PUEBLO, Colo. – The No. 13 UIndy football team's national-championship aspirations ended Saturday afternoon, as the Greyhounds dropped a 27-14 decision at fourth-ranked Colorado State-Pueblo in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Division II playoffs. After notching a conference championship, a double-digit win total and a Division II postseason berth, the Greyhounds finished the season with a 10-2 record while the ThunderWolves (11-1) advanced to the second round.
 
Able to fend off the turnover bug for most of the year, the Hounds threw two uncharacteristic interceptions Saturday. Up 3-0 after the first, CSU-Pueblo managed to pick off a pair of Connor Barthel passes in the second quarter, both of which led to touchdowns for the home team. Barthel had thrown just two INTs all season, and overall the Hounds had committed an NCAA-record five turnovers through 11 games heading into the postseason.
 
The defending-national-champion ThunderWolves would ultimately run off 24 unanswered points before the Greyhounds got on the board. That moment came at the end of the half when redshirt-sophomore Andrew Walker broke off a 65-yard scoring rush, good for his fourth 50-plus-yard run of the year. The score also gave Walker sole possession of the program's single-season rushing touchdown record (20).
 
Down 24-7 at the break, the UIndy defense stiffened, allowing just three points and zero third-down conversions the rest of the way. The Greyhound defenders also came up with a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions, one by linebacker Rob Dury on another by DL O'rion Elder. The Hounds parlayed the latter into the only touchdown of the second half.
 
Elder's pick and short return gave UIndy the ball at the Pueblo 35-yard line. On the very next play, Barthel found freshman Malik Higgins with a 31-yard strike before the veteran QB finished it off himself with a one-yard sneak.
 
Now with only two minutes to go, UIndy attempted just its second onside kick of the season. The Hounds would fail to recover, however, as the ThunderWolves would notch one final first down to seal the win.
 
Led by captains Barthel, Lee Campbell and Reece Horn, this year's senior class put up 39 wins over the last four seasons, good for the winningest four-year period in UIndy history. The span included four consecutive GLVC titles, three postseason appearances and the program's first playoff win (2012 first round).
 
The Greyhounds will gather one more time as a team at its annual awards banquet Sunday, Dec. 6.


NOTES
UIndy also traveled to CSU-Pueblo for 2012 playoff matchup, falling 24-7 in the second round ... Horn amassed 11 catches for 72 yards in his final collegiate game to surpass UIndy single-season records of both receptions and receiving yards ... Barthel surpassed 3,000 passing yards for the season, becoming just the third Greyhound to hit the 3K mark, (Matt Kohn, 2003 & Chris Mills, 2012). Barthel also set the UIndy record for most completeions in a season at 258.