Disaster Averted as Hoosiers Survive Zips in Four Overtimes

Written by: TJ Inman

The Indiana Hoosiers took the field on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium wearing special “Ghost uniforms” and with fans participating in a blackout as they hosted the Akron Zips. Once the game started, the IU offense struggled mightily and it took four overtimes for the contest to be decided but IU avoided disaster, winning 29-27 to move to 2-2.

The Hoosiers began with the ball and the struggles for the offense started immediately. IU went three and out and was forced to punt, giving Akron possession at the 21-yard line. Akron quarterback DJ Irons completed a pass for 20 yards to Alex Adams and then ran across midfield. The IU defense stepped up, pressuring DJ Irons on third down and Philip Dunnam intercepted an inaccurate pass. IU got its first positive offensive play of the day as Tayven Jackson converted to Cam Camper for 40 yards. Jackson then lofted the ball to Donaven McCulley on third down but the receiver dropped the ball while wide open, missing an opportunity for a potential touchdown and causing another IU punt. James Evans dropped the ball perfectly inside the five-yard line but the punt coverage team failed to down the ball and it was ruled a touchback. Akron again got a couple of first downs but were stymied around midfield and punted away. The Hoosiers drove into Zips territory but another drop, this one by Trey Walker on fourth and two, ended the drive with no points. Akron went three and out and the Hoosiers finally found their footing on offense. Christian Turner ran for 12 yards, Tayven Jackson found Cam Camper for another long gain, Trey Walker caught a pass inside the ten-yard line and Turner finished the drive with a burst around the edge for a six-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Akron was forced into a third and 19 and Louis Moore intercepted the pass, returning it to the 4-yard line. It certainly appeared like Indiana was poised to break the game wide open. However, much like last week against Louisville, IU stubbed its toe in short-yardage. They failed on first and second down before giving the ball to Donaven McCulley in a Wildcat formation on third and fourth down. He failed to score on both occasions, giving the Zips the ball back with the score still at 7-0. The Zips nearly had a 99-yard touchdown on the next play but Alex Adams dropped the pass from DJ Irons and the Zips eventually had to punt. On the first play of IU’s possession, Tayven Jackson threw the ball directly to an Akron linebacker and the Zips took over at the Indiana 24-yard line. DJ Irons ran the ball inside the ten-yard line but the IU defense stood firm and forced a 24-yard field goal by Dante Jackson to make it 7-3. The teams traded possessions prior to the end of the half and the first 30 minutes expired with the Hoosiers leading 7-3.

The Akron Zips showed they were not going away, marching the ball down the field to begin the second half and taking the lead with a DJ Irons rushing touchdown. The Zips then attempted an unorthodox onsides kick that was blasted right at IU’s return unit, hit off of Noah Pierre’s hands and was recovered by the Akron kicker. The Zips took possession at the 44-yard line and got one first down before facing a fourth and seven at the Indiana 33-yard line. Irons’ pass was incomplete under pressure and the Hoosiers took the ball back. Unfortunately, the offensive ineptitude continued as IU went three and out and punted back to the Zips. DJ Irons was injured on the previous fourth down play for Akron so backup Jeff Undercuffler came in. On second down, his pass was tipped in the air and intercepted by Louis Moore. Moore took the ball, weaved through traffic reached the end zone to give Indiana the lead back at 14-10. The IU defense took control of the contest, forcing another turnover on downs as Andre Carter sacked Undercuffler at the 48-yard line. After the teams traded possessions, Indiana finally found a bit of rhythm on offense with Tayven Jackson converting a few first downs and IU working inside the five-yard line. With a chance to put the game away, the offense again failed in short-yardage and was forced to settle for an 18-yard field goal. With the Hoosiers leading 17-10, the teams traded possessions. Indiana’s failure to put the Zips away bit them when Lorenzo Lingard ripped off a huge run, pulling away from the defense for a long touchdown that tied the game with under four minutes remaining. IU took over with 3:27 remaining and promptly gained zero yards on three plays, punting the ball away to Akron with 1:25 remaining in the contest. The Zips took possession at the 41-yard line and no timeouts remaining. On first down, DJ Irons scampered up the middle to get Akron into field goal range. The Zips set themselves up in the middle of the field and kicker Dante Jackson had a chance to stun the Hoosiers with a 31-yard field goal. The ball sailed wide left and the game went to overtime. IU won the coin toss and chose to play defense first. DJ Irons escaped pressure on second down and ran for a first down to begin their possession. The Hoosiers forced a third and nine at the ten-yard line and appeared to have Akron stopped but DJ Irons evaded the entire IU defense and scored to give the Zips the lead. Indiana’s offense took the field knowing they had to get a touchdown. Donaven McCulley caught a pass for a first down and Cam Camper made a terrific catch in the end zone to make the score 24-23. Chris Freeman added the extra point to send the game to a second overtime. IU had the ball first in the second overtime and Tayven Jackson nearly threw an interception on first down as he lobbed the ball into double coverage in the end zone. Christian Turner gained four yards on second down and IU faced a third and six that was incomplete as Tayven Jackson faced pressure. Chris Freeman hit the 38-yard field goal to put Indiana ahead 27-24 and Akron took the field with a chance to win the game with a touchdown. DJ Irons had been successful most of the night with draws and scrambles and everyone in the building knew it. Indiana could do nothing about it though as Irons scrambled for another first down as Akron moved inside the ten-yard line. On third and three from the five-yard line, Lorenzo Lingard was stuffed. The Zips chose to kick the field goal and sent the game to triple overtime. Beginning with the third overtime, teams are forced to alternate two-point plays until there is a winner. Akron tried first and failed to convert the attempt as Lanell Carr flushed Irons from the pocket and his pass was incomplete. Jaylin Lucas was wide open with no defender within ten yards of him. Tayven Jackson did not see him and forced a pass into the middle of the field with the conversion failing. IU had the first chance of the fourth overtime and used a creative play to score. Donaven McCulley took the snap, flipped it to Tayven Jackson who tossed it to a wide open DeQuece Carter to make it 29-27. Akron’s DJ Irons threw the ball on a quick slant and the receiver failed to make the catch, ending the game with a narrow 29-27 victory for Indiana as the Hoosiers avoided disaster, winning in four overtimes.

The Indiana Hoosiers were outgained 474-282 as the offense failed time and time again and Akron’s DJ Irons continually hurt IU’s defense with his legs. Tayven Jackson was only 11-26 and IU only averaged 2.7 yards per carry on the ground. This contest was far from pretty as both teams did nearly everything possible to throw the game away but ultimately, Indiana did just enough to move to 2-2 heading into a pivotal game at Maryland.