Excitement about Indiana football was at its peak. Lee Corso took his 1979 team to an 8-4 record and a national ranking of 19 , highlighted by their stunning upset of Brigham Young in the Holiday bowl. Brigham Young was ranked #10 that year and was very disappointed IU was their opponent for the game, who they thought were unworthy of playing them. Corso had come to IU as a "hot" but unique outgoing coach prospect and finally got the program on a winning track in the 1979 season.
IU beat Brigham Young in a stunning upset 38-37 before a crowd of 52,500. With Tim Clifford at quarterback Tim Wilbur set up the winning touchdown and then IU held on to win as Brigham Young missed a 27 yard field goal with 7 seconds left.
The 1980 season began with, guess who, a game against Iowa in Bloomington as the opening season game. Like now, the season was wildly anticipated and visions of New Years in Pasadena were in all long suffering IU fans dreams. 50,173 boistrous fans showed up for the beginning of the hoped for Rose Bowl march. Alas, even with Tim Clifford still at quarterback the offense never showed up as IU lost 16-10. It was a crushing even shocking debilitating defeat as the team meandered to a 6-5 season, losing 3 of its last 4 games, with a Big Ten record of 3-5.
For the next seven years IU football again became dormant until the peak 1987 Bill Mallory era , and then was followed once again by many years of mediocre at best football. The seeds of IU football re awakening finally came in 2005 with the arrival of Terry Hoeppner, who in his second and last season before succumbing to brain cancer beat then # 23 Iowa 31-28 in Bloomington.
Which brings us to this coming Saturday. And so like all of us long suffering IU fans await and hope.
My IU era began in 1939 at age 4 when I first was on the campus where my brother enrolled and I was hooked on IU. I well remember the IU 1945 greatest football team ever, ranked #3 or so in the country. I believe I may be the last person alive who actually saw the IU-Northwestern Sept 1945 game, resulting in a 7-7 tie-played at then known as Dyche Stadium, Indiana's only blemish on an otherwise undefeated season. The name Bo McMillin was a household name to me. Proud to say am still an IU football season ticket holder and am well known as an ultimate IU fan and a sport historian in multi sports. And best of all I met my wife at IU (and still enjoying our extraordinay good luck soon to celebrate our 63rd wedding anniversary, preceded a couple of years in the army in Okinawa ) and converted her to being an ardent IU fan. One of our daughters, now known as the "good daughter" graduated from IU.
We have been fortunate and been able to see and travel to many IU games football and basketball, including the last three final fours. As it has to many, the last pandemic years and age has taken its toll on us and brought us many health challenges. But again, thanks to wonderful medical care we are both doing well.
So we have a plan and a hope-that IU starts out by beating Iowa and sets up on Oct 23 the really BIG game, IU against Ohio State. ( We saw IU under Coach Mallory beat them in Bloomington-what a joy). We have our tickets and if the season goes as we hope, we will make the trip from our California home for the game.But, sadly we no longer have friends to share our return times to IU with us. Almost no one from our time at IU living in the Chicago area remains alive or continues to live near Bloomington. So if this all comes to pass, we may ask someone if they would invite a couple of old timers to their tailgate.(we will gladly pay our share)
GO HOOSIERS
Jerry K 1956
IU beat Brigham Young in a stunning upset 38-37 before a crowd of 52,500. With Tim Clifford at quarterback Tim Wilbur set up the winning touchdown and then IU held on to win as Brigham Young missed a 27 yard field goal with 7 seconds left.
The 1980 season began with, guess who, a game against Iowa in Bloomington as the opening season game. Like now, the season was wildly anticipated and visions of New Years in Pasadena were in all long suffering IU fans dreams. 50,173 boistrous fans showed up for the beginning of the hoped for Rose Bowl march. Alas, even with Tim Clifford still at quarterback the offense never showed up as IU lost 16-10. It was a crushing even shocking debilitating defeat as the team meandered to a 6-5 season, losing 3 of its last 4 games, with a Big Ten record of 3-5.
For the next seven years IU football again became dormant until the peak 1987 Bill Mallory era , and then was followed once again by many years of mediocre at best football. The seeds of IU football re awakening finally came in 2005 with the arrival of Terry Hoeppner, who in his second and last season before succumbing to brain cancer beat then # 23 Iowa 31-28 in Bloomington.
Which brings us to this coming Saturday. And so like all of us long suffering IU fans await and hope.
My IU era began in 1939 at age 4 when I first was on the campus where my brother enrolled and I was hooked on IU. I well remember the IU 1945 greatest football team ever, ranked #3 or so in the country. I believe I may be the last person alive who actually saw the IU-Northwestern Sept 1945 game, resulting in a 7-7 tie-played at then known as Dyche Stadium, Indiana's only blemish on an otherwise undefeated season. The name Bo McMillin was a household name to me. Proud to say am still an IU football season ticket holder and am well known as an ultimate IU fan and a sport historian in multi sports. And best of all I met my wife at IU (and still enjoying our extraordinay good luck soon to celebrate our 63rd wedding anniversary, preceded a couple of years in the army in Okinawa ) and converted her to being an ardent IU fan. One of our daughters, now known as the "good daughter" graduated from IU.
We have been fortunate and been able to see and travel to many IU games football and basketball, including the last three final fours. As it has to many, the last pandemic years and age has taken its toll on us and brought us many health challenges. But again, thanks to wonderful medical care we are both doing well.
So we have a plan and a hope-that IU starts out by beating Iowa and sets up on Oct 23 the really BIG game, IU against Ohio State. ( We saw IU under Coach Mallory beat them in Bloomington-what a joy). We have our tickets and if the season goes as we hope, we will make the trip from our California home for the game.But, sadly we no longer have friends to share our return times to IU with us. Almost no one from our time at IU living in the Chicago area remains alive or continues to live near Bloomington. So if this all comes to pass, we may ask someone if they would invite a couple of old timers to their tailgate.(we will gladly pay our share)
GO HOOSIERS
Jerry K 1956
