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Outside of the Idaho game from last season, my experiences in the Memorial stadium press box have been overwhelmingly similar.

A collection of groans, and some overzealous "Ohh's" from people who may not have had that much experience in a press box setting before. Or they just don't care, that happens too.

As the Saturdays would come and go, a recurring theme would start to set in. The Hoosiers would be in striking distance, within six, seven, maybe ten points.

It would feel like they were down 30.

I always start packing up my stuff to head to the press conference when there are around six minutes left in the game. Media aren't allowed on to the field until under five minutes in the 4th quarter, and I still get a good feeling from stepping on the field as a media member. Might as well enjoy that while it lasts.

Often, last season I'd find myself walking straight around the north endzone and straight to the team room and patiently wait for Tom Allen and certain players to speak.

Few and far between there would be a close enough game, a la Michigan State, that I would camp behind the endzone and wait to see if there was any hope for Indiana to put together a game-winning drive to pull off the upset.

On this past Friday night, I'd be lying if I said I stood behind that north endzone with a different expectation than the afformentioned contest. This game resembled that in so many ways.

Indiana moved the ball with purpose in the first half. Multiple big plays down the field, Bazelak was using his weapons, DJ Matthews, Cam Camper, and Emery Simmons.

It's like the same offense hit a wall in the second half. A one-point deficit felt closer to twenty, and the press box started to feel like 2021 again. Until the final drive, Indiana had only had 70-yards in the second half.

Then things started to have clarity.

First-year Indiana QB Connor Bazelak made a quick completion to DJ Matthews. Then another, and another.

The game plan didn't seem complicated. Like many Indiana QBs made it look like in 2021. Bazelak was intent on getting the ball in his playmaker's hands and letting their talent do the talking.

It was a jailbreak screen for Matthews through the middle of the Illinois defense that really put Indiana in a position to win.

"It helps that its DJ with the ball in his hand. I'm really surprised he got tackled by the lone guy left in the middle of the field," said Indiana offensive coordinator Walt Bell.

"... we've got a lot of guys that can make plays. Within that drive, there were a bunch of guys that got their hands on the ball and made good plays," said Bell. "But, within that drive, the ball ended up in DJ's hands four or five times and that's not typically a bad thing."

"Once I get a completion on first down, that really gets me going. My tempo, my accuracy," said Indiana QB Connor Bazelak. "It's tough on me to have two or three incompletions. I just feel like my rhythm is off."

Bell pointed out that he has never had a quarterback throw 52 times in a game, but it was something he expected he was going to have to do to win.

"Going into that game we knew we were going to have to throw the ball explosively to win," Bell said.

Bazelak mentioned that he wants to focus more on hitting check downs when there is nothing open down the field. With his talented receiver core and running back Shaun Shivers, that may no longer be settling and might become a legitimate way to move the ball down the field consistently.

"He will tell you there's still better football to be played," Bell said on his quarterback. "I was really pleased for a first game, but there's still meat on the bone."

Only having one pre-snap penalty is huge progress for Bell's offense compared to last season.

"That's a credit to coach Allen for how much we have gotten to play live football throughout fall camp in preparation. Being realistic about it, watching college football in the first week there's typically a lot of those," said Bell.

When Shaun Shivers punched that ball in for the game-winning touchdown, it felt like a barrier had been broken down.

Similar to the men's basketball team's win over Illinois in the Big Ten tournament. The energy around memorial stadium was palpable.

The talent in terms of skill players on the offensive ball is clearly different from last season, even in such a small sample size. It's obvious.

There were times last season when it felt Peyton Hendershot was the only feasible target in the passing game.

Ty Fryfogle was often non-existent and Miles Marshall offered very little ability to make a difference in a game.

Mix this receiver core with a quarterback who isn't prone to making silly mistakes, and Walt Bell could have something special on his hands.

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