Written by Amanda Pavelka (@amandapavelka3)

An entire team effort was what carried Indiana football to a hard-fought 34-28 victory over Maryland on Saturday.

It was junior quarterback Peyton Ramsey, though, that deserves the most credit for the ‘swing-game’ win— he answered the call Saturday and led Hoosier offense to a record they haven’t been able to accomplish since 2007– five wins by mid-October.

Ramsey refuses to sit around with his head hung since Michael Penix was named to take over as starting quarterback. Instead, he prepares for games as he always did, standing by for the call to lead Indiana’s offense.

“Sure it’s hard, and that’s why it’s so emotional because you know you prepare every single week like you’re going to be the guy and then you never know when your number is going to be called,” Ramsey told reporters. “Sometimes mentally it’s hard to get yourself to go into the film room when you know you’re not going to be the guy but it’s just as mental, this discipline that you’ve got to do it because you never know when your team’s going to need you.”

At the end of the first quarter at College Park, Penix took a hit on a run that would cause him to sit out most of the remained of the game From around the 12-minute mark in second quarter on, Ramsey took over on Capital One Field with confidence and poise.

Saturday against Maryland, Ramsey’s experience under pressure was the difference maker.

A shaky first drive was looked past when Ramsey was able to find Nick Westbrook for a 26-yard pass for a touchdown that would lift the Hoosiers 24-21 into the half.

“That play right before the half, that was the difference,” Tom Allen said, “it was momentum as well. It was a heck of a catch, too.”

Ramsey went 20-of-27 for 193 yards Saturday afternoon and picked up 46 yards on 8 runs himself.

His gritty performance was defined when he was sacked on second down, then responded with a 15-yard run on third-and-11 and took a hard hit in the process— so hard Allen told Jack Tuttle to get warm. That run would lead to a first down, and the touchdown that gave the Hoosiers grasp of the game with 11 minutes to play.

“It’s savvy, it’s toughness, it’s grit, it’s fight,” Allen said, “He got hit hard. He’s just so gritty and tough. That run just exemplifies who he is as a player. His ability to make those kinds of plays and keep the chains moving and keep on the field and keep us from having to give them the ball back— eat some more clock. That’s a pretty good picture of who he is.”

Even with this season’s emotional demotion to quarterback two, Ramsey continues to put in the work for the team that gave him the opportunity in the first place.

“It’s the kind of person he is, not everybody can do that. All you have to do is look around the country. Guys want things to go their way and when they don’t, they react a certain way,” Allen explained.

Last season Ramsey’s completion percentage (66.0) tied for second in the Big Ten. When Penix beat Ramsey out in the fall, why didn’t he transfer? Character and dedication to Indiana University Football.

“I gave our guys a chat and that guy was so locked into every word I said, and he may not ever play the snap today,” Allen said, “He was so locked into everything I said. I can tell when guys are (locked in), he’s that way every day, never changes. He’s that way in the weight room, he’s that way everyday at practice. It’s called character.”

After Saturday’s performance, it is convincing Indiana could not have a better, more dedicated and consistent backup quarterback.

The Huddle

Ramsey Shows Savvy, Toughness and Grit as He Leads Indiana to Victory

Hoosier Huddle