Game Wrap and Reaction: Purdue 28 Indiana 21
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Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle
Opponent: Purdue Boilermakers
Location: Memorial Stadium Saturday November 24th, 2018 Bloomington, IN
Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Boilermakers play annually for the Old Oaken Bucket as protected rivals in the Big Ten.
What The Game Meant: Not only was this a revenge game for IU, it was a chance to change the tone of the season for both programs. IU will head home for the holidays while Purdue awaits their bowl destination.
Top Offensive Performers:
Stevie Scott, RB, Indiana- Scott had a nice game to cap off an outstanding freshman season. He ran 20 times for 104 yards and a score.
Nick Westbrook, WR, Indiana- The redshirt junior had a big day hauling in eight passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
David Blough, QB, Purdue- Blough picked apart the IU defense when given enough time. He was an efficient 27-of-35 for 310 yards and three touchdowns.
Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue- If he doesn’t win Big Ten Freshman of the Year, something is rigged. Moore accounted for 154 total yards (141 receiving) and two long touchdown catches.
Top Defensive Performers
Jerome Johnson, DT, Indiana- Johnson was the top defensive lineman in the game making five tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss including 1.5 sacks.
Mike Barwick, DT, Indiana- Barwick had a momentum changing interception right before halftime, but Indiana couldn’t take advantage. He added two tackles.
Navon Mosley, DB, Purdue- Mosley had 10 tackles and an interception for the Boilermakers.
Markus Bailey, LB, Purdue- This guy is a Hoosier killer. He’s had big games every year. Today Bailey made seven stops including a sack.
Special Teams Performance
Outside of a Logan Justus missed field goal into a swirling wind, this unit was almost invisible. It did nothing awful, but it did nothing well either. Special teams is an area that will need to be re-evaluated in the off-season.
Key Stat(s)
5-14/1-3
The Hoosiers converted just five third downs all day and turned the ball over on downs twice. They put up yards, but could not cash in on field position.
Turning Point
The game turned the drive after IU stopped Purdue on a fourth-and-one inside the 10-yard line. The stop was huge on defense and the crowd and momentum had swung. On the ensuing drive IU gained three yards on three plays and punted. Purdue would gain the lead for good one play later when Rondale Moore hauled in a 56-yard touchdown strike.
I Knew it Was Over When…
Rondale Moore recovered Indiana’s last ditch on-side kick with 1:16 left. However, this game was iced by a Markell Jones TD run with 3:42 left.
Players of the Game
Stevie Scott, Indiana- The bright spot of the Indiana offense all year has been this true freshman. He capped off a great season with a solid effort Saturday.
Rondale Moore, Purdue- The guy Indiana did not want beating them, beat them and then recovered the on-sides kick to boot.
What I took away from the game
There is no hiding from this one. Indiana came in needing a win and left with their heads down after a second-straight loss to Purdue. IU ended the season losing six of seven and will be missing out on a bowl for the second-straight year.
I don’t know if IU played tight or just conservative, but the offense did not look like the same offense we saw the last two weeks. They rarely took shots down field and instead went back to the dink-and-dunk game that struggled most of the year. To me there was little to no sense of urgency and Purdue was never pressured on defense. Ramsey was sacked five times and was not accurate throwing the ball. IU receivers did drop some passes. The run game did what it needed to do to win.
Defensively, IU played well enough to win. They held a high-powered Purdue offense to 28 points. However, they did not create takeaways and critical personal foul penalties extended drives and put points on the board for Purdue.
I’ll get to putting a bow on the season later this week, but there is a lot to be re-evaluated this off-season. IU cannot survive offensively, if they continue to play conservatively. Same goes for special teams. The roster may have been mismanaged as IU essentially wasted Reese Taylor’s freshman year. Defensively, IU took a step back in a lot of areas due to youth, but did create 25 takeaways. Allen has hinted at giving up DC duties heading into next year, and that may be what he needs to do so he can oversee his entire team before it spirals out of control.
What’s Next
The Hoosiers head into the offseason with more questions than answers. The next milestone in the year is the December 19th signing day. The hope is the Hoosiers can keep their strong class together and can continue to rebuild the roster.