Game Wrap and Reaction: Indiana 29 Akron 27

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

Opponent: Akron Zips

Location: Bloomington, Indiana

Why They Played: Indiana rounds out its nonconference slate with a game against the MAC’s Akron. Indiana paid Akron $1.2M to play this game.

What The Game Meant: This was one of Indiana’s “must-wins” in the nonconference slate in order to achieve their goal of making a bowl game.

Top Offensive Performers

Cam Camper, WR, Indiana- Had four catches for 103 receiving yards to post his third career 100-yard receiving game. He had a great contested catch for a touchdown in the first overtime.

DJ Irons, QB, Akron - Redshirt senior QB DJ Irons battled an injury but still led the Zips in rushing with 141 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the game, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

Christian Turner, RB, Indiana- Turner led the Hoosiers in rushing yards with 67 yards on 13 carries. He scored on a 6-yard run in the second quarter, which was his second score as a Hoosier and the 15th of his career.

Top Defensive Performers

Aaron Casey, LB, Indiana- Casey continues to stack double-digit tackle games, this time posting a career-high 13, besting his previous high of 11 which he had done twice.

Louis Moore, DB, Indiana- Moore logged his first career interception in the second quarter and followed it up with another in the third quarter that he returned for his first career touchdown.

Phillip Dunham, DB, Indiana – Dunham collected his third interception of the season in the first quarter and tied a career-high eight tackles. His first career tackle for a loss came in the first overtime.

Andrew Behm, Linebacker, Akron – The junior linebacker had four tackles and added an interception that he returned for 25 yards.

Special Team Performance

James Evans punted seven times yesterday, totaling 313 yards (44.7 avg). Two punts went for touchbacks, while one was downed inside the 20. His longest punt of the day was 53 yards. Chris Freeman nailed both FG opportunities for the Hoosiers, with his longest coming from 39 yards, and also hit all three of his extra points.

Akron’s Dante Jackson was 2/3 from field goal range, most importantly missing a game-winning attempt at the end of regulation. Jackson also punted five times for the Zips, one of which was downed inside the 20.

Key Stat(s)

474-282

The Zips outgained the Hoosiers 474-282, but ultimately did not turn enough of those yards into points to steal a victory from Indiana.

Turning Point

Just like Indiana turned the tide with an onside kick last week, the Zips did so last night against the Hoosiers. As soon as Akron recovered that free kick, I knew it was no longer “Indiana playing with their food” and we had a legitimate upset bid on our hands.

I Knew it Was Over When…

I thought it was over when DJ Irons scrambled and set the Zips up for a game-winning field goal attempt, but Jackson was unable to convert as time expired in regulation. I knew it was over only when Akron failed to convert their final 2-point conversion attempt in the fourth overtime.

Players of the Game

Louis Moore, Indiana- The offense never got going for the Hoosiers, so Moore’s takeaways – one of which resulted in points himself – kept the Hoosiers alive.

DJ Irons, Akron – Akron played more than well-enough to win, and much of that was because of the play of DJ Irons. His gritty performance should have been good enough for an upset.

What I Took Away From the Game

Any momentum Indiana may have had from their second half against Louisville last week was immediately wiped away with their performance this week against Akron. Tayven Jackson seemed to have the offense figured out at the end of last Saturday but finished this week a pedestrian 11-of-26 for 190 yards and one touchdown with one interception. The run game never got going either, as the Hoosiers finished the game averaging just 2.7 yards per carry against a MAC defense. On the defensive side of the ball, the Hoosiers never figured out how to contain the mobile quarterback DJ Irons, and it should have cost them the game.

What I ultimately took away from this game was a lack of belief in the coaching staff, which was a feeling that had haunted me at times, but never fully boiled over until last night. In the past, I often thought much of this staff’s failures came down to simply not having the talent it took to compete in the Big Ten consistently. I often left crushing defeats, or narrow hollow-feeling victories like the one last night, feeling sadder about the players on the field than I did the coaching staff on the sideline. But I do not have that feeling this year; I really enjoy the players we have on the field this year and believe we have the talent it takes to compete. Unfortunately, I feel the staff – namely Walt Bell and Tom Allen – may not have what it takes to get the most out of this team.

What’s Next

Indiana will be on the road next Saturday for a 3:30 PM EST kickoff against the Maryland Terrapins.