By 1891 Billy Herod was head coach. He had never played football but had seen it played in the East. The Hoosiers continued to struggle to find wins, even forfeiting a game to in-state rival Purdue in the 1894 season. The first winning season came in 1895 under coach Dana Osgood, who led the team to a 4–3–1 record. This was followed by two winning seasons in 1896 and 1897 under coach Madison G. Gonterman, who was hired away from Harvard.