Game Wrap and Reaction: Maryland 38 Indiana 35

image: Amanda Pavelka

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Opponent: Maryland Terrapins

Location: Saturday, October 30, 2021

Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Terrapins met as Big Ten East foes.

What The Game Meant: The Hoosiers needed the win to get off the mat and maybe make a run to bowl eligibility. A loss effectively ends the season.

Top Offensive Performers

Peyton Hendershot, TE, Indiana- Hendershot was fantastic getting into the end zone twice and reached the 100-yard mark for the third time this season. He finished with six catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

Stephen Carr, RB, Indiana- IU got the run game going and Stephen Carr was a big part of it. He had 21 rushes for 136 yards and two touchdowns including a 66-yard burst up the middle.

Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Maryland- Tagovailoa was the difference in the game completing 26-of-40 passes for 419 yards and two touchdowns. He did not turn the ball over.

Carlos Carriere, WR, Maryland- Carriere reached the end zone twice and caught eight balls for 134 yards.

Top Defensive Performers

Micah McFadden, LB, Indiana- While the defense didn’t have a good day, McFadden made big plays again for IU. He had eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.

D.J. Matthews, Safety, IU- Matthews led all Hoosiers with a career-high 12 tackles (10 solo) and a tackle for loss.

Jordan Mosley, LB, Maryland- Mosely made eight tackles and broke up two passes as the Terrapin defense did just enough to win.

Special Team Performance

The specials teams unit came up with a punt block that set up the offense at the Maryland 13-yard line, however the offense got no points out of it. The punt unit executed a great fake punt for a first down on a drive that resulted in a field goal. The kickoff return team also tried a fake reverse on a return, but it did not work well. It was just good to see the special teams unit try and spark the team.

Charles Campbell was two of three on field goals including a career-long 55-yarder right before half time. He did miss a shorter attempt earlier in the game. James Evans was inconsistent again in the punt game and his 25-yard punt after IU’s first drive set Maryland up for a short touchdown drive. He rebounded to average 38.7 yards per punt. IU also used David Holloman on kick returns and Marcelino McCrary-Ball on punt returns Saturday.

​Key Stat(s)

4-16

IU was 4-16 on third down Saturday. The Hoosiers did not do a good job of getting into third and shorts and averaged a third and almost eight. However, they were still just 2-5 on third and short.

Turning Point

IU took the lead early in the third quarter, but the defense allowed Maryland to score 14 straight points after that and were outscored 21-3 before a fourth quarter TD.

I Knew it Was Over When…

IU’s onside kick was recovered by Maryland. It was not even close to being recovered by IU.

Players of the Game

Peyton Hendershot, IU- Hendershot’s record-setting day kept IU in the game and nearly won it.

Taulia Tagovailoa- He threw for 419 yards and probably should have had 500 yards through the air. He was the difference in the game.

What I took away from the game

While bowl eligibility will likely be off the table next week, the Maryland Terrapins effectively ended IU’s bowl hopes this week in a dismal loss for the Hoosiers who saw their defense get gashed again as the injuries took a toll.

The Hoosiers needed to win Saturday to keep their bowl hopes alive, but an early 14-0 hole and having Maryland score 24 points on their final four drives buried a Hoosier team that was starting a true freshman at quarterback and were without three of their top four cornerbacks.

As devastating the loss was to the Hoosiers’ bowl hopes, there were some bright spots. One of those was that quarterback Donaven McCulley looks like he is the answer at quarterback. I would not call the performance ‘Great’ like some have, it does give IU fans a glimpse into the future. McCulley completed 14-of-25 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. However, he threw three passes that should have been intercepted by defenders. He got better as the game moved along as well, which is a good sign.

The bad news is that the play calling showed that the staff did not really trust McCulley to throw the ball. Yes, Maryland is weak at stopping the run, but too many times IU would run on first and second down and gave McCulley very little chance of success. IU ran the ball 10 times on their 16 third down plays and outside of Carr’s 66-yard run, the Hoosiers gained 112 yards, 66 on one play. On the other six third down plays McCulley was one-of-four passing and was sacked twice. Anyway you look at it, it resulted in IU converting just 4-of-16 third downs on the day.

Once again, the wide receiver group, which was supposed to be one of the best and maybe deepest in the conference, was targeted 14 times and made seven catches. It was mind-boggling why the rotation there is so tight as Fryfogle, Jacolby Hewitt and Miles Marshall continue to be run out there time and time again after little production. Maryland was without their two top wide outs and still burned IU for 419 yards.

Defensively, injuries caught up with the Hoosiers again. Allen’s teams have had a hard time stopping Maryland’s offenses historically. While Mullen played early in the game on Saturday, he was ineffective as he was burned on a couple deep balls and called for pass interference in the end zone. The Hoosiers were also without Reese Taylor and Josh Sanguinetti and it greatly impacted the game.

The Hoosiers defense found their footing in the middle portion of the game as they found ways to get pressure on the quarterback, however, that evaporated in the second half as Maryland scored 24 points. IU also failed to record a takeaway for the second game in a row, something that has been frustrating all season.

With bowl hopes all but dashed, the final four games of the season should become a youth movement as the Hoosiers can play some of the highly-regarded freshmen while still preserving redshirts. Allen needs to know what he has for next season and should he make the necessary moves with the offensive staff in the off-season, it would give new coaches tape to evaluate their personnel as well.

The Hoosiers will travel to Ann Arbor next weekend to face the Michigan Wolverines who lost a controversial game to Michigan State on Saturday. Allen can try to accelerate the development of his players with a youth movement over the final month of the season.