Survive and …

 … survive. That’s enough, right?

Your sixth-ranked Indiana Hoosiers won the toughest game it will play all year yesterday, and, listen, don’t respond by saying “Yeah, but …”

Yeah, but nothin’. A win is a win is a win.

And, sure, it was only 13-6, and the Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers had to go overtime to do it, and it was against a Michigan team that’s not, you know, Michigan. But you know why it was the toughest game they’ll play all year?

Because it came a week after they lost the Big One at home to Ohio State by the width of Nick Marsh’s foot — their first L in 23 games.

Because seven days later they had to play Michigan in the Big House, which ain’t easy even if Michigan is Michigan Lite this year.

Because a bunch of other teams in a similar position couldn’t do what they did.

For instance: Know what happened a week after Minnesota beat Michigan in the Little Brown Jug game in Minneapolis for the first time in 50 years?

The Golden Gophers went down to Purdue and got their hinders handed to them, 41-13.

Know what happened a week after then-No. 1 Texas was upset by unranked Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry?

The Longhorns came home and lost again, this time to Florida. 

Refocusing is hard. Sometimes teams can do it; sometimes they can’t.

Indiana?

Scratched and clawed and gasped and wheezed but found a way to win when Josh Hoover — so banged up Curt Cignetti thought about pulling him for Grant Wilson — barged into the end zone in overtime to save the day.

This on a day when Auburn, which last week shocked No. 1 Georgia between the hedges in Athens, came home and got filleted 38-17 by LSU. And on a day when BYU, a week after knocking off No. 2 Notre Dame in the biggest game ever played in Provo, went on the road and lost in two overtimes to Central Florida.

Refocusing is hard.

But Indiana did. And now the Hoosiers are 7-1. And as an IU fan told me when it was done yesterday, nothing’s wrong with 7-1.

Nope. Nothing at all.