Game Wrap-up and Reaction: Week 4 Missouri

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@sammyj108) 

Opponent: Missouri Tigers

Location: Saturday September 21st  /8pm/ Memorial Stadium/ (Bloomington, Indiana) 

Why They
Played:  The Hoosiers and the Tigers met as part of a home-and-home
series that concludes in Columbia next year.  It was the first time since 2005 that Indiana has faced an
SEC foe.  Indiana tried to beef up
their schedule in order to boost attendance and increase revenue.

What The
Game Meant:

The Hoosiers’ bowl hopes may have rested on
winning this game.  Indiana would
need at least four wins in conference after this loss.  This was a huge night for the
Hoosiers.  There were over 50
recruits in town, it was the prime time game on Big Ten Network, and the IU
athletic department made this out to be the game of the century.

Top
Offensive Performers:

Cody
Latimer, WR, Indiana- The junior receiver finished one yard short of setting a new
career high.  Latimer, with his
second great game in a row, finished with 8 catches for 136 yards and a score.  Latimer also made the play of the game
as he took a short pass 77-yards to set up a Tevin Coleman touchdown that tied
the game at 14.

Dorial
Green-Beckham, WR, Missouri- The former top recruit was a
mismatch for the Hoosier defense all game.  Green-Beckham, at 6-6, was head and shoulders above the Indiana
defensive backfield and it showed as he finished with 8 receptions for 103
yards and a score.

James
Franklin, QB, Missouri- After being plagued by two early
interceptions, the Mizzou signal caller had a great game.  Franklin threw for 343 yards and two
touchdowns.  In addition, Franklin
ran 13 times for 61 yards and another touchdown.  To say that he looks healthy again is an understatement.

Top
Defensive Performers

Greg Heban,
S, Indiana- The senior safety had his best game of the season thus
far.  Heban kept Missouri out of
the end zone as he intercepted Franklin twice at the goal line, in addition to
recording seven tackles.

Kony Ealy, DT,
Missouri- The big fella made the play of the game for the Tigers as he
leaped up to snatch a Nate Sudfeld pass out of the air and rumbled 49 yards for
a touchdown right before halftime, ending the Hoosiers drive to tie the
game.  While Ealy only recorded one
tackle, he disrupted Indiana’s rhythm all night.

Special
Team Performance:

The Hoosier special teams are becoming a
problem spot in 2013.  While Mitch
Ewald has been solid, but is untested after only attempting one field
goal.  The real troubling areas are
the punt game and the kick return. 
Erich Toth, who punted nine times Saturday night, was awful.  Toth averaged 41.2 yards a punt thanks
to some great bounces, but it is clear that when the Hoosier offense is not
clicking they will not win the field position game.  Even more concerning is the lack of the Hoosier return
game.  While touchbacks are more
common in today’s game, when the Hoosiers actually get a shot at returning the
kick they do not make an impact on field position.  With the lack of a punting game and a young defense it is
important that the Hoosiers gain an advantage in the field position game through
a good kick return game.

 Key
Stat:

 33-20

Missouri held a 13 first down advantage over
the Hoosiers and it showed on the field. 
Indiana’s defense played well enough to win the game, but ran out of gas
because of the offense’s lack of time on the field.  The Hoosier offense struggled to sustain drives all night
and that led to a gassed defense.

Turning
Point-

The turning point of this game was pretty
clear.  With the Hoosiers trailing
21-14 with under two minutes to go in the first half, Indiana was looking to
get on the board before they headed to the locker room.  Instead the Hoosiers found themselves
falling behind 28-14 after Ealy took a Nate Sudfeld pass for a touchdown.

I Knew it
was over when…

When L’Damien Washington hauled in a 14-yard
pass to increase the Tiger lead to 38-14. 
This effectively put the game out of reach for a Hoosier team who could
not get into rhythm offensively.

Players of
the Game

Indiana– Cody
Latimer, Wide Receiver- Latimer was one of the few bright spots for an
offense that struggled against a very fast defense.  He nearly set a career high in receiving yards and made the
play of the game for the Hoosiers to set up the tying score.

Missouri– James Franklin, Quarterback- Franklin
looked 100% healthy after an injury riddled 2012 season, as he carved up the
Indiana defense.  He kept plays
alive with his feet and killed the Hoosiers with big throws.

What I took
away from the game

The bye week comes at a perfect time for the
Hoosiers after this loss raised further questions about the quarterback
situation and the defense.  While
the defense did let up 38 points, they played well enough to win this game, the
offense was a total let down.  Nate
Sudfeld looked human throwing three interceptions and just could not get into
rhythm.  The loss hurts the
Hoosiers shot at becoming bowl eligible no doubt about it, but this was not an
easy game for Indiana.  There is
still a long way to go before the season is over.  Indiana has eight games left and could very well go 4-4 in
those games to get bowl eligible, but there is a lot of work to do before the
Hoosiers play Penn State in nine days.