Indiana survived another overtime victory Saturday against Minnesota. For the fifth week in a row, Indiana needed a comeback effort to secure a win, which they have managed to do four times now this season.

Grant Wilson

The story of this game has to be backup quarterback Grant Wilson. He came in for the benched/ hurt Josh Hoover at halftime, and led the Indiana offense to 16 of their 23 points in the second half. Wilson threw for 156 yards and a touchdown, and added 26 yards with his legs. His ability to throw accurately really opened up holes for the running game, and the threat of his legs did as well. It was the first time in a while that Indiana’s offense was complimenting each other.

Special Teams

It is hard to say special teams had a bad day when they made a 60 yard field goal, but it was a bad day. Billy Gowers miskicked a few punts, Nico Radicic missed a kick, another one got blocked, and there was also a muffed snap on a field goal as well. Probably the most shocking development of this season is how drastically the special teams fall off has been. Special teams was a weapon for Indiana last year, and this year it is a weapon against their own team.

Defense

The Indiana defense is the only unit on the field that is playing at a championship level currently. Aside from a trick play from Minnesota that resulted in a touchdown, they were dominant. Rolijah Hardy did not play, but Jacob Savage, who is quietly turning into a superstar, filled in excellently. AJ Harris also went down in the fourth quarter with an injury. It was a right ankle injury, which is different from the  injury that plagued him at the start of the season.

With the bye week next week, Indiana can finally take a breath. Playing nine consecutive games, especially the rollercoaster ones of the last few weeks, is grueling. This team needs to get healthy, and figure out who will be the quarterback for the rest of the season. 8-1, and a top 5 ranking is something I would have signed up for at the beginning of the year, and it is time to look towards playoff preparation.