Game Wrap and Reaction: Indiana 24 Michigan State 21 OT

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Opponent: Michigan State Spartans
Location: Saturday October 1st , Memorial Stadium (Bloomington, IN)
Why They Played:  Indiana and Michigan State play for the Old Brass Spittoon in what is now an annual Big Ten East duel. 

What The Game Meant:

Coming off of a disappointing loss to Wake Forest, Indiana wanted to get off to a fast start in Big Ten play with a win over 17th ranked Michigan State and take back the Old Brass Spittoon.

Top Offensive Performers:

Richard Lagow, QB, Indiana- The junior quarterback was coming off of a five interception performance and had over-thrown a wide open Mitchell Paige in the end zone for another pick. However, Lagow rebounded to lead the Hoosiers to the comeback win. He completed 16-of-26 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns. Lagow also got Indiana on the board with a touchdown reception, yes that’s right, from Mitchell Paige. 

Mitchell Paige, WR, Indiana- Indiana’s Mr. Everything had a monster impact in the game on both offense and on special teams. Paige caught three passes for 48 yards including a 15-yard touchdown, threw a five-yard touchdown pass, and added a 31-yard punt return.

Ricky Jones, WR, Indiana- For the second straight week the fifth-year senior led the Hoosiers in receiving finishing with 124 yards, 90 in the second half including a 22-yard touchdown and a long catch and run of 54-yards. 

R.J. Shelton, WR, Michigan State- Shelton, who has been a Spartan for what seems like a decade, had another big night for MSU. He scored the first Spartan touchdown on an 86-yard pass, while hauling in seven passes for 141 yards. Most of those touches game on shovel passes.

Tyler O’Conner, QB, Michigan State- O’Connor was not spectacular, but he did complete 21-of-35 passes and threw three touchdowns in the loss. He never looked comfortable as he was unable to set his feet most of the night. 

Top Defensive Performers:

Tegray Scales, LB, Indiana- A week after setting a career-high in tackles with 13, Scales topped that with 14 stops on Saturday. He was outstanding and disruptive accounting for 1.5 tackles for loss. 

Patrick Dougherty, DT, Indiana- Dougherty is an unheralded defensive lineman who stepped up to play a major role in the Hoosiers’ upset victory. He blocked Michael Geiger’s first field goal attempt and had a sack in overtime that led to another missed field goal. He finished with two total tackles.

Chris Frey, LB, Michigan State- Some one needed to step up in the absence of Riley Bullough, and Frey did that recording eight total tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss. 

Special Team Performance

There is a lot to be pleased about, really, there is. Yes, Griffin Oakes hit the game-winner from 20 yards out, but that came after a leaping penalty nullified what would have been his third miss of the game. Oakes missed earlier in the game from 50 and 40 yards out. On the bright side, Indiana finally received a spark in their return game as Devonte Williams looked great averaging 30 yards per return on kickoffs and Mitchell Paige had an electric 31-yard punt return. Joseph Gedeon had a solid night punting as he put two inside the 20 with a 38.7-yard per punt average. 

Key Stat(s):

24

The Hoosiers were shutout in the first half and fell behind 14-0 before going on a 24-7 run in the second half. 

Turning Point

There are many points in the game to look at that could be the turning point, however to me the Hoosiers got back into the game and reenergized the crowd on the 54-yard pass to Ricky Jones. It was a play that would lead to a score and including a resounding block by Nick Westbrook on a defender that fired everyone up. 

I Knew it Was Over When…

Griffin Oakes’ 20-yard field goal went through the uprights in overtime. 

Players of the Game

Tegray Scales, Indiana- He was a tackling machine on a unit that kept the Hoosiers alive as the offense sputtered. He consistently made open field tackles and kept the Michigan State short passes to minimal gains. 

R.J. Shelton, Michigan State- The most explosive player on offense for the Spartans and showed that he can play at the next level getting the ball in multiple ways. 

What I Took Away From the Game

Finally! Finally the Indiana Hoosiers and their fans could celebrate together a win over a ranked conference foe. In a game that was not played at a normal Kevin Wilson pace, that saw Indiana down 14-0 and miss two field goals and blow chance after chance at putting points on the board, the story finally changed. Instead of yet another missed opportunity, the Hoosiers stormed the Spartan sideline and took back the Old Brass Spittoon. After the game head coach Kevin Wilson said, “Proud of the team. That was a hard win. We had a thought process early in the week that we were just going to try everything we could to get it into the fourth quarter.”

That was exactly what Indiana did. The defense kept the team in the game as they only gave up 21 total points, before the offense could find their footing late and pull it out in overtime. IU had seven first half penalties, most of those killing drives. In the second half IU had zero. The Hoosiers had plenty of opportunities to put the screws to the Spartans, but failed to covert two field goals and a fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line as Wilson dialed up a trick play trying to sneak a pass play out of Tyler Natee.

Speaking of play calling, the Hoosiers went ultra-conservative early. “We didn't try to take a lot of risks early, because last week we did, kind of burned us a little bit.” Wilson said of the play calling, “so in the second half got a little more aggressive, didn't manage a few things well.”

There are times to gamble and when you gamble sometime you lose. Indiana was 50/50 on their gambles on Saturday night. They lost on the Natee pass, but won on a wide receiver pass that saw Mitchell Paige hit quarterback for a five-yard score after taking a hand off. That play got the Hoosiers back in the game and settled the quarterback down. Lagow would find his groove and throw for two touchdowns and look really sharp down the stretch.

After taking a 21-14 lead with 4:38 left in regulation, the Hoosiers did allow the Spartans to march down the field on a 13-play 75-yard drive to tie the game at 21 with 11 seconds remaining. It was a gut check moment for Indiana, as they had been in this position so many times last season.

Indiana had won the toss for the OT period and I thought that Wilson should take the ball and put his offense, who had their way in the second half, on the field first. It is unconventional, but the defense was just on the field for a long drive, but Wilson did what most coaches would do and put his defense on the field. “Even if (the defense is) worn out, you know what to do as an offense, no matter what happens. You know it's four-down territory. You've got to go for four downs. You know it's field goal wins or you know you need a field goal to tie. It just changed up” Wilson said after the game.

The defense came up huge for Indiana with two sacks on the final two offensive plays, forcing a 49-yard field goal that ultimately fell short from Michael Geiger.

From there Indiana would just center the ball for Griffin Oakes and that would be it, right? As Lee Corso says, “Not so fast, my friend!”. Indiana would center the ball for Oakes, but the kicker ended up missing the kick. It looked like another heartbreak for IU and that it’d be heading to double overtime, until a flag was thrown on the Spartans for leaping. Indiana would get another chance. Ultimately they got the ball inside the five and gave Griffin Oakes a 20-yard attempt and he knocked it through.

There is no doubt this is a monumental win for the Hoosier football program. A win bigger than the 2013 win over Missouri. This came at home, at night, and against a team that has owned Indiana since 2006. They start Big Ten play 1-0 for the first time since 2013 and head to Columbus with nothing to lose. How big will this win turn into? Well, that won’t be determined until the season ends. Will this be like the Missouri win in 2014, that was followed up by a stinker of a game against Maryland or will this propel them to a second-straight bowl game and potentially four Big Ten wins? Only time will tell, but for now Hoosier Nation can celebrate a win over the defending Big Ten champs who came in ranked 17th.