It’s been a bad day for Big Ten coaches at the top of the standings, and a pretty good one for the guys at the bottom. Nebraska has canned Bo Pelini after a 9-3 season, but Illinois announced that Tim Beckman will return for a fourth season after going 6-6 in 2014.
And now Kevin Wilson will reportedly return for a fifth season as Indiana’s coach in 2015 after a 4-8 mark this fall.Indiana coach Kevin WIlson will return in 2015, a school source told @ESPN
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) November 30, 2014
And now that I’ve drawn a comparison between Indiana and Nebraska, allow me to say that comparing Indiana and Nebraska is asinine.
The programs are on completely different footing historically, and there was an extenuating circumstance that caused the Hoosiers to lose seven straight Big Ten games before a 23-16 win over Purdue in Saturday’s finale.
Indiana was on track to be a six- or seven-win team through the first part of the season (just ask Missouri!), but the injury of quarterback Nate Sudfeld scuttled all that. Sudfeld completed 101-of-167 passes for 1,151 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions before going down in the Iowa game on Oct. 11. He was replaced by Zander Diamont, who completed 64-of-132 passes for 515 yards with one lone touchdown (plus two on the ground) against four interceptions. The Hooisers’ passing efficiency dropped nearly 50 points with the change, and their chances of mounting a successful season went with it.
Indiana managed to put up a fight against Ohio State and the like thanks to the 2,036 rushing yards of Tevin Coleman, and the basis of a successful 2015 ride on his legs. But Coleman is a junior, which means he is eligible to enter the NFL Draft. Mark him down as Wilson’s most important recruit in the 2015 class.
Wilson is 14-34 in his four seasons in Bloomington, and 6-26 in Big Ten play.
