Game Wrap and Reaction: No. 18 Iowa 34 No. 17 Indiana 6

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Opponent: Iowa Hawkeyes

Location: Saturday, September 4, 2021

Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Hawkeyes met as cross-divisional rivals to open the season.

What The Game Meant: This was a game pitting two ranked teams to open the season and gave the winning a leg up in the standings in their respective divisions.

Top Offensive Performers

Ty Fryfogle, WR, Indiana- There wasn’t much going on for the Indiana offense, but Fryfogle caught five passes for 84 yards.

Tyler Goodson, RB, Iowa- Goodson lit the powder keg early on a 56-yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the game. He finished with 110 total yards.

Top Defensive Performers

Ryder Anderson, DE, Indiana- Anderson made an impact in his first game as a Hoosiers making seven tackles with two coming for a loss and a sack.

Weston Kramer, DT, Indiana-Another impact transfer had a big game. Kramer had seven tackles as well with one coming for a loss.

Riley Moss, DB, Iowa- Moss had two pick sixes, two pass breakups and a tackle. If Goodson lit the fuse, Moss blew the top off of it, twice.

Special Team Performance

Outside of Charles Campbell who hit two field goals, the Hoosier special teams performance was very lackluster. New punter James Evans looked every bit of a player who has never played American Football. He did average 42.6 yards per kick, but that was after a really good second half. However, Evans net yards per punt was just 36.6. He has a huge leg and will be fine in time, but his first half was not good.

The Hoosiers did not attempt a kick return all afternoon and is a little head scratching as to why they either refuse to do so or just plain can’t do so. The kick coverage team was not good and included a kick out of bounds as well as a 33-yard return to open the game. The punt return game was non-existent, although Iowa did have three touchbacks.

IU also had a player on the field goal team late coming onto the field which caused a penalty. This unit needs to be better, especially if the Indiana offense continues to struggle.

​Key Stat(s) 17

The Hawkeyes scored 17 points off of turnovers, including two pick sixes. This is what put the game away for the Hawkeyes. No team can survive handing their opponent 17 points.

Turning Point

When a Michael Penix third down pass hit off of D.J. Matthews shoulder pad and into the arms of Riley Moss who ran it back 30 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-0 just two minutes into the game.

I Knew it Was Over When…

Michael Penix threw his second pick six to Riley Moss in the second quarter to make it 28-3. Indiana had just gotten the ball back at mid-field on a fumble and may have been able to score, but on the first play Iowa put the game away.

Players of the Game

Ryder Anderson, IU- Anderson was an impact player on defense as he created some much needed havoc.

Riley Moss, Iowa-Moss doubled Indiana’s scoring output for the game…on defense. Is there more to say?

What I took away from the game

This was a nightmare game for the Hoosiers, its fanbase and the coaching staff. The same issues that plagued the Hoosiers last year came back as quarterback Michael Penix Jr. looked downright awful and the offensive line, without two starters, struggled. The run game looked very similar to last season, wide outs couldn’t get separation and the offensive game plan lacked creativity and urgency. Outside of the 2020 Michigan game, offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan’s game plans have not been great.

The biggest concern however, is the play of Michael Penix Jr. who looked overwhelmed early and never recovered. He finished 14-of-31 passing for 156 yards and three interceptions (could’ve been double that). He missed wide open receivers and tight ends and threw ill-advised passes into coverages. Mechanically he does not look right and is just throwing off of his back leg making everything sail high. Jack Tuttle replaced Penix late in the game, but only threw two passes (another indictment of Sheridan). How long of a leash does Penix have going forward? It’s a good question, but IU cannot have the season they want if they ride with Penix if he continues this type of play.

The IU defense played well enough to win. They let up the big run on the first drive, but after that played fairly well. They forced two takeaways, had six tackles for loss and two sacks. They held Iowa to 303 total yards and 20 points. IU fans would sign up for that every week.

This is not how anyone envisioned IU’s opener going and the hope is that these issues will get ironed out. The Hoosiers have a ‘get right’ game with Idaho next week, but there are red flags that need to be acknowledged.