2001 Bucket Game

2001 – November 24

  1              2              3              4              T

PUR     0              0            7               0            7

IND      7            6             0                   0             13

Trailing 13-7 early in the fourth quarter, Purdue took over on its own 45-yard line. The Boilermakers successfully converted three third downs in their drive down to the Indiana 1-yard-line with 10:08 left.

On fourth-and-goal, Purdue came out in a power formation with two defensive linemen inserted as blockers. IU responded with a goal line defense that featured an extra defensive lineman and three linebackers, anchored by the 6-1, 243-pound LaPostolle in the middle.

Montrelle Lowe took Kyle Orton's handoff, and when he went off left tackle he was promptly stuffed just short of the goal line by LaPostolle. The defensive stop proved pivotal, as the Hoosiers held on for the 13-7 triumph.

The tone for the 2001 game was set during game week, when Purdue defensive tackle Matt Mitrione made some disparaging comments about the IU running backs and receivers.

Senior tailback Levron Williams wasted no time in response, taking an option pitch left and cutting back for a 52-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the opening quarter. Adam Braucher's extra point gave Indiana a 7-0 lead.

Indiana added to its lead late in the first quarter, as the Boilermakers fumbled away the football on their own 34-yard line. Eight plays later, Randle El ran 10 yards up the middle on a draw play for the touchdown. The extra point attempt failed, but the Hoosiers maintained a 13-0 lead.

In addition to the 13-0 halftime advantage, the Hoosiers outgained the Boilermakers, 214-60 in first half total offense.

Purdue opened the second half by driving to the Hoosier 23-yard line, but a fumble by Sedrick Brown gave the ball back to Indiana. Jeremi Johnson fumbled the ball right back to the Boilers, and following a pass interference call, Orton connected with John Standeford for a 14-yard touchdown to cut the IU lead to 13-7.

As it turns out, LaPostolle snuffed out Purdue's next opportunity, and the Boilermakers' subsequent two possessions resulted in punts. Purdue mounted one final drive, and when Orton's fourth-down pass to tight end Tim Stratton went incomplete with 1:27, the Hoosiers ran out the clock to celebrate the victory.

IU Wisconsin One for the Ages

2001 INDIANA 63, WISCONSIN 32
Oct. 6 - Madison, Wis.
Attendance: 79,264

With Indiana's collective backs planted firmly against the wall, Cam Cameron's charges produced a stunning, yet equally impressive, 63-32 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers before 79,264 at Camp Randall Stadium. Indiana recorded 449 rushing yards and was paced by senior running back Levron Williams, who rushed for a career-high 280 yards and six touchdowns on only 20 carries. Williams joined Michigan State's Blake Ezor as the only players in Big Ten history to record six touchdowns in a Big Ten Conference game. Also, senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El completed 8 of 13 passes for 182 yards and one score and rushed 14 times for 102 yards.

To say that the Hoosiers got off to a fast start would be an understatement. Indiana jumped to a 32-0 lead by the end of the first quarter despite possessing the football for only four minutes. Wisconsin lost two yards on its first possession and Indiana scored only two plays later as Randle El connected with redshirt freshman wideout Travis Haney for a 47-yard pass play. Williams then scored from six yards out on IU's second offensive play of the game.

Randle El accounted for 284 yards against Wisconsin.

Wisconsin only gained six yards on its next possession and after Indiana took possession, Williams broke free on a 56-yard touchdown run that gave the Hoosiers a 13-0 lead after the extra point was missed.

Indiana went ahead 20-0 on its next possession when Williams scored on a 3-yard run. IU had taken possession just four plays earlier when senior linebacker Justin Smith forced a fumble by wide receiver Lee Evans that was recovered at the Badger 39 by cornerback Sharrod Wallace.

Trailing 20-0, Wisconsin took possession at its own 20-yard line and gained four yards on three plays. On fourth down, junior Brian Lewis blocked a Kirk Munden punt and Duane Stone raced 10 yards for a touchdown that gave IU a 26-0 lead.

After both teams traded punts, Wallace forced a fumble by running back Jerome Pettus that defensive end Herman Fowler recovered at the Badger 42. Four plays later, Randle El hooked up with tight end Aaron Halterman on a 4-yard pass play that gave IU a 32-0 lead. Halterman's reception was the first of his career and Randle El's touchdown pass was the 36th of his career, a school record.

Wisconsin cut the IU lead to 32-10 on a 43-yard scoring pass from quarterback Brooks Bollinger (24-15-222-1INT-2TDs) to Lee Evans (career high 9 receptions for 148 yards and one score). However, IU pushed its advantage to 39-10 with 3:10 remaining in the first half on an 8-yard run by Williams. The run pushed the Evansville, Ind., product over the 2,000 yard rushing mark for his career.

Indiana outscored Wisconsin 21-15 in the second half. The 63 points scored by Indiana is a school record for points scored in a Big Ten game. The point total matched the most points ever scored against the Badgers as Wisconsin surrendered 63 points to Minnesota on November 15, 1890.

DON FISCHER'S THOUGHTS

In my mind, the most memorable game was the first quarter of the Wisconsin game in 2001. We scored 32 points and still should have scored three more. We missed three extra points.

We scored 26 points in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the game. They fumbled three times, we blocked a punt for a touchdown and Levron Williams had three scores in the first quarter. He scored six touchdowns in the game and set the single-game record. All were rushing touchdowns, so he has that record as well. We were up 32-0 at the end of the first quarter, 42-17 at halftime. We kind of let them back into it a little bit. In the second half, it became just a general football game. That first quarter of play, we scored twice in our first three plays from scrimmage. I had never seen an Indiana team dominate another team like they did in that first quarter. It was the best quarter of football in the history of IU. Antwaan Randle El was absolutely amazing. That one ballgame epitomized their greatness as offensive players. That game, to me, we said on the air that we know a lot of people back home aren't believing what we are saying about the score. They were up 32-0 at the end of the first quarter. It was a tremendous performance and Wisconsin was a good football team. They had a good program. They had only been beaten by two top-10 ranked teams up to that point. They were shell-shocked by it. I have never heard a stadium quieter. They had 70,000-plus fans there and you could hear a pin drop at times. It was ridiculous. They were dumbfounded by it. They were booing early, but after awhile, they just sat there. It was an amazing scene.

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