One Down, Two to Go as Hoosiers Defeat Illini
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Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
IU entered Saturday's game well aware that they needed to win three straight games to make a bowl game for the third straight season. While the performance wasn't always pretty, the Hoosiers controlled the contest and came out of Champaign with a 24-14 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini. In simplest terms, it's one down and two to go for IU.
The first quarter was mostly a stalemate as neither team could generate consistent offense. After 15 minutes of play, the Hoosiers had four first downs and the Illini had one. Indiana's defense pinned Illinois inside of the ten yard line and nearly blocked a punt that went out of bounds at the IU 45 yard line. The Hoosiers took advantage of the good field position, converting a fourth and four with a completion to Devonte Williams and then a run up the middle from three yards out for Morgan Ellison. The touchdown put IU ahead 7-0 with 6:30 remaining in the first half. The IU defense continued to dominate, forcing a punt that gave the Hoosiers the ball back with just over three minutes remaining. Cole Gest reeled off a big run and Richard Lagow converted a fourth and two with a long pass to Simmie Cobbs before finding Ian Thomas for a short touchdown pass to put IU ahead 14-0 at the half. Indiana had 13 first downs to Illinois three and appeared in complete control.
Things changed quickly as the second half began as Louis Dorsey broke free on the first play out of the break and went 77 yards for a score to make it 14-7. The teams traded punts until IU had a nice drive inside of the 15 but curious play calling kept the Hoosiers out of the end zone and they had to settle for a 28 yard field goal by Griffin Oakes that put the Hoosiers ahead 17-7. Illinois began the fourth quarter with the ball and went on their best drive of the day, scoring on a scren pass from Jeff George Jr. to Caleb Reams. Indiana nearly went three and out but Illinois was called for a pass interference on a pass to Taysir Mack. IU was unable to move it much further but Haydon Whitehead pinned the Illini at the one with a great punt with 9:35 to play. Rashard Fant nearly had an interception on second down and then broke up a pass on third down and had a nice punt return to the Illinois 41 to cap off a an eventful series for the senior. IU's struggling offense converted a fourth and one with a run up the middle by Morgan Ellison and then Richard Lagow found Simmie Cobbs for a touchdown on a quick slant from five yards out with 5:45 to go. Illinois was on the move but Jacob Robinson knocked the ball loose from Jeff George Jr. and Tegray Scales recovered the fumble. IU couldn't move the ball but they took more time off the clock and forced Illinois to use two timeouts before Haydon Whitehead punted into the end zone. Jeff George Jr., under unrelenting pressure all afternoon, chucked up another errant pass and Rashard Fant held on for the interception at the Illinois 35. IU ran more clock and Whitehead again buried the Illini inside the five yard line. Tegray Scales interecepted the ball with under a minute to play to seal the deal.
Richard Lagow wasn't amazing but he was solid and completed 32 of his 48 for 289 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He spread the ball around well, connecting with ten different receivers as IU utilized screen passes more than we've previously seen. The running game was mostly effective as Cole Gest had 82 yards on 17 carries and Morgan Ellison added 49 yards and a touchdown. The Hoosiers defense was mostly outstanding: getting three takeaways, harassing Illinois for eight sacks and allowing Illinois to convert only two of their 14 third downs. The Hoosiers outgained Illinois 428-294 and had nearly ten more minutes of possession.
The performance was far from perfect but the Hoosiers were in control for the entire contest and they successfully closed out a competitive game in the fourth quarter. That should build some confidence as IU heads into another must-win contest next week against Rutgers. Hoosier Huddle will have much more post game reaction the rest of the weekend and then we'll have coverage of the final home game of the 2017 season.