Hoosier Offense Sinks the 'Blackshirts' in Lincoln Behind Passing Attack

Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Written by Evan McShane (@veryreasonable)

Your Indiana Hoosiers are now 6-2 after an impressive, hard-fought victory on the road Saturday. Facing a hostile environment in Lincoln, Nebraska in front of 90,000 Cornhuskers fans, Peyton Ramsey and the Hoosier offense gritted their way to victory. Indiana racked up over 450 yards of total offense, including 351 passing yards from Ramsey.  The Hoosiers have scored 30 or more points in seven of their first eight games for the first time in program history.

Before Indiana took the field on offense, they were already down 7-0. Needing to sustain a drive to avoid falling behind further, Ramsey and the Hoosiers mounted an impressive 11-play 71-yard drive. Whop Philyor had five receptions on the drive to start what would be a monster day for the junior wide receiver. IU ultimately stalled out on the three yard-line and was forced to settle for a field goal.

Facing an even deeper hole the next drive, trailing 14-3, Indiana again marched 71 yards downfield with ease. This time, IU was able to capitalize with a touchdown: on first and goal Ramsey took a quarterback keeper himself eight yards for the score. A missed extra point kept the Hoosiers down 14-9. Thanks to a massive strip-sack and fumble return, Indiana got the ball back with first and goal on the eight yard-line once again. A fade route guided Ty Fryfogle to the sideline where he made an impressive contested catch for the touchdown.

Ramsey and the offense made their lone mistake on their final drive of the half. With the Hoosiers leading 16-14 with a chance to extend the lead going into halftime, Ramsey threw a pass slightly behind Whop Philyor. Whop juggled the ball and it ultimately fell into the hands of a Nebraska defender for an interception. The Cornhuskers extended their lead 21-16 on the ensuing drive.

In the second half, after Indiana was setup with prime field position following a blocked punt, Ramsey led the offense to a quick touchdown. A 24-yard completion from Ramsey to Whop setup a 1-yard touchdown on an end-around run by David Ellis. Ramsey knew he could get whatever he wanted all afternoon and the veteran QB absolutely shredded Nebraska’s defense. “I don’t think that it had anything to do with their defense. I think it had to do with our skill guys. How much we believe in them on the perimeter and inside on the one-on-one matchups,” Ramsey said. “I think that’s what it came down to. We had a really good game plan to prepare for it. All the credit to our guys.”

Credit should also go to offensive coordinator Kalen Deboer for designing a relatively flawless gameplan. Ramsey was kept clean in the pocket nearly the entire game as he threw for a career-high 351 yards. Ramsey was also a threat in the running game, picking up several key first downs and accumulating 42 rushing yards on 9 carries. When Indiana got the ball back with the game tied, Ramsey mounted yet another touchdown drive. This one went six plays for 65-yards in under three minutes, ending with a two-yard pitch and catch from Ramsey to tight end Matt Bjorson to put IU up 31-24.

A fumble recovery gave Indiana the ball back and once again, Ramsey took the Hoosiers on a 57-yard drive. After a holding penalty, Ramsey connected to Fryfogle for 38-yards to get into Nebraska territory. Four plays later, Stevie Scott scored a nine-yard touchdown run to go up 38-24. Following a clutch turnover on downs forced by the defense, the IU offense was able to run out the clock to win the game.

Victory formation hasn’t felt this sweet in quite some time. Peyton Ramsey deserves all the credit in the world for the way he has led this team to back-to-back wins in the absence of Michael Penix. Ramsey finished his career day completing 27-of-40 passes for 351 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Whop Philyor continued his remarkable dominance with 14 receptions for 178 yards. Seven different receivers caught a pass on Saturday, continuing Indiana’s balanced offensive effort this season.

The Indiana football Hoosiers are bowl eligible. Six wins before November with four games left to play. Hats off to Tom Allen and Kalen DeBoer for a well-designed game plan and hats off to Peyton Ramsey and the players for executing.  If you haven’t bought a ticket to next week’s game against Northwestern, do it now. This team deserves to play in front of a packed house under the lights at Memorial Stadium.