My two cents: Allen refuses to accept 'Same Ol' Hoosiers' mantra

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The dulcet tones of that familiar voice echoed from the back of the room. It was Media Monday for Indiana coach Tom Allen, and the topics of injuries and quarterbacks and special teams play from the Michigan State game had come and gone.

Now, it was time for frustration.

The next question came from Don Fischer, the radio voice of the Hoosiers since the early 1970s. To say he's seen it all in Bloomington is a massive, massive understatement.

But you could hear the frustration in that iconic voice that is all Indiana, all the time.

"I don't know what your thought on this is,'' Fischer said to Allen, with Allen staring back at him intently. "I've seen this for years at Indiana, and I've been around here a long time. We're not finishing games now any better than we have been for the last 20 years. It's just been that kind of situation. Any ideas on what you can do or how you can get this team to understand how important it is to finish?

"You get the lead, and we've got guys celebrating, but it's almost like they already think the game's won, and then we let this team go down and score a touchdown easily. You know what I'm talking about?

"You understand what I'm saying?''

Of course he did. Allen understood, because he knows. He's desperately trying to change the culture of Indiana football, and change the perception of this program, as well. The last thing he wants to hear — that he EVER wants to hear — is "Same Ol' Indiana.''

It's like a dagger to the heart. Especially coming from Fischer, someone Allen has enormous respect for.

"Sure,'' Allen said. "As a matter of fact, even during the game, when we took the lead early in the fourth quarter, I got on a headset, and guys seemed excited — which you want, energy, there's no question about it. But I said to our guys specifically, I said, 'Fellas, we have a young football team. Teach them how to handle where we are. We have to finish.'

"So, obviously, we're at that moment addressing it head on. I saw the same thing you saw, being able to handle some level of success even though you didn't finish — hadn't finished yet, and we did not finish.''

Allen paused for a second, and then looked back up at Fischer again.

"It's a great teaching time for your guys. To me — and I know I haven't been here all those years in the past, and I know you've seen a lot of football here, a lot more than I have — but I see it as two things.

"Number one is youth with this group. All right? And number two, I feel like it's you have to learn how. You do. You have to learn how. Learn how to finish. Learn how to win those kinds of games. But we have to experience it. We have to put ourselves in the position to be able to execute at the high level in those moments.''

Finding a way, eventually

The ''learning how to finish'' stuff was supposed to start on Saturday. Redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was back in the starting lineup, and he was awesome. He completed 20 consecutive passes in one stretch, setting a school record. He threw three touchdown passes and ran for another,

He led Indiana's offense to 31 points against a very good Michigan State defense. That should have been enough to win, especially since Indiana had a lead early in the fourth quarter.

It was a lead they couldn't hold. Once Michigan State fell behind, it answered with an easy touchdown drive of its own, then kicked the game-winning field goal with 5 seconds left.

Same Ol' Hoosiers? Yep, at least for now. It's still 18 years and counting now since they've beaten a ranked Big Ten team on the road.

Allen is a fiery guy, and he makes no excuses for it. He got after his defensive coaches on the sideline and those terse conversations continued on Monday when coaches and players gathered individually and collectively to watch film, "which never lies,'' Allen said.

Allen wasn't happy with what he saw. He's talked often since Saturday about being "disappointed but not discouraged,'' and that's certainly true.

We all want it to change, want it to get better, want these close games to end in victory. No one wants that more than Allen.

"I just got after our guys. It was very hard on them, in some areas in accountability,'' Allen said. "As I told our team, the film creates accountability because everything that happens on game day shows up on film, and the film never lies.

"It creates accountability for coaches. It creates accountability for me, foremost and utmost, and for the players and how they perform. So sometimes those are hard meetings to have, and you get after them hard. But you also realize you see what we're building, you see the progress, you see what we're becoming, and the work that's in front of us and the opportunity in front of us.''

Nothing harder than a defenseless defensive coach

The hardest part for Allen, a defensive coach and coordinator forever before becoming Indiana's head coach three years ago, is to see his defense struggle. His first-year coordinator, Kane Wommack, is like a son to him. Heck, Allen has his own son on that defensive group, linebacker Thomas Allen.

It's all very, very personal to him.

So when the defense comes up short, and they're the difference between winning and losing, that hurts. It really, really hurts.

"You go to the other side of the football and we did some things (on defense), but we're not good enough,'' Allen said. "In critical times, situational football, we did not come up with the plays we need to come up with.

"And we have to communicate better, have to do a better job defensively. Without question, the end of first half, the end of the game is unacceptable with how we want to finish and how we will finish in those situations.''

That closeness and common bond are one thing, and it means even more for Allen because he's all about the people — and the LEO — first. That's never going to change, and that's a good thing. Love. Each. Other.

"Like I said, I'm not ever going to sit here and apologize for being fiery and intense because there's no sense in apologizing.'' Allen said. "It's going to happen again. But at the same time, that's my area. That's where I do feel for Kane because you really don't want to be the DC for the former DC when he's the head coach now. It's a tough job. I'm hard on him in meetings, and I'm hard on him during the game.

"But it's like brothers, man. Sometimes you just have that, but then you just hug each other because you're family, right? That's how I feel about Kane. I'm never going to second guess. I don't like second-guessing calls because I don't think that's fair. But when we don't execute, that's when I want to make sure, and we're making sure we put our guys in the best position. So to me, it's just football. It's the passion of the moment. It's the fire of the moment.''

"That's what he signed up for. It will be OK. We're very close.''

Sure, Saturday was an opportunity lost at Michigan State. There will be more chances. Maybe it's a close game at Maryland or Nebraska or home against Northwestern that turns out differently. Maybe it's a big upset at Penn State, or home against Michigan. Maybe it comes when it's time to bring home the Old Oaken Bucket.

It will come. Because what we've learned about Allen so far is that he's not going to stop working.

Same Ol' Hoosiers? Not if he can help it.