In all honesty, I wasn't expecting too much from this stadium, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise.  After parking the car (a 4 door car with 7 people in it), I walked over towards the basketball arena and watched the buses pull in.  Then the band/players make their way to the stadium.

I was fortunate enough to be invited by the Indiana staff to walk around the stadium prior to the game and see what was clearly one of the most underrated stadiums in the league.

Just a few rows in front of me, I noticed that Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean was taking his seat.  A former Marquette basketball coach, I figured he wouldn't mind a Milwaukee resident stopping in to say hello.  If you're not familiar with Marquette University, he coached a guy named Dwayne Wade there.

Beneath the scoreboard and behing one of the endzones is a miniature football field that children are allowed to play on during the game.  In the photo to the side, you see a close-up of the small field prior to the game.  In the photo below, you can see a visual during the game.  Clearly, the activity level has picked up.  I understand that security here is pretty tight and while parents are allowed to supervise their kids, they can not lean on the fence and watch the game.

For the second week in a row, we saw Wisconsin running back John Clay rush for more than 100 yards (134), but this time Montee Ball also topped the 100-yard mark and added two touchdowns.  What is probably most amazing is that Clay rushed for the 134 in the first half alone due to a concussion. 

Wisconsin led through the first half and entered the fourth quarter, 24-14.  Indiana put up a late charge, scoring 14 in the fourth quarter.  Terrance Turner caught a touchdown pass from Ben Chappell and the Hoosiers were within 3 points with 12 minutes left to play.  Wisconsin answered however as Scott Tolzien threw a big pass to Nick Toon for 44 yards and Montee Ball took roughly 3 tries to get into the endzone. 

The Hoosiers then drove 80 yards and Trea Burgess caught a touchdown pass from Chappell to narrow the gap to 3 points with approximately 4 minutes left to play.  Unfortunately for Indiana, the Badger offense was successful in running out the balance of the clock, not giving Indiana another chance to score and the top-25 ranked Wisconsin would win the game 31-28.

Some other things to look for at Memorial Stadium (and let me just say that this is the better of the two "Memorial Stadiums" in the Big Ten). 

Here and there you can see images of the "Old Oaken Bucket."  It's a tradition that has been around since 1925.  The bucket acts as a trophy for the winner of the annual Purdue/Indiana football matchup.  When one of the team wins, a link is added with the date, score and location of the game.  The link is one of three shapes: an "I" for Indiana, a "P" for Purudue, or an "IP" if the game results in a tie.  The very first game was a 0-0 tie, and the "IP" was added to the handle and is still the most visible link to this day.

"The Rock" is a limestone boulder that coach Tery Hoeppner brought over from a practice field in 2005.  Unfortunately, coach Hoeppner passed in 2007 but the rock still serves as motivation/inspiration for the current teams.

While Indiana is more known for its basketball program, it has produced many NFL players.  Adewale Ogunleye, James Hardy and Superbowl champion Antwaan Randle El all played football at Indiana.  Another notable Hoosier is Lee Corso.

So Indiana's football experience proved to be pretty darn worthwhile.  Thanks to Trent Green's donations, they have really modernized the stadium.  With the great tailgating nearby, inexpensive tickets, and Hoosier tradition, anyone is certain to have a great time in Bloomington!