Of all of the many traditions of Halloween, dressing up in a costume is the headliner.
A popular choice tends to be that of a superhero. It is a representation of power and strength, contributing to the greater good of whatever world they are a part of. They are universally respected, commended, and attributed to positive use of power.
In Indiana football’s 23-16 thrilling overtime win against Minnesota on Halloween Saturday, two new college football superheroes emerged – Grant Wilson and Paddy McAteer. They joined their many established superhero teammates in a miraculous quest to save the game, and maybe the season.
“It’s the entertainment business, so we thought we’d put some entertainment value in this game,” IU head coach Curt Cignetti said.
Saturday’s game was far from perfect, hence the need for saving by the superheroes.
The biggest issue of the day was special teams. Indiana had a 53-yard field goal blocked and missed a 31-yarder, both off the foot of Nico Radicic. The Hoosiers also fumbled a snap on a third field goal, not allowing the kick to get off. Punter Billy Gowers had a punt of 15 yards and a punt of 27 yards. Punt returner Charlie Becker fielded a fair-catch at his own three yard line.
The three missed kicks wiped nine points off the board. The two bad punts directly led to 10 Minnesota points.
Offensively, Indiana struggled in the first half in the big moments. The Hoosiers did put up 167 yards of offense, but were 0-for-6 on third downs and struggled in the red zone. Josh Hoover could not find any consistent rhythm.
After the halftime break, the first new superhero emerged.
Wilson replaced Hoover at quarterback for his first meaningful Big Ten action. He completed 9-of-17 passes for 156 yards and the eventual game-winning touchdown. He paired up with Becker, perhaps the most superhero-like receiver in IU history, to take over the game. Becker finished with eight receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown.
“It just shows the faith that we have in each other,” Wilson said. “I mean, you go out there,19 seconds, right? Most people are just like, ‘Oh man, the game’s over.’ Like what are they going to do? But we believe we believe in everything. You give us one second, we’re going to just trust the process, trust the play call, go out there and execute our one-eleventh every single time.”
The seventh-year, four-school quarterback paired up with Becker with 19 seconds left to get in range for a game-tying field goal to send the game to overtime.
To get to overtime, Indiana then called upon its second new superhero – McAteer. Minnesota had just hit a 60-yard field goal to take the lead with 19 seconds left. Wilson’s miraculous drive set up McAteer to answer right back. A 60-yarder of his own to suck the life out of the Gophers.
He drilled it. The kick was McAteer’s first made field goal of the season and his career long.
“I believe it’s just practice and visualization,” McAteer said. “And just taking whatever reps and opportunities I get in practice during the week and just seizing them and making the most of them because ultimately that’s every kicker’s dream what just happened out there. They’re the dream moments you dream about as a child, genuinely.”
Then, on the first play of overtime, Wilson found Becker for the game-winning score from 25 yards out.
It was now up to the superhero group known as the “Drench Gang” to solidify it all. Indiana’s defense, the Drench Gang, has been the constant power all season. That was no different on Saturday.
The group held Minnesota to 10 first downs, a 3-for-15 rate on third downs, had 11 tackles for loss and four sacks. In the defensive overtime possession, they shut down the Gophers to seal the win.
In the most improbable fashion, Wilson and McAteer joined forces with their superhero teammates to help save the game.
One catch: everything about Indiana football having superheroes is false and made up.
There were no costumes. There were no superpowers. They were all just their normal selves, doing their jobs.
“It’s the same 100 yards no matter where you go in the country,” McAteer said. “That’s the mentality that I’m taking into every game and it was no different for this one.”
“The emotions at halftime were just go do your job,” Wilson said. “That’s how it is no matter what.”
“We don’t need to be like superheroes,” defensive end Tobi Osunsanmi said. “We don’t need to do anything out of the ordinary to get a stop. We just need to do our job like it’s the first quarter, like it’s the first play of the game. Not thinking that we need to be anything extraordinary, but just relying on the guys to all do our jobs.”
These are normal people, doing their job in the biggest moments. There are no superheroes in college football. There are just players who execute, sometimes just at the most miraculous and opportune times. For Wilson and McAteer, it came in improbable fashion. Their first impressions in the big moments were met with overwhelming success. For the established standouts, Becker, Osunsanmi, and a host of others, they just continued doing what they had already done.
No super strength. No super speed. No teleportation. No flying. Just execution of a job on a football team.
Yet still, like a group of superheroes, the day was saved for the collective greater good of Indiana.
