Written by: TJ Inman

Both Indiana and Michigan State entered Saturday’s game knowing they would not be going bowling after the regular season ended. The Hoosiers and Spartans were both 3-7 but both teams battled for a second Big Ten win and a chance to take the Old Brass Spittoon. A late touchdown from Michigan State (4-7) and a bizarre intentional grounding doomed Indiana (3-8) to another frustrating late game loss.

Michigan State began with the ball and IU’s defense appeared to have learned nothing from last weekend’s debacle in Champaign. The Spartans marched down the field with help from a personal foul penalty on Lanell Carr and on third and 11, Katin Houser connected with Maliq Carr for the first score of the game. IU’s offense sputtered to begin the game as Brendan Sorsby sailed a few passes high and the Hoosiers were forced to punt. The offensive woes continued as both teams punted before MSU moved to the edge of scoring territory. Facing a third and 16, Houser floated a pass near the end zone and IU’s Josh Sanguinetti snagged the interception. Sorsby continued to look off and IU failed again to move the ball, punting back to the Spartans. Michigan State pinned the Hoosiers at the 12-yard line and IU’s offense finally woke up. Sorsby made the right decision on a read option play and scampered for a long first down and then the Hoosiers mixed the run and pass to advance the ball into the red zone. Trent Howland bowled over an MSU defender and tied the game, capping off an 88-yard drive. Michigan State had a long touchdown pass to Maliq Carr negated by an illegal shift penalty and IU’s defense stuffed a fourth-down quarterback sneak to get the ball back with 3:15 remaining in the first half. IU failed to take advantage of the momentum, quickly going three and out and giving MSU another chance on offense and the Spartans capitalized. Montorie Foster made a great one-handed catch and IU’s defense failed to bring him down, allowing him to jog into the end zone to give Michigan State the lead with only 1:10 left before halftime. Indiana got a few first downs but Chris Freeman missed a 53-yard field goal to end the half.

The Indiana Hoosiers took the ball to begin the second half and Sorsby again moved the chains with his legs to get the offense into a rhythm. The freshman quarterback then threw a laser to Donaven McCulley and the wideout churned his way inside the five-yard line. A well-designed play on first and goal got tight end James Bomba wide open for an easy touchdown and IU tied the game at 14. The Hoosiers seized momentum with another short-yardage fourth down stop but quickly squandered it with an awful snap on first down and a three and out. James Evans got off a great punt from his own end zone and IU’s Jamari Sharpe intercepted a Katin Houser pass on third and eight. Again, Indiana could not handle any success. Sharpe was stripped of the ball as he attempted to return the interception and MSU had a fresh series of downs. The defense held and IU got the ball back, converting a fourth and one with a quarterback sneak to end the third quarter but the Hoosiers had to punt the ball away. MSU’s offense was helped by a personal foul penalty on IU and got into scoring position as kicker Jonathan Kim hit a 43-yard field goal with 9:26 left to put the Spartans ahead 17-14. Trent Howland had three nice runs in a row but had to leave the field with an apparent head injury but the Hoosiers kept it on the ground as Josh Henderson and Brendan Sorsby both picked up first downs to move IU into scoring territory. With around five minutes remaining in the game, Josh Henderson picked up a third down to keep Indiana’s drive alive. After ten straight rushes to begin the drive, the Hoosiers faked a hand off and Sorsby completed a pass to Trey Walker who rumbled into the end zone for the go-ahead score with 4:06 to play. It was an 11-play drive that churned more than five minutes off the clock. MSU faced a fourth and short and Houser dropped the snap but he located a wide open Maliq Carr for 18 yards to keep the Spartans hopes alive. Katin Houser then scrambled up the middle for 15 yards to move into Hoosier territory as the clock ticked under two minutes. Michigan State appeared to get away with a holding but it was not called and Katin Houser threw another touchdown to Maliq Carr as he bounced off tacklers to put the Spartans ahead 24-21 with 1:19 remaining. Brendan Sorsby scrambled for a first down to get IU’s drive going and DeQuece Carter made catch to get IU in field goal range. A shot to the end zone fell incomplete as Tom Allen screamed for a pass interference penalty. IU went for it on fourth and one and converted it but the next play was a pass to the end zone that the officials somehow called intentional grounding. Chris Freeman missed the 49-yard field goal and the Hoosiers fell 24-21.

The Hoosiers will battle Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket next Saturday afternoon to close the 2023 season.

-Key Stats-

Brendan Sorsby did not begin the game well but he rebounded for a solid performance as he continues to grow into the starting role. The freshman had 192 yards passing with two touchdowns as well as 65 yards rushing.
IU outgained MSU 408-323.
Indiana was penalized six times for 55 yards including the back-breaking intentional grounding penalty that effectively decided the outcome.

-Key Takeaways-

IU’s defense was particularly good against the Michigan State running game on Saturday afternoon. They held MSU to only 2.1 yards per carry and stopped the Spartans on a number of short-yardage situations.
Indiana just finds ways to lose. Coming close is great but they routinely fail to finish with a win.

The Huddle

Hoosiers Fall To Spartans 24-21 With Another Late Game Collapse

Hoosier Huddle