Hoosiers Fall Flat Against Spartans
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Michigan State jumped out to a big lead and never looked back. Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle
Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
The Indiana Hoosiers started the season with three straight victories and there was a palpable sense of excitement surrounding Memorial Stadium prior to the 65th clash with Michigan State for the Old Brass Spittoon. Despite strong effort from the Indiana defense, nearly everything went wrong on Saturday night and IU fell to #24 Michigan State 35-21 to drop to 3-1 on the season.
Michigan State had the first possession and moved the ball into Indiana territory before a pair of penalties stalled their drive and forced a punt. Indiana had an opportunity for a touchdown on their first drive but Peyton Ramsey overshot Reece Taylor on a wheel route and IU gave the ball back to the Spartans. Michigan State gained 16 yards on a 3rd and 17 and then converted a short fourth down to keep their drive alive. Brian Lewerke found Jalen Nailor from 16 yards out for the opening score of the game. IU responded with a nice drive but disaster struck as Peyton Ramsey lofted a screen pass off the fingertips of Stevie Scott and directly into the arms of a Michigan State defender. The Spartans Shakur Brown sprinted into the end zone for a 67 yard touchdown that gave MSU a 14-0 lead. The teams traded possessions as both offensive lines struggled mightily to create any opportunities for their attack. Near the beginning of the second quarter, Raheem Layne had an interception overturned after a dubious pass interference call but the IU defense would not be deterred as Cam Jones knocked the ball loose on a Spartan run and James Head fell on it at the 49 yard line. The IU offense finally found a bit of success and Peyton Ramsey connected with Scott from eight yards out to make the score 14-7. IU forced a punt and got the ball back with 3:29 left in the first half with a chance to tie the game but they went three and out and were forced to give it back to Michigan State with 1:23 remaining. The Spartans found some rhythm as Lewerke repeatedly connected with Felton Davis and MSU worked their way down the field. With less than 20 seconds remaining, Lewerke threw his second touchdown pass of the evening, hooking up with tight end Matt Dotson for an 11-yard score that made the score 21-7 at the half.
The second half didn’t feature much improvement for IU’s offense as they went three and out with their first two possessions. MSU really seized control of the contest midway through the third quarter as IU’s Marcelino Ball was ejected for targeting. Later in the drive, MSU faked a short field goal kicker Matt Coughlin ran in for a touchdown to give MSU a 28-7 lead. The Hoosiers refused to go away meekly as the Hoosiers pressured Lewerke into a poor throw that was intercepted at the 7-yard line by Khalil Bryant. Indiana appeared to have a touchdown as Whop Philyor dove across the goal line but the Hoosiers were called for offensive pass interference and were forced to settle for a field goal. Logan Justus nailed a 35 yard field goal to make it 28-10. The Spartans were unable to move the ball and Peyton Ramsey found Whop Philyor on a slant route that he turned upfield and ran in for a long touchdown. Ramsey threw a completion to Nick Westbrook to convert the two-point play and make it 28-18. The Hoosiers forced Michigan State to punt and took over trailing by only ten points. Indiana moved the ball well again but Ramsey misfired to Donovan Hale and then came up just short on a scramble and IU was forced to settle for another Logan Justus 35-yard field goal. Just as IU had gotten back into the game and made things interesting, Jalen Nailor took the first play of Michigan State’s possession and broke free for a 75 yard touchdown to put the final nail in Indiana’s coffin.
It was a frustrating night for the Hoosiers. Whop Philyor had a career-night, catching 13 passes for 148 yards with a touchdown. The defense shut down MSU’s rushing attack until the big run by Nailor. After being down 21 points, the Hoosiers refused to lie down and fought back to make things interesting. However, the Hoosiers lacked a vertical passing game, struggled to run the ball against the stout front seven of MSU and were victims of more than a couple of interesting decisions by the officials. The Hoosiers will look to regroup and bounce back next week at Rutgers before traveling to Columbus to play Ohio State. IU is 3-1 and has a chance to get four wins before the calendar turns to October and that is a major positive but tonight was a letdown for a game that was there for the taking for the Hoosiers.