Indiana Wilts As Wisconsin Leans on Defense and Rushing Attack
/
Jonathan Taylor finds the end zone for the Badgers. image: Sammy Jacobs (Hoosier Huddle)
By David Sugarman (@David_Sugarman2)
A final score much uglier than the rest of the game, but an ugly final score none the less. The Indiana Hoosiers lost to the Wisconsin Badgers 45-17 Saturday in a game where they trailed just 24-17 headed into the fourth quarter. Trailing by just one touchdown, Indiana got the ball back early in the fourth quarter with an opportunity to tie the game. That’s when Richard Lagow, who played a solid game stepping in for Peyton Ramsey, began to unravel. Lagow threw an interception that led to a Wisconsin touchdown. Down 31-17 Indiana remained scoreless the rest of the game as Lagow threw another interception on the very next play to the same man as before, Joe Ferguson. An Alec Ingold 1-yard rushing touchdown made it 38-17 and that was all she wrote.
The day started with promise for IU as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter. After cruising down the field on their first drive of the game starting with a 54-yard run from Jonathan Taylor, Indiana’s defense took the bend don’t break mentality to another level. Inside the 10-yard line, Alex Hornibrook was hit by Jacob Robinson and Tegray Scales came up with an interception in the end zone. The Hoosiers then went 80 yards down the field, moving quickly in the process. Time and time again Lagow was in his throwing motion quickly after he caught the snap. Lagow capped the drive with a 23-yard strike to Devonte Williams to take a 7-0 lead.
Leading 10-0 early in the second quarter Wisconsin, a now 9-0 team with playoff dreams, came alive. On the road to scoring 24 unanswered, the Badgers went on 7 play, 73 yard drive ending in a 18-yard touchdown pass to Alec Ingold. While Jonathan Taylor will get much of the shine and rightfully so, with 183 yards on 29 carries, Ingold stepped in for an injured Austin Ramesh and scored three touchdowns.
Following that drive was quite possibly the turning point of the game. Down 10-7 Morgan Ellison fumbled the ball, but it was almost immediately signaled that Ellison was down. As is usually the case with Indiana Football though, it isn’t that simple. After a slew of confusion that Tom Allen still wasn’t sure about after the game, between the whistle blowing the play dead or not, Wisconsin got the football on the Indiana 21 and capitalized with a touchdown pass to Quintez Cephus.
The Badgers eventually made it 24-10, but Indiana showed signs of life late in the third quarter, scoring a touchdown on a 17-yard pass to Simmie Cobbs despite a pass interference call. Sadly that would be the last time the Hoosiers reached the end zone. It would be easy to pin the game on two fourth quarter interceptions from Richard Lagow. It would be much easier and much more fair though to put the game on the glaring, but not shocking stat that Indiana surrendered 237 rushing yards while they gained just 40. Wisconsin did what they do. They play their game. They are who we thought they were. Indiana was unfortunately very similar.
Now 3-6 and 0-6 in conference play, Indiana finds themselves in do or die situations the rest of the season. They’ve made their way around to the bottom of the Big Ten with Illinois, Rutgers and Purdue to bookend the season. The season is close to being over and far from over all at the same time. Tom Allen is still searching for his first Big Ten win as a head coach and that first win has never been more vital as they head to Illinois next week.