Saturday, November 4
Bloomington, Ind.
Noon
Indiana University
3-6 , 1-5
20
vs
14
Wisconsin
5-4 , 3-3
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Wisconsin
0
7
7
0
14
Indiana
7
10
0
3
20
Hoosiers Battle Past Wisconsin, 20-14
11/4/2023 6:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Safety Josh Sanguinetti scooped, ran, and celebrated. Hoosier teammates swarmed to join him.
The cannon thundered. Confirmation followed.
Indiana victory had come on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium by a 20-14 score, and bowl hopes were alive.
"We know where we are," head coach Tom Allen said. "We have to be 1-0 each week. That's the focus. Find a way to get a win."
The Hoosiers (3-6) found a way to get their first Big Ten victory since last season at Michigan State. As a result, postseason opportunity comes down to this -- win at Illinois and at Purdue, beat Michigan State at Memorial Stadium.
"It's one game at a time," punter James Evans said. "It's everyone doing his job. Our goal is to make a bowl game. We have to win six games. We have three more must-win games. It's about attacking every day."
In Saturday's final frantic seconds, the defense had to get a stop.
Did it ever.
With Wisconsin (5-4) facing fourth and 17 on its own 30-yard line, with the clock ticking toward zero, safety Louis Moore drove receiver Will Pauling to the turf after an 11-yard catch. Desperate for a miracle, Pauling tossed the ball into the air.
Sanguinetti was ready. Boy, was he ready.
He grabbed the ball and returned it 26 yards before running out of bounds at the Badgers 15-yard line, game over, victory assured.
"The defense played lights out," linebacker Aaron Casey said. "Guys were running to the ball, playing for each other, playing with high energy. That allowed us to win."
Casey led the way with nine tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. After a sub-par performance two weeks earlier against Rutgers, he has dominated the last two weeks. On Saturday, that earned him the game ball.
"That's what you need in a game like that," Allen said. "His play was special. You need that kind of leadership.
"He didn't play well a couple of weeks ago. He took ownership of that. He's the leader of our defense and the team. You've got to have your best players step up to win. I'm proud of him and the guys around him."
Added Casey: "Against Rutgers, I didn't produce. I said I'd do everything in my power to see that didn't happen again. It's putting in extra work to prepare for game day.
"All week we had a sense of urgency -- in practice, in meetings. It was a different energy level. It showed on the field."
In the closing minutes, clinging to a 17-14 lead, IU needed its offense to deliver. After generating just 29 yards in 19 plays on its previous four second-half possessions, it drove 36 yards on eight plays to set up Chris Freeman's 50-yard field goal attempt. He shook off an earlier miss to make it.
"As a specialist," Evans said, "you should be judged on how you respond to failure versus when everything is going great. Kicking is so mental. I'm proud of the way he nailed a really big kick."
That forced Wisconsin to try for a touchdown it had no chance to get.
Not against this Indiana defense.
Not when a stop mattered this much.
"I'm proud of how everybody fought," Casey said. "I know how much everybody put into this game. It's full circle. It's L-E-O (Love Each Other) at the end. That's a real thing in this locker room."
It's certainly real for Allen.
"Playing like that gives you a lot of confidence. There's nothing like game-day success. It gives them some positive energy. They finally got it."
IU forced a pair of fumbles and didn't turn the ball over. It didn't buckle against the Badgers' second-half surge.
"We had some tough times," Allen said. "The offense had to bow up. The defense had to bow up. We played a very physical team.
"Things don't go our way and we don't care. We don't blink. You get the stops and get the takeaway. We're trying to build a confident team."
Quarterback Brendan Sorsby was 19-for-31 for 186 yards and a touchdown. Donaven McCulley caught five passes for 67 yards and a TD.
The victory was a strong follow-up to the previous week's Penn State game, when the Hoosiers pushed the Nittany Lions to the limit in defeat.
"We've got to get a little better each week," Allen said. "You want to play your best football down the stretch. The last two weeks, we've shown good signs of that."
Jaylin Lucas set the game-opening tone with a 33-yard kickoff return. A Sorsby third-down, 12-yard pass to Omar Cooper Jr got a first down. A 21-yard pass to E.J. Williams Jr. gave the Hoosiers possession at the 13-yard line.
Sorsby capped the drive with an eight-yard TD run and a 7-0 Hoosier lead.
The defense stopped Wisconsin on downs near midfield, but IU couldn't capitalize when Freeman missed a 43-yard field goal. He came back with a 27-yard field goal for a 10-0 second-quarter lead.
A Wisconsin 54-yard touchdown pass cut the lead to three with four minutes before halftime. IU countered with McCulley's one-handed, seven-yard TD catch for a 17-7 halftime lead.
A roughing-the-passer penalty and a blown coverage resulted in a Wisconsin touchdown pass for a 17-14 score five minutes into the third quarter.
The score held until deep in the fourth quarter. IU needed a clock-chewing scoring drive and got it, capped by Freeman's 50-yard field goal.
The Badgers had 70 seconds to go 75 yards. They managed one first down before a Casey sack put them in a hole they couldn't overcome.
For IU, a four-game losing streak is over, opportunity is in sight.
"Our kids believe in what we're doing," Allen said "That showed in the way they've played last couple of weeks. It's a testament to leadership. That matters. It's a testament to our coaches. They continue to be relentless. They come back to work and attack the next week.
"They got the reward. Now we have to do it again next week."
The Hoosiers are ready, Casey said.
"We know we have to win out to go to the postseason. We'll put in everything we have in our preparation."
The cannon thundered. Confirmation followed.
Indiana victory had come on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium by a 20-14 score, and bowl hopes were alive.
"We know where we are," head coach Tom Allen said. "We have to be 1-0 each week. That's the focus. Find a way to get a win."
The Hoosiers (3-6) found a way to get their first Big Ten victory since last season at Michigan State. As a result, postseason opportunity comes down to this -- win at Illinois and at Purdue, beat Michigan State at Memorial Stadium.
"It's one game at a time," punter James Evans said. "It's everyone doing his job. Our goal is to make a bowl game. We have to win six games. We have three more must-win games. It's about attacking every day."
In Saturday's final frantic seconds, the defense had to get a stop.
Did it ever.
With Wisconsin (5-4) facing fourth and 17 on its own 30-yard line, with the clock ticking toward zero, safety Louis Moore drove receiver Will Pauling to the turf after an 11-yard catch. Desperate for a miracle, Pauling tossed the ball into the air.
Sanguinetti was ready. Boy, was he ready.
He grabbed the ball and returned it 26 yards before running out of bounds at the Badgers 15-yard line, game over, victory assured.
"The defense played lights out," linebacker Aaron Casey said. "Guys were running to the ball, playing for each other, playing with high energy. That allowed us to win."
Casey led the way with nine tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. After a sub-par performance two weeks earlier against Rutgers, he has dominated the last two weeks. On Saturday, that earned him the game ball.
"That's what you need in a game like that," Allen said. "His play was special. You need that kind of leadership.
"He didn't play well a couple of weeks ago. He took ownership of that. He's the leader of our defense and the team. You've got to have your best players step up to win. I'm proud of him and the guys around him."
Added Casey: "Against Rutgers, I didn't produce. I said I'd do everything in my power to see that didn't happen again. It's putting in extra work to prepare for game day.
"All week we had a sense of urgency -- in practice, in meetings. It was a different energy level. It showed on the field."
In the closing minutes, clinging to a 17-14 lead, IU needed its offense to deliver. After generating just 29 yards in 19 plays on its previous four second-half possessions, it drove 36 yards on eight plays to set up Chris Freeman's 50-yard field goal attempt. He shook off an earlier miss to make it.
"As a specialist," Evans said, "you should be judged on how you respond to failure versus when everything is going great. Kicking is so mental. I'm proud of the way he nailed a really big kick."
That forced Wisconsin to try for a touchdown it had no chance to get.
Not against this Indiana defense.
Not when a stop mattered this much.
"I'm proud of how everybody fought," Casey said. "I know how much everybody put into this game. It's full circle. It's L-E-O (Love Each Other) at the end. That's a real thing in this locker room."
It's certainly real for Allen.
"Playing like that gives you a lot of confidence. There's nothing like game-day success. It gives them some positive energy. They finally got it."
IU forced a pair of fumbles and didn't turn the ball over. It didn't buckle against the Badgers' second-half surge.
"We had some tough times," Allen said. "The offense had to bow up. The defense had to bow up. We played a very physical team.
"Things don't go our way and we don't care. We don't blink. You get the stops and get the takeaway. We're trying to build a confident team."
Quarterback Brendan Sorsby was 19-for-31 for 186 yards and a touchdown. Donaven McCulley caught five passes for 67 yards and a TD.
The victory was a strong follow-up to the previous week's Penn State game, when the Hoosiers pushed the Nittany Lions to the limit in defeat.
"We've got to get a little better each week," Allen said. "You want to play your best football down the stretch. The last two weeks, we've shown good signs of that."
Jaylin Lucas set the game-opening tone with a 33-yard kickoff return. A Sorsby third-down, 12-yard pass to Omar Cooper Jr got a first down. A 21-yard pass to E.J. Williams Jr. gave the Hoosiers possession at the 13-yard line.
Sorsby capped the drive with an eight-yard TD run and a 7-0 Hoosier lead.
The defense stopped Wisconsin on downs near midfield, but IU couldn't capitalize when Freeman missed a 43-yard field goal. He came back with a 27-yard field goal for a 10-0 second-quarter lead.
A Wisconsin 54-yard touchdown pass cut the lead to three with four minutes before halftime. IU countered with McCulley's one-handed, seven-yard TD catch for a 17-7 halftime lead.
A roughing-the-passer penalty and a blown coverage resulted in a Wisconsin touchdown pass for a 17-14 score five minutes into the third quarter.
The score held until deep in the fourth quarter. IU needed a clock-chewing scoring drive and got it, capped by Freeman's 50-yard field goal.
The Badgers had 70 seconds to go 75 yards. They managed one first down before a Casey sack put them in a hole they couldn't overcome.
For IU, a four-game losing streak is over, opportunity is in sight.
"Our kids believe in what we're doing," Allen said "That showed in the way they've played last couple of weeks. It's a testament to leadership. That matters. It's a testament to our coaches. They continue to be relentless. They come back to work and attack the next week.
"They got the reward. Now we have to do it again next week."
The Hoosiers are ready, Casey said.
"We know we have to win out to go to the postseason. We'll put in everything we have in our preparation."
Team Stats
WIS
IND
Total Yards
344
261
Pass Yards
243
186
Rushing Yards
101
75
Penalty Yards
78
30
1st Downs
18
20
3rd Downs
7
6
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
26:35
33:25
1st Quarter
WIS 0, IND 7
IND - Sorsby,Brendan 8 yd run (Freeman,Chris kick), 9 plays, 66 yards, TOP 04:53
2nd Quarter
WIS 0, IND 10
IND - Freeman,Chris 27 yd field goal 9 plays, 33 yards, TOP 03:12
WIS 7, IND 10
WIS - Green,Bryson 54 yd pass from Locke,Braedyn (Vakos,Nathanial kick) 5 plays, 68 yards, TOP 01:50
WIS 7, IND 17
IND - McCulley,Donaven 7 yd pass from Sorsby,Brendan (Freeman,Chris kick) 9 plays, 71 yards, TOP 03:24
3rd Quarter
WIS 14, IND 17
WIS - Pauling,Will 18 yd pass from Locke,Braedyn (Vakos,Nathanial kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:46
4th Quarter
WIS 14, IND 20
IND - Freeman,Chris 50 yd field goal 8 plays, 36 yards, TOP 02:57
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
19
TD
1
YDS
186
INT
0
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
P
/ Football
K
/ Football
RB/RS
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballFB: Under the Hood with Indiana Football - Week 5 (at Iowa)
Wednesday, September 24
FB: Pat Coogan Media Availability (9/23/25)
Tuesday, September 23
FB: Aiden Fisher Media Availability (9/23/25)
Tuesday, September 23
FB: Week 5 (at Iowa) - Curt Cignetti Press Conference
Monday, September 22