Hoosier Offense Shows Signs of Life in 38-35 Loss

Written by Matt Smith

Indiana came into the game against Maryland on Saturday with injuries on both sides of the ball including their two top quarterbacks in Michael Penix and Jack Tuttle. This led the way for true freshman Donovan McCulley to receive his first start of the year. Indiana fought hard, but lost to the Terps 38-35

McCulley had a very impressive game in his first career college start for the Hoosiers. He threw for 242 yards on 14 of 25 throws with touchdowns to tight end Peyton Hendershot.

McCulley threw his first two touchdown passes of the year against Maryland.

“It felt good,” McCulley said. “But I wanted the win more.”

Indiana trailed for much of the game which meant there was a lot of pressure on McCulley to throw the ball down the field in order to catch up. 

On the receiving side of the ball, Hendershot caught 6 passes for 106 yards. Ty Fryfogle caught 4 passes for 78 yards as well. 

Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan leaned heavily on his rushing attack throughout the game, led by Stephen Carr. Carr had another 100 yard rushing day, running for 136 yards on 20 attempts including two touchdowns.

Carr broke through for 66 yard touchdown in the third quarter to give Indiana their first lead of the game after trailing 14-0 to start the game. 

The offensive line had one of their most complete games of the season, winning the battle upfront against the Terps defense. 

It was a very different game for the Hoosiers who usually rely on their defense to keep them in the game, but it was the offensive side of the ball that kept the Hoosiers in the game against a talented Maryland team.

McCulley led the team to a score with a minute left, but the Hoosiers never got the ball back and the freshman quarterback never got a chance to score again.

The offense looked impressive for the first time in weeks, which will hopefully help the Hoosiers bounce back from the loss in the coming weeks.