMSF

    That's right, he did get suspended. That game stunk. We should have won!

  • eedee

    "Deserved" to beat Michigan?! There's a reason that IU hasn't beat MI since 1967: they are–and always have been–a subpar team. MI made some mistakes and so it seemed that IU played well, but for IU to win against MI would be nothing short of a miracle.