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Indiana survives Minnesota in game with dueling 60-yard field goals
Indiana's Charlie Becker (80) scored in OT for the win. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Indiana survives Minnesota in game with dueling 60-yard field goals

The Indiana Hoosiers have not looked as dominant as they did during their National Championship winning season, but they are, for the most part, still stacking wins.

They did it again on Saturday in a 23-16 overtime win against Minnesota to improve to 8-1 and 5-1 in Big Ten play.

While Charlie Becker's overtime touchdown goes in the books as the winning play, it is kicker Paddy McAteer that also needs a lot of credit.

Indiana, Minnesota exchange 60-yard field goals to get to overtime

While this game was a defensive slugfest for most of regulation, the final minutes of the fourth quarter featured dueling 60-yard field goals from the two teams.

First, it was Minnesota's Luke Drzewiecki drilling a 60-yarder with 19 seconds to play. It seemed as if it was going to be the game-winning goal.

Given how little time was remaining, Minnesota had to be feeling good about its chances.

And then Indiana moved 33 yards on one pass to Becker to set the stage for this from McAteer.

An insane swing of emotions for any football, but especially at the college level where kickers are notoriously unreliable, especially from a distance like that. Anything over 45 yards is typically an adventure. Anything over 50 yards is basically a prayer. Seeing one 60-yarder in a college game is nearly unheard of. Seeing two in less than a minute is almost unthinkable. 

Kickers are not just getting better at the pro level, they are getting better at the college level as well.

As far as Indiana concerned, the record is what it is. But this is another game against an unranked opponent that came down to the very end. 

They have now won four games against unranked opponents by just one possession. At some point one of those games may not go its way, especially in potential playoff games against better, top-tier competition. 

The wins are good. They are important. But something is clearly missing this season that is getting the Hoosiers into these tight games. It is working for now. Whether or not it is sustainable remains to be seen. 

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz

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