Game Wrap and Reaction: Indiana 34 Northwestern 3

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Opponent: Northwestern Wildcats

Location: Saturday November 2nd, 2019 Bloomington, Indiana

Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Wildcats met in Bloomington for the first time since 2011 and the first time overall since 2016.

What The Game Meant: Prior to his first full-season as head coach at Indiana Tom Allen wrote down three numbers, 10, 25 and 50. It had been 10 years since Indiana’s last winning season, 25 since their last bowl win and 50 years since their last Big Ten Championship. Indiana checked the first one off the list Saturday night.

Top Offensive Performers

Stevie Scott, RB, Indiana-Scott scored three touchdowns and now has 21 career touchdowns. The sophomore rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass. Scott ran hard all night and when he wasn’t running over people he ran around them.

Indiana Wide Receivers- Both Indiana quarterbacks played well, but neither really can be separated for individual honors. However, the Indiana receivers put up a solid game. Seven different Hoosiers caught passes for 270 yards and a score. Nick Westbrook crossed the 2,000-yard mark for his career and Donavan Hale ‘Mossed!’ a defender on a spectacular catch along the sideline. Whop Philyor had two big catches for 76 yards and Ty Fryfogle had four catches for 49 yards. Indiana also drew FOUR pass interference calls in the end zone that helped set up short touchdown runs. This is the receiving corps that fans expected to see in 2019.

Top Defensive Performers

Tiawan Mullen, DB, Indiana- The true freshman is making a name for himself on defense. Mullen was involved in two takeaways as he forced one fumble on Northwestern’s first play and recovered another. Both of them set up Hoosier touchdowns. Mullen also added a pass break up.

Team Defense, Indiana- The Hoosiers flat out dominated the hapless Northwestern offense. They forced three fumbles, broke up four passes and took down ball carriers for a loss four times. The Wildcats were held to 3-of-14 on third down conversions and just 3.4 yards per play. It was just an all-around terrific performance.

Blake Gallagher,LB, Northwestern- Gallagher led the Wildcats with 11 tackles (eight solo) and two tackles for loss. While the Hoosiers threw the ball at will, the Wildcats did stymie the Hoosier run game to the tune of 2.8 yards per carry.

Special Team Performance

Outside of one kickoff out of bounds from Nathanael Snyder, the special teams just kept humming. Punter Haydon Whitehead averaged 36.6 yards per punt and knocked four of his five punts inside the Northwestern 20-yard line.

Kicker Logan Justus hit two short field goals and all four extra points. Justus is 12-of-12 on field goals and 34-of-35 on extra points and has accounted for 70 points, most on the team.

David Ellis had one kick return for 18 yards.

​Key Stat(s)

7

The Hoosiers clinched an above-.500 season for the first time since 2007. It was one of the three numbers Tom Allen wanted to cross off. Allen acknowledges the significance of the in, but also how much work still needs to be done.

Turning Point

The turning point came early. On Northwestern’s first possession quarterback Aiden Smith ran for 22 yards, but was stripped by Tiawan Mullen at the end of the run. Michael Ziemba jumped on the ball and set the Hoosiers’ offense up at the Wildcats 46-yard line. Seven plays later IU had a 10-0 lead and never looked back.

I Knew it Was Over When…

When IU took a 17-3 lead after a Tiawan Mullen fumble recovery set up Indiana’s second touchdown of the night with 11:10 left in the first half.

Players of the Game

Stevie Scott, Indiana­- Scott accounted for 136 yards and three touchdowns. The Hoosiers have gone as Scott has for most of the season in 2019.

What I took away from the game

This may have been Indiana’s best all-around game of the 2019 season. Aside from two false start penalties to start the game the Hoosiers only had four, a couple of them were largely unavoidable hustle plays. Northwestern is going through a terrible season, but the Hoosiers did to Northwestern what good teams do. They dominated an inferior opponent at home. Tom Allen and the Hoosiers should not have to apologize for beating the people on their schedule. It is not their fault that former five-star quarterback Hunter Johnson looks lost or that the defending Big Ten West champions are 1-7. The Hoosier took care of business and did so in an impressive way. They did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

The defense forced three takeaways in the first half and their effort did not let up in the second half as they pounded the Wildcats into submission. Offensively, Stevie Scott was a bulldozer in racking up 136 total yards and three touchdowns and the receivers were largely unguardable. The Hoosiers also held a 20-yard advantage in starting field position over the Wildcats.

The Hoosiers head into their second open week of 2019 sitting at 7-2 (4-2) and awaiting polls to come out to see if they can crack the top-25. The Hoosiers will need to heal up, Michael Penix especially after he left the game late in the second quarter. There was no update on Penix after the game.

The Hoosiers next game will come against Penn State in Happy Valley, a place the Hoosiers have never won before. They will have their work cut out for them, but they enter the final quarter of the regular season playing the best football they have played in a decade. It has been a successful season and will be a successful season, no matter what happens at Penn State, but there is still work to be done. The Hoosiers are playing meaningful football in November and that needs to be embraced rather than shrugged off for whatever convenient excuse people want to make.