WEST LAFAYETTE — Tom Allen was brought on for his defensive mind in 2016 yet it may be one of the bigger contributing factors to his possible end in Bloomington.
While Indiana has not yet announced its decision whether to continue with Allen as head coach, Saturday’s game against Purdue does not help the argument to keep him. Indiana lost the Old Oaken Bucket for the third time in a row, 35-31.
“Disappointing isn’t even the right word, it’s just devastating,” Allen said. “Guys worked so hard and I’m just so proud of our guys for competing and believing and staying with us. As hard as it was these last couple weeks to keep battling, they didn't blink, they didn’t waver.”
Neither team came out firing, making for an offensively dull first quarter until Indiana found an offensive rhythm and scored at the end of the first. Yet like clockwork, once one side of the ball starts doing well for the Hoosiers, the other’s level of production tends to dip. So once the Indiana offense started moving, so did Purdue’s.
However, the Hoosier offense combined with Jaylin Lucas’s 100-yard kick return kept Indiana’s heads above water until the end.
Indiana answering Purdue offensively could not cure the defense’s woes. Defensive breakdowns when Indiana needed them the most has been the death of the Hoosiers in the past couple of games — and now against their biggest rival. Indiana should have logged around seven or eight sacks on quarterback Hudson Card. Instead, he led the Boilermakers in rushing with 85 yards.
“I have no words,” Allen said. “I’m not sure I’ve seen anything like that before, have that many opportunities where you don’t get them on the ground. It’s just frustrating.”
While the defense had many opportunities to make game-changing plays, the offense was also far from perfect. Allen has said repeatedly during the season that the biggest statistic in football is turnovers. Indiana had three. Brendan Sorsby, who only had two interceptions all season, threw one on the first drive setting the tone for the game. While only one of the interceptions resulted in points for Purdue, it makes it impossible to keep building the momentum of the offense.
Seven games this season have come down to the final minutes. The last three came to the final drive where Indiana could change the game's outcome. Of those seven, Indiana has won two.
“Three games all came down to the last play, an opportunity to win the game and finish it out,” Allen said. “Proud of our guys for battling and fighting and competing to the bitter end, but it's about us as coaches doing a better job of making a better call in those situations.”
To Allen’s point, that may be another notch towards his dismissal.
Indiana has shown it can compete in and win these games. For the most part they are not a team that gets steamrolled in the first half beyond a comeback. In 14 games over the last two seasons, they have been within one score of their opponent. Had they mustered up even half of those to be wins, Allen may be safe for another season.
“I get it, you gotta win. I understand the nature of college football,” Allen said when asked about his job security. “I understand that full-well. Been in this a long, long time. I want to win more than anybody. We're gonna keep battling and scratching and clawing. That's out of my hands, it's not up to me."
Indiana is losing some of its key players to eligibility and with every year a program will lose some to the transfer portal. Upon the transfer portal opening Dec. 4 and Indiana’s desperate need to recruit the portal hard along with maintaining their own players, the decision of Allen’s future with the team is expected within a few days.
