Hoosiers Ride Running Game and Defense to 27-11 Win over Terrapins

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

After their lone defeat of the 2020 season, the Indiana Hoosiers bounced back with a comfortable 27-11 victory over the Maryland Terrapins on a sunny afternoon in Bloomington. The offense struggled to find any kind of rhythm in the first half but a strong running game and a strangling defense that forced three more turnovers ultimately built a lead the Hoosiers coasted home with. The major negative of the day came in the third quarter as Michael Penix was injured on a run. His status is unknown but Jack Tuttle finished the game at quarterback for the Hoosiers.

The Maryland Terrapins began the game with the ball and went on a long drive that set them up in the red zone. Taulia Tagovailoa and the Terrapins running game combined to get into scoring position but IU’s defense stiffened and forced the visitors to a 29 yard field goal attempt. Joseph Petrino hooked the kick wide and Maryland’s starting drive came up empty. Indiana was unable to do anything with the ball, going three and out and punting back to Maryland. The Terrapins answered in kind with a three and out of their own. The Hoosiers took over at the 26 and introduced a new wrinkle to their offense, direct snaps to a tailback. The “Wildcat” package was featured heavily in IU’s second drive with snaps going to David Ellis and Stevie Scott and the drive culminated in a three-yard touchdown for Stevie Scott from the Wildcat. Maryland again drove into scoring territory and again came up empty. This time, it was Tiawan Mullen catching a deflected pass for the first turnover of the game. Indiana was backed up, starting the possession at the two-yard line and they went three and out which gave the Terrapins the ball near midfield after the punt. It was the same story though as Jaylin Williams picked off a Tagovailoa pass and ran it back past midfield. For the second time in as many weeks though, an IU defender fumbled an interception return and gave the ball back to the opposition. Maryland was unable to do anything with their second chance as the Hoosiers forced a punt that pinned the Hoosiers at the two-yard line again. The poor field position hindered IU’s attack but Michael Penix struggled mightily as well and the Hoosiers again had to punt the ball away. Maryland found some life with a deep completion to Dontay Demus and a nice run by Peny Boone but a holding penalty and the IU defense held them to a field goal attempt. The 38-yard effort from Petrino was good and made the score 7-3 in favor of the home side. The Hoosiers went three and out with three more incompletions but forced Maryland to do the same, giving the ball back to Indiana with a little more than two minutes left in the first half. IU got a first down before punting and Maryland ran out the rest of the half. Michael Penix went just 2-15 for 37 yards in the first half, a far cry from his standout performances so far during the 2020 season.

Indiana had the first possession of the second half and finally found some success on the offensive side of the ball. They marched into scoring territory with a mix of the run and the pass. Inside of the five-yard line, IU went for it on fourth and two but Stevie Scott came up just short, giving Maryland the ball at the four-yard line. On the very first play of Maryland’s possession, DK Bonhomme sacked Taulia Tagovailoa in the end zone for a safety to put the Hoosiers ahead 9-3. IU took over near midfield and a long run by Michael Penix set them up inside the five-yard line. Unfortunately, Penix appeared to hurt his knee as he went out of bounds. He collapsed to the turf and was helped into the locker room by Indiana’s medical personnel. Jack Tuttle entered the game at quarterback and the Hoosiers finished the drive with Stevie Scott’s second rushing touchdown, again coming by way of the Wildcat formation. Tuttle connected with Peyton Hendershot for a successful two-point conversion to make it 17-3. The IU defense now had a bead on Maryland’s attack and forced another three and out. Tuttle hit Hendershot for 21 yards and then Tim Baldwin ran into scoring territory before Charles Campbell hit a 33-yard field goal to make it 20-3. It was a seven play drive for 61 yards that took a decent chunk off the clock. Taulia Tagovailoa was sacked again and then threw another interception. The third pick of the day was made by Micah McFadden and the Hoosiers capitalized with a fourth-down conversion and a two-yard run by Stevie Scott. The touchdown carry was Scott’s third of the afternoon and it was 27-3 in favor of the Hoosiers. The teams traded punts before a long touchdown from Taulia Tagovailoa to Dontay Demus with only 1:32 remaining. Maryland converted their two-point try to make it 27-11. IU recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

Indiana was intent on getting their running game on track and they did just that, rushing for 238 yards on 48 carries. Tim Baldwin had 106 rushing yards while Stevie Scott had 80 yards and three touchdowns. The Hoosiers ultimately outgained Maryland 353 to 300 and were in complete control during the final 30 minutes. IU will certainly hope Michael Penix is okay as they now sit at 5-1, firmly in second place in the Big Ten East and next head to Madison to play the Wisconsin Badgers. Maryland falls to 2-2 on the season. Hoosier Huddle will have continuing coverage of this win and preview content of the game against Wisconsin on the first weekend in December.