Indiana University Athletics
Great Games in IU-Michigan State Series History - 1986
10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 26, 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 head coach Bill Mallory's recollection of Indiana's 17-14 victory over Michigan State on Nov. 8, 1986.
The third year of the Bill Mallory era, 1986, was a critical one for the progress of the IU program. The 1985 team had gone 4-7 after Mallory's first squad went winless in 11 games. But in 1986, the Hoosiers were poised to make the leap to the next level. After winning its first four games, Indiana went 1-3 in its next four to sit at 5-3 heading to East Lansing for a matchup with rival Michigan State.
With the Old Brass Spittoon on the line, Mallory and his squad clinched their first winning season since 1980 with a 17-14 victory over the Spartans to stun the perennial power and its faithful. The Hoosier defense was crucial in the victory, holding the MSU offense to just 28 yards on the ground.
Alex Green was the key player for the Hoosiers, picking off a pair of passes, including a 29-yard interception return in the second quarter. Even though Indiana never trailed in the contest, it found itself sweating out a win, as the Spartans moved the ball inside the 10-yard line with under two minutes to play. But Green came through again, this time picking off a Dave Yarema pass at the one-yard line with 34 seconds to play to seal the victory for the road squad.
"That was a big win for us," Mallory said. "It gave us a winning season and got us into a bowl. Alex Green made a big interception for us to stop a drive. It was a hard-fought game, and was very evenly matched. Of course, I remember the excitement in the locker room afterward and I was cranked. It was a great feeling for our team and its accomplishments. In the third year, things really came together, and our players developed a winning attitude and confidence in themselves. That was big hurdle we needed to get over, to beat Michigan State in order to get into the winning category."
Green was not the only defensive stalwart for the Hoosiers, as he shared Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors with teammate Van Waiters. Waiters made 11 tackles, five for loss, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in the contest. Equally important was the play of Anthony Thompson, who led the Hoosier rushing attack with 35 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown.
"What felt we had to attack their defense and take it to them," Mallory said. "We weren't going to allow any big plays that were going to be costly. It had to be a team effort, and everyone had to play his position and be a strong-tackling defense. We had to swarm the ball. It was a good, aggressive, get-after-it defensive performance. That's what we wanted to play, and it was a lot of good, basic football."
The Hoosiers did just that, causing five turnovers on the day. The 28 yards allowed was the second-lowest total in school history in a Big Ten contest. But as impressive as it was to shut down the mighty Michigan State offense, the performance of the Hoosier offense was just as important in Mallory's mind.
"Their defense was always one of the top defenses when [MSU Head Coach] George [Perles] was there. They were a top defense, and that was to me stronger suit than their offense. They were aggressive. It was a testy defense to go up against."
Clinching his first winning season as Indiana's head coach was a great accomplishment for Mallory, but just as memorable was doing it in front of a hostile MSU crowd that went home unhappy due to the Hoosiers' performance.
"Any time we would go in there, the fans are very vocal," Mallory said. "And anytime you can go in and quiet them down, it's a great feeling. When you are able to go in and stop them it's a great feeling; that has a great impact. Those are always hard-fought games, clean games. They were hard-nosed and we had to match up and be even better. We were a hard-nosed, tough football team and I was really proud of that. We tried to play good, clean, get-after-it football and executed with good fundamentals. We were able to do what we had to do to mount a victory."
