Hoosiers Dominate Huskies on Both Sides of the Ball in 38-3 Blowout

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Image: Amanda Pavelka Hoosier Huddle

Image: Amanda Pavelka Hoosier Huddle

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1) showed resiliency as they trampled the Connecticut Huskies (1-2, 0-1) 38-3 in front of 40,084 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN on Saturday afternoon. The Hoosiers used a balanced offensive attack and an aggressive defense to secure their third win of the season.

After Connecticut kicked an early field goal that was set up by a fumble by IU tight end Peyton Hendershot to take a 3-0 lead, the Hoosiers rattled off 38-straight points. Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey tossed three touchdowns while completing 23-of-27 passes for 247 yards. His first one, a 12-yard strike to Whop Philyor gave the Hoosiers a 7-3 lead with 5:01 left in the first quarter. Philyor finished the day with 73 all-purpose yards.

Indiana kicker Logan Justus extended the lead to 10-3 with a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter. After both teams traded punts, Connecticut kicker Clayton Harris missed a 50-yard field goal that set Indiana up with great field position at their own 32-yard line with 5:44 left in the first half.

The Hoosiers capitalized on the miss and marched nine plays and 68 yards in 4:02 to take a 17-3 lead on a Peyton Ramsey touchdown pass to Peyton Hendershot.

The Indiana defense made their mark in the second half as linebacker Cam Jones broke the game open with a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown that made the score 24-3. Jones, playing in his second game since an injury had a fantastic day with four tackles, a tackle for loss and the pick six. He also had a tone-setting hit on a running back that doesn’t count on the stat sheet, but led to Indiana defensive end Michael Ziemba tackling Connecticut quarterback Jack Zergiotis for a big loss.

Later in the third quarter, Ramsey hit Nick Westbrook for a 16-yard score to extend the lead to 31-3. Westbrook finished with two catches for 32 yards. The Hoosiers spread the ball around as 10 IU players caught passes for 252 yards.

Indiana running back Stevie Scott iced the game with an 8-yard touchdown run with 8:47 left in the game to make it 38-3. Scott finished with 21 carries and 97 yards on the ground. The Hoosiers emphasized establishing the run this week and finished with a modest, yet encouraging 178 yards on 40 attempts (4.1 yards per carry).

The Hoosiers had to play most of the game without their best run blocker in senior lineman Coy Cronk. Cronk was carted off the field at the 9:03 mark of the first quarter after suffering a lower leg injury on a Stevie Scott run.

The Hoosiers dominated the Huskies on both sides of the ball. IU won the yardage battle 430-145. IU also had 25 first downs to UConn’s nine. On defense the Hoosiers recorded two sacks and five tackles for loss.

The Hoosiers will hit the road next week as they return to Big Ten play to take on the Michigan State Spartans (3-1, 1-0) in the Battle for the Old Brass Spittoon.

Other Notes

  • Indiana finished with a perfect 3-0 non-conference mark and has won 17 of its last 18 regular season non-conference games, including nine straight and 12 of its last 13 at Memorial Stadium.

  • Gartner, Peggy Thomas(wife of Donnie Thomas) and former IU linebacker Ken Kaczmarek(1965-67) served as today’s honorary captains

  • Logan Justus is now 21-of-24 on field goals (87.5percent) and 46-of-47on PATs (97.7percent).

  • Peyton Hendershot set a career-high with five receptions.