Indiana Defensive Tackle James Carpenter Was At The Center Of The Action

Good or bad, James Carpenter made Indiana and non-Indiana fans take notice during Indiana’s 27-17 loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) scrambles against Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman James Carpenter (99) during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana defensive James Carpenter was a solid contributor during Indiana’s historic 11-2 season. He was hoping to be one of the leaders as Indiana marched to a national championship. However, that dream was dashed as Indiana’s season ended with a whimper on Friday as Notre Dame defeated Indiana 27-17 at Notre Dame Stadium on Friday night.

Carpenter was at the center of much of the consequential good and bad plays Indiana made against the Fighting Irish.

First, one of the good plays. Carpenter got his paw up on a Riley Leonard pass. It was deflected to cornerback D’Angelo Ponds in the first big play of the game not even two minutes into the contest.

The Hoosiers squandered the chance by throwing their own interception on the series gained from the turnover, but that’s no reflection on Carpenter. He gave Indiana a chance.

The bad came on a 3rd-and-14 play late in the third quarter. Leonard once again scrambled for yards, but was going to be well short of a first down gain. Carpenter instinctively went after Leonard and hit him out of bounds, resulting in a 12-yard (half the distance) personal foul.

It was a tight call and two different replay angles appeared to show different outcomes on the play – a danger in leaning completely on replay to scrutinize penalties.

One angle from behind appeared to show Carpenter hitting Leonard just barely inbounds, but then an angle from the opposite direction clearly showed Carpenter made contact after Leonard stepped out, even if it was a bang-bang play.

“It was disappointing, I can't be doing that. It was full speed, kind of bang, bang play. But as a senior leader I can't be doing that,” Carpenter said.

In the end, the result was likely the same for Notre Dame anyway. Even without the tacked on yardage, the Fighting Irish were within field goal range. Three points is what the Fighting Irish ultimately got after the penalty gave Notre Dame a few extra plays, but no runs to daylight.

Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines didn’t mind the play.

“Do I fault him for making that mistake? No. That guy is going to play as hard as he can possibly play every single snap on the field. How can you hate that? Do I wish he had pulled off? Sure, but I love him for who he is and how hard he plays,” Haines said.

Finally, Carpenter made one final impact play when he blocked a Mitch Jeter field goal attempt with 12:12 left in the game. The possession Indiana gained led to the infamous decision by Curt Cignetti to punt from inside Notre Dame territory two minutes later.

Carpenter’s college career came to an end on Friday, but he has no regrets, and he was happy to be a Hoosier for a year.

“Coming into this year, no one thought we'd be here. A lot of doubters, a lot of haters. For us to kind of make this run, get to this point, it's been surreal,” Carpenter said. “It's been unbelievable. Something I'll remember for the rest of my life.”

On the biggest stage he ever played on, Carpenter was likely the most memorable player of the night for the Hoosiers.

Related stories on Indiana football

• GAME STORY: Notre Dame defeats Indiana 27-17 on Friday to end the Hoosiers' dream season. CLICK HERE.

• TODD'S TAKE: The Hoosiers we saw all season disappeared on Friday night. Notre Dame had everything to do with it. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: What Curt Cignetti said after Indiana's 27-17 loss to Notre Dame. CLICK HERE.

• TOM BREW COLUMN: Indiana isn't elite, but it's better than the alternative. CLICK HERE.

• LIVE BLOG: How the game played out as it happened in the Hoosiers On SI live blog. CLICK HERE.