Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The 17th ranked Indiana Hoosiers (0-1) entered the 2021 season opener at Kinnick Stadium with high expectations. The 18th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0) very quickly dowsed any hopes for a season opening victory as they jumped out to a 14-0 victory less than three minutes into the contest and cruised to a 34-6 victory. IU’s offense was completely flabbergasted by the dominant Iowa defense and Michael Penix had the worst game of his career. Penix was under pressure on most drop backs as IU’s offensive line struggled to block Iowa’s pressure. The redshirt junior ended up 14 of 31 with three very costly interceptions. The Hoosiers defense was hard done by the final score as they held Iowa to 303 yards and only gave up 20 of the 34 points.

The Iowa Hawkeyes had the first possession and on the fourth play of the contest, Tyler Goodson burst to the outside and sprinted down the sideline for a 56 yard touchdown to give Iowa a 7-0 lead. IU’s first possession was a disaster as Michael Penix’s pass bounced off of D.J. Matthews’ shoulder pad and into the hands of Iowa’s Riley Moss. He ran into the end zone untouched and Iowa had a 14-0 lead. IU moved across midfield with the next possession but failed to score and punted the ball back to Iowa. The Hoosier defense settled in, forcing a three and out and the Hoosiers got a long gain to Ty Fryfogle that set them up inside the 20. The drive petered out and they settled for a Charlie Campbell 36-yard field goal to make it 14-3. Indiana University was unable to really gather any momentum though as Iowa converted a fourth down and then Spencer Petras scampered into the end zone on a quarterback keeper to make it 21-3. IU got a first down but their next drive was derailed by an offensive pass interference penalty and they punted the ball back to Iowa. The team’s traded punts and then IU’s defense cracked open the window of hope with a fumble forced and recovered by Cam Jones at midfield. However, the IU offense promptly slammed that door door shut as on the very next play, Michael Penix threw another interception to Riley Moss and he ran in his second pick six of the afternoon to make 28-3 before halftime. Things went from bad to worse as Penix scrambled and threw an awful pass that was intercepted by Dane Belton. Iowa added a 41 yard field goal and took a 31-3 into the locker room. It was a half that went worse than even the most pessimistic IU could have imagined.

The second half went better but both teams seemed content to let the clock run and get done with the game. IU had the ball first and a long completion to Ty Fryfogle gave the Hoosiers hope for a strong start to the half but Penix airmailed a pass to Peyton Hendershot in the end zone and then was sacked on third down so the Hoosiers settled for another Charles Campbell field goal. Iowa’s offense only had one field goal in the second half as IU’s defense played mostly quite well and kept the Hawkeyes in check.

Winning in the season opener at Kinnick Stadium was a tall order but this performance was certainly the opposite of what the Hoosiers were anticipating. Losing 34-6 is a very poor way to start the season and the Hoosiers must quickly rebound and improve a whole lot for next week’s home opener against Idaho. Hoosier Huddle will have continuing coverage of this disappointing defeat in Iowa City.

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