Game Wrap and Reaction: Indiana 41 Rutgers 0
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Richard Lagow fires a pass down field in Saturday's 41-0 win over Rutgers Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle
Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Opponent: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Location: Saturday November 18th, Bloomington, IN
Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Scarlet Knights meet annually as Big Ten East foes.
What The Game Meant:
This was the final home game for 22 IU players and a chance to get to five wins and make the Bucket Game all the more meaningful needing just one more win for bowl eligibility.
Top Offensive Performers
Richard Lagow, QB, Indiana- Lagow has been really good since coming off the bench a couple weeks ago. Saturday Lagow went 17-of-28 for 236 yards and two scores.
Ian Thomas, TE, Indiana- A healthy Ian Thomas does wonders for this offense. He blocked well in the run game and added four catches for 93 yards with a long 57-yard touchdown.
Cole Gest and Morgan Ellison, RB, Indiana- The Indiana running backs had their best performance of the season combining for 253 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Indiana’s Offensive Line- The IU line also had a tremendous performance. They didn’t allow a sack and just five plays were stopped for a loss. They opened up holes in the run game and kept Lagow clean all day.
Top Defensive Performers
Greg Gooch, DE, Indiana- Gooch was a monster for the Hoosiers on defense making four total tackles including two sacks and a forced fumble.
Chris Covington, LB, Indiana- Covington paced the Hoosier linebackers with six tackles including a stop for a loss and two pass break ups. The reason the team’s tackle totals are so low is because the opponents aren’t running that many plays.
Robert McCray, DE, Indiana-McCray continued his solid play in the second half of the season making three stops including a half sack.
Trevor Morris, LB, Rutgers-Morris was the game’s leader in tackles with 16, including a tackle for loss. He made the stops no one else seemed to want to make for the Scarlet Knights.
Special Team Performance
On a day that featured a heavy downpour and 40 mile an hour winds, the Indiana special teams were terrific. Griifin Oakes accounted for 11 points. Punter Haydon Whitehead boomed three more punts inside the 20-yard line. Luke Timian did a good job corralling punts and avoid the critical error and Devonte Williams netted 22 yards on his lone kick return.
Key Stat(s)
41-0
This was Indiana's largest margin of victory in a Big Ten game since 1990. 41-0 is what good teams do at home to close out Senior Day.
Turning Point
IU set the tone when Rashard Fant recovered a muff punt that lead to a Morgan Ellison and delivered the knock-out punch when Luke Timian broke through a few tacklers and scored to put the Hoosiers ahead 27-0
I Knew it Was Over When…
Greg Gooch stripped the ball on a sack and Tony Fields recovered.
Players of the Game
Morgan Ellison, Indiana-Ellison showed why Hoosier fans should be excited for this guy. He averaged 9.9 yards per carry on 15 carries for a total of 149 yards. He scored twice.
Trevor Morris, Rutgers- Again, Morris seemed like the only Rutgers player who wanted to be in Bloomington after the first quarter.
What I took away from the game
Now that was fun if you were an Indiana fan. The Hoosiers played their best all-around game to date and while notching their most lopsided victory against a Big Ten foe in 27 years. The only blemish on the day was an hour-and-47-minute lightning delay.
Indiana again won the turnover battle (2-1) and converted both takeaways into touchdowns that really set the tone for the afternoon. The defense continued to get pressure on the quarterback and bottled up the Rutgers running attack. There were a lot of seniors playing their final game in Bloomington Saturday and they went out with a bang.
The offense roared to life as well as they figured out how to be balanced despite extreme conditions. The Hoosiers piled up 503 yards of offense and 41 points on a day where it was tough to throw the ball. Quarterback Richard Lagow has continued his solid play completing 18-of-27 passes for 236 yards and two scores. Tight end Ian Thomas looks to be close to 100-percent and that changes this offense. Morgan Ellison and Cole Gest built off of their performances last week and both cracked the 100-yard threshold. It sure seems like the Hoosiers have hit their stride at the right time.
After falling to 3-6 the Hoosiers have rebounded nicely and are heading to Purdue with a chance to become bowl eligible for the third-straight year, and yes that is quite the accomplishment. The 2017 Bucket Game should be electric for both schools and it also should go a long way into building a culture in the state.