Indiana University Athletics
Great Games in IU-Michigan State Series History - 2001
10/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 25, 2006
Note: As part of the Hoosier Nation Challenge for 50,000 fans at the Oct. 28 Indiana-Michigan State game at Memorial Stadium, IUHOOSIERS.COM takes a look back at some of the great games in IU-MSU history. Today's installment features former IU All-American and assistant coach Anthony Thompson's recollection of Indiana's 37-28 victory over Michigan State on Nov. 10, 2001.
It was Nov. 10, 2001. At the time, the Hoosiers led the Big Ten in rushing offense, scoring offense, total offense and turnover margin, but were just 2-5 on the season. Despite boasting Heisman Trophy candidate Antwaan Randle El as its quarterback, Indiana's season was in disarray. But then there was the Michigan State game. In East Lansing, Mich., in front of 73,990 screaming Spartan fans, the Hoosiers pulled off the unthinkable, knocking off 22nd-ranked Michigan State, 37-28, and turning around their season in the process.
Anthony Thompson, IU's assistant director of development, was a two-time All-American at running back for the Hoosiers in the 1980s. Following a career in the NFL, Thompson returned to Indiana as an assistant coach, and was on the sidelines for that 2001 win over the Spartans.
"We knew they had some great athletes," Thompson said. "We went into that game with a chance of winning running option football with Antwaan Randle El. So I knew we had a chance, but any time you go to a hostile environment, you never know how it's going to end up."
The Hoosiers had more than a chance. They had Randle El, for starters. Randle El ran for 149 yards and a touchdown in the contest, becoming the NCAA's all-time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback. In fact, Indiana ran Michigan State right out of its own stadium, with running back Levron Williams rolling up 251 yards and three scores on the ground, and fullback Jeremi Johnson adding 96 yards and a touchdown of his own for good measure.
In all, Indiana put up 537 yards of total offense on the day, compared to just 398 from the Spartans. And it all stared with Randle El.
"Antwaan that day was in the zone," Thompson said. "He was just doing some things that you just become a spectator instead of a coach. It was like being a spectator, like you can't believe he just did that. But we had the momentum on our side, we had the confidence more than anything, that we were going to win the game, and we had chance after chance to get it done, and lo and behold, we got it done."
Indiana did get it done, rattling off a pair of touchdowns, including an 80-yarder from Williams, in the final five minutes of the first half to take a 28-21 lead into the locker room. The Hoosiers added a field goal in the third quarter, and after MSU got back within three, Williams sealed it with a 22-yard scamper for a score with just 2:02 to play. And just like that, 2-5 was 3-5 and the Hoosiers were riding a two-game win streak with three games left to play.
"It really was a big shot in the arm for the program," Thompson said. "It gave our kids a lot of confidence that they could go on the road and win. That game really built a lot of character, because it was a close game. Our team, our guys just felt like they were in that ballgame the whole time, and they never gave up. So that built a lot of character, and we felt that we could play with anybody in this league, just because there were some growing pains in that game. We grew up a lot in that game."
IU was riding high, supremely confident after a thrilling upset on the road. Going into the contest, no one could have known just how important the game was to the team's collective psyche. But there was little doubt after the final seconds ticked off the clock.
"We really didn't know how big the game really was," Thompson said. "I think our players didn't know how big the game really was. To go into East Lansing, and to pull something like that off, it was just incredible for them to experience that. It gave our program hope. It really did, because we were struggling. We were spinning our wheels, but that game really solidified some things that year for us."
This year's Michigan State contest has the same promise. The Hoosiers are 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten. There are still four games left on the schedule. A bowl game is a realistic possibility. But the road to postseason play leads right through Michigan State, who will come to Bloomington for Homecoming weekend.
"You come into a game where we're hoping and praying that we have the home field advantage in terms of 50,000 people in the stands," Thompson said, referring to head coach Terry Hoeppner's challenge to the fans to pack The Rock. "You come into a game where you're just one closer to your goal this year, playing 13, in a bowl game. You're on national television. It's Homecoming. You're family's here, you're friends and relatives are here. So there's a lot riding on this game. In terms of laying the foundation for this program, in my mind, I think this is a foundational game. These kids are playing with a lot of confidence right now, so if we can pull this off, it would be huge for our program. I don't think the program has seen anything like this in years, if we can pull this off."
