Throwback Thursday: Indiana 33 Rutgers 27

Zander Diamont was boom or bust against Rutgers as he had a long touchdown run, but game six back when he fumbled later in the game Image: SNY.TV

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

The second part of our double-header on this Throwback Thursday looks back at Indiana’s sloppy 33-27 win over Rutgers. Indiana had four turnovers, botched several field goals and extra points and probably should have won this game by 20 or more points. While the overall quality of play was disappointing the Hoosiers netted their fifth win of 2016 and climbed over the .500-mark in November.

Opponent: Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Location: Saturday November 5th, High Point Solutions Stadium (Piscataway, NJ)

Why They Played:  The Hoosiers and Scarlet Knights played for the third time as Big Ten East foes.

What The Game Meant

Indiana was searching for its second consecutive win and their fifth of the season. The IU pushes them over the .500-mark in November for first time since 2007.

Top Offensive Performers

Richard Lagow, QB, Indiana- The Indiana quarterback had a good day outside of two series on which he threw interceptions on back-to-back passes. Lagow completed 28-of-40 passes for 394 yards and three scores and shook off the two early picks to play well down the stretch.

Devine Redding, RB, Indiana- Indiana did not have much success on the ground against Rutgers, but the junior back broke a 34-yard touchdown run and scored another on a 10-yard swing pass. He finished with 105 all-purpose yards on 22 touches.

Indiana Wide Receivers- The Indiana receivers had a big impact in multiple ways on Saturday. They combined for 22 catches, 371 yards, and two scores. Ricky Jones also recovered a potential game-changing fumble and knocked down a pass that was destined to be an interception. Mitchell Paige and Nick Westbrook made big catch after big catch, while Donavan Hale and Luke Timian made several important plays as well. Fans also finally got to see the kind of player Camion Patrick could be we he out jumped a defensive back and snagged a 40-yard touchdown.

Andre Patton, WR, Rutgers- There weren’t many bright spots for the Scarlet Knights on offense, but Andre Patton made a major impact. He caught six passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.

Top Defensive Performers

Robert McCray, DE, Indiana- Robert McCray started the season on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury, but made his way back to add some much needed depth along the defensive line. On Saturday he had three total tackles, two coming for a loss, and a quarterback hurry.

Marcus Oliver, LB, Indiana- Another game and another huge Marcus Oliver forced fumble. Oliver gave the Hoosiers life with another forced fumble and added six stops.

Darnell Davis, DE, Rutgers- The defensive end was all around the ball on Saturday night coming up with six tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery which he ran back 75 yards for a momentum changing touchdown.

Trevor Morris, LB, Rutgers- Morris was Rutgers’ leading tackler with 10 stops, two of them coming for a loss. For a unit that was struggling coming in to the game, Morris added some stability for the Knights.

Special Teams Performance

Outside of the punting game, where Joseph Gedeon pinned Rutgers inside their 20-yard line three-out-of-four times, the special teams unit was absolutely awful. Griffin Oakes was terrible as he missed an early extra point, before going 0-for-3 on field goal attempts. Two of the field goals were blocked because of what looked like a protection breakdown. Luckily for the Hoosiers the four missed kicks did not come back to haunt them like it could of.

Indiana tried Aaron Del Grosso on kickoffs and he had issues as well. The wind was clearly an issue in both kicking and in the return game as Devonte Williams miss played the opening kickoff of the second half that lead to a 21-yard Rutgers touchdown “drive”.

Something has to change in this phase of the game. Wilson said, “We have an issue with the holder and kicker. The confidence issue. We started the game with our other kicker and he didn’t kick well, although he’s done well in practice. Those guys are good, but they are a little psycho right now.”

ey Stat(s):

33-27

Yes, I am going with the score in this one, because that’s all that matters. Indiana out-gained Rutgers 567-to-351 and held them to just 13 first downs. This game was a heck of a lot closer than it should’ve been because of Indiana’s four turnovers and missed kicks.

Turning Point

The turning point came with Indiana clinging to a 26-24 lead and driving at the Rutgers 17. That is when running back Tyler Natee fumbled the ball and Hoosier Nation held their breath. It turned out fifth-year senior Ricky Jones secured the fumble at the bottom of the pile. Indiana would put Rutgers away the next play when Lagow hit Redding for a 10-yard touchdown.

I Knew it Was Over When…

Mitchell Paige recovered Rutgers’ last ditch attempt at an onside kick.

Players of the Game

Ricky Jones, Indiana- Old Man Ricky was instrumental in the passing game and made the plays that seniors have to make when they want to overcome a handful of mistakes on the road.

Darnell Davis, Rutgers- Davis nearly ended the Hoosiers hopes at a win twice as he took one fumble back for a 75-yard touchdown and forced another late in the game. It was a “what could’ve been” type day for the big lineman.

What I Took Away From the Game

At the end of the day a win is a win and that is exactly what the Indiana Hoosiers needed. Even with the critical errors, four turnovers and four missed kicks, the Hoosiers moved to win in one win of a second-straight bowl game.

It was an ugly game, but it’s a game IU usually collapses in and costs them dearly. Indiana has a kicking issue, an issue that I have been worried about since spring practice. Griffin Oakes and the field goal unit just cannot get it down and they left 10 points on the field Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, Rutgers stinks.

The ‘Bacon and Legs’ package was called the “Fat Bacon” package by Kevin Wilson after the game as both Tyler Natee and Zander Diamont fumbled and outside of a long touchdown run, struggled to get anything going. Part of that was due to the fact Rutgers probably game planned that package pretty well and some of it was due to IU’s lack of execution. However, Indiana could rely on their passing game and playmaking receivers.

After a good start from Richard Lagow, he threw interceptions on two consecutive throws before setting in and playing really well.

The brightest spot for the Hoosiers Saturday was the performance on defense. After a 68-yard touchdown pass was the result of a coverage bust, the defense clamped down allowing just 283 total yards the rest of the way, including a stretch of 8 straight defensive stops. The defense rarely missed a tackle and got the takeaway it needed to spark the offense.

The feel good story of the day was that wide receiver Camion Patrick scored his first touchdown of his IU career on a 40-yard pass. He is coming off of major knee surgery in April.

The biggest concern to me, outside of the special teams blunders, is that IU is playing to the level of their opponents. That can be really good when they play teams like Ohio State, but it’s disastrous when they play down to the level of the 2-7 Scarlet Knights. It’s the mark of an inconsistent team.

Now IU has three chances to get a win, starting with Penn State at home next week followed by a trip to Michigan and the home finale with Purdue. The chances at a sixth win are high despite featuring two teams that will most likely be in the top-10.