Game Wrap and Reaction: Michigan State 40 Indiana 31

Photo by joe robbins/getty images

Written by TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

Opponent – Michigan State Spartans

Location – Saturday, September 28, 2019 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, MI

Why They Played – The Hoosiers and Huskies play annually as members of the Big Ten East.

What the Game Meant – Indiana performed admirably, particularly on offense, as Michael Penix showed the potential to become a bonafide star. However, the Hoosiers made a couple of critical mistakes and ultimately came up short. The loss dropped them to 3-2 and Michigan State improved to 4-1 and kept the Old Brass Spittoon. 

Top Offensive Performers

Michael Penix Jr. – Going against one of the nation’s toughest defenses, the redshirt freshman was truly outstanding. He completed 33 of his 42 attempts (at one point connecting on 20 straight) for 286 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a rushing touchdown and showed complete control of the offense against a very tough opponent. 

Whop Philyor – The junior from Florida was dominant on Saturday afternoon, catching 14 passes for 142 yards with two touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer used short passes to Philyor as an extension of the running game and it was very effective thanks to the speedster’s toughness and terrific hands. 

Donavan Hale – Completing the trio of offensive stars from the Sunshine State was Donavan Hale. The veteran wideout had seven receptions for 99 yards with a highlight-reel touchdown. He also drew multiple pass interference penalties against All-Big Ten cornerback Josiah Scott and proved to be a handful for the Spartans defense.

Offensive Line – A special shout-out to the offensive line. They went against one of the best defensive fronts in the country and held their own. Providing time for Penix to throw without too much pressure and often keeping him upright. They also performed admirably as run blockers, as Stevie Scott grinded out 71 yards on the ground. True freshman Matt Bedford was making his first start in place of the injured Coy Cronk and he was a big part of the nice outing for this group.

Top Defensive Performers

Tiawan Mullen – Mullen, a freshman defensive back from Florida, was a disruptive force all afternoon. He made a noticeable difference in coverage, often against the Spartans best wideout, Darrell Stewart. Mullen had a remarkable four pass break-ups and added some terrific coverage on other passes.

Micah McFadden – McFadden had five tackles, tied for the team lead, and had a pair of tackles for loss. The defense defended the run very well but was shredded by big plays from Brian Lewerke.

Special Teams Performance

Logan Justus was not asked to do much but he was perfect on the afternoon. Haydon Whitehead did fine as well. However, the special teams performance was marred once again by penalties in the return game. The Hoosiers had a key punt return negated by holding penalties and ended up putting the IU offense in poor field position to start drives on multiple occasions.

Key Stats

286 – 300

Both quarterbacks were terrific on Saturday. That number is the total number of passing yards for the Hoosiers and the Spartans in a surprising aerial dual.

16.7 

Michigan State only completed 18 passes but their completions averaged 16.7 yards as Brian Lewerke connected on multiple deep balls, often to Darrell Stewart. The big pass plays proved to be too much as the final one put the Spartans in position for the game-winning field goal.

Six Inches

Leading by a score of 24-21 early in the fourth quarter, Indiana took over at their own 11-yard line. Michael Penix threw deep for Whop Philyor, who had a couple of steps on the coverage. If completed, Philyor would have sprinted into the end zone for a long score that would have put Indiana ahead by ten. The pass hit Philyor on the fingertips but it was overthrown by about six inches and IU was forced to punt. It truly was a game of inches.

Turning Point

The Hoosiers had just marched down the field with an impressive late drive to tie the game at 31. On the first play of Michigan State’s ensuing drive, which began with 2:00 minutes remaining. Brian Lewerke connected with Darrell Stewart on a jump ball that put the Spartans in field goal range right away. Lewerke then kept the ball on an option read and was tackled on the one-yard line. Michigan State ran the clock down and kicked the winning field goal with only five seconds remaining.

I Knew it was Over When…

Michigan State’s Darrell Stewart caught a long pass on the first play of their final drive. It was an all-too-familiar gut punch on a day IU played mostly very admirable football.

Players of the Game

Michael Penix – this was a toss-up between Penix and Whop Philyor because of how critical Whop was for the attack but it has to be Penix. Completing 20 passes in a row, 33 of 42 overall, for nearly 300 yards with four total touchdowns against this MSU defense is a terrific sign of what Penix could be as a Hoosier.

Tiawan Mullen – Tiawan Mullen might be IU’s best defensive back already. He had a remarkable four pass break-ups and was great in coverage all afternoon.