Game Wrap and Reaction: No. 10 Indiana 24 Michigan State 0
/
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Opponent: Michigan State Spartans
Location: Saturday, November 14, 2020
Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Spartans face off annually for the Old Brass Spittoon.
What The Game Meant: The Hoosiers have not beaten Michigan State since 2016 and the last time it happened in East Lansing was in 2001. It was a chance for the Hoosiers to continue their historic start to the 2020 season.
Top Offensive Performers
Michael Penix, QB, Indiana- Saturday was not Penix’s sharpest game, but he still threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns on 25-of-38 passing. He did throw two interceptions.
Ty Fryfogle, WR, Indiana- Fryfogle became the first Hoosier since 2016 to break the 200-yard receiving mark. He made 11 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
Payton Thorne, QB, Michigan State- Thorne came off the bench and steadied the MSU offense. He completed 10-of-20 passes for 110 yards and added 25 yards rushing. He did throw one of Michigan State’s three interceptions.
Top Defensive Performers
Tiawan Mullen, CB, Indiana- Mullen made the first two interceptions of his career in the first half. He added three tackles to that performance as well.
Micah McFadden, LB, Indiana- McFadden once again led the Hoosiers in tackles with nine (five solo). He was disruptive in the backfield as well with two sacks and three tackles for loss.
Jerome Johnson, DL, Indiana- The big defensive lineman had a big game for the Hoosiers making four tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Antjuan Simmons, LB, Michigan State- Simmons was all over the field for the Spartans leading the team with 14 tackles and a tackle for loss.
Shakur Brown, DB, Michigan State- Brown made up for Michigan State’s losses in the secondary with two interceptions and six tackles.
Special Team Performance
Indiana’s special teams performance was far from sharp. Charles Campbell missed his first field goal of the season. The Indiana coverage team allowed several long returns on kickoffs. The Hoosiers did not have a chance to return a kick, but Reese Taylor did have an 18-yard punt return. Punter Haydon Whitehead booted the ball three times for an average of 39.7 yards. He pinned the Spartans inside their own 20-yard line once and had one kick go for a touchback.
Key Stat(s)
17
The Hoosiers scored 17 of their 24 points off of three Michigan State turnovers. That was the difference in the game.
Turning Point
The game turned when the Hoosiers scored two touchdowns in the final 2:11 of the first quarter off of Michigan State turnovers.
I Knew it Was Over When…
Ty Fryfogle raced 65 yards for his second touchdown of the game to put IU ahead 24-0 with 4:56 left in the first half.
Players of the Game
Tiawan Mullen, Indiana- Mullen’s two interceptions turned the game around and helped give the IU offense life.
Shakur Brown, Michigan State- Brown kept Michigan State in the game as long as possible. His two interceptions took points off the board for IU.
What I took away from the game
A road shutout win in a trophy game should feel better than this, but the Hoosiers looked sloppy and the offense disappeared in the second half. The Hoosiers put up 325 yards on offense in the first half to go along with 24 points. In the second half, IU was limited to just 108 yards and zero points. Some of that was Allen wanting to send a message to his offense to get tougher in the run game and some was just bad execution. The Hoosiers could have and probably should have scored 40 points. IU was 3-of-7 in the red zone after starting the year 18-for-18.
The offense started quickly, but was derailed by a Penix interception and the next drive resulted in a punt. Nothing was clicking until Mullen’s first interception.
The Hoosiers started at their own 47-yard line or better eight times on Saturday and produced just four scoring drives. That’s the kind of efficiency that gets teams pummeled.
Once again the inside running game was not there for IU, who averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on non-sack or kneel down runs. Yes, the Hoosiers were without Caleb Jones and Michael Katic, who are the starting left tackle and guard, but aside of a few outside zone runs, there was nothing to be pleased about.
As out of sync the offense looked on Saturday, the defense was locked in. They forced four Michigan State turnovers and stopped the Spartans two more times on fourth down. Michigan State gained under 200 total yards and just 60 on the ground. Of the Hoosiers 49 total tackles, seven were tackles for loss and four were sacks. IU also forced three fumbles, recovering one of them. The defense created and cashed in on havoc all game.
Maybe the Hoosiers were looking ahead to Ohio State next week and clammed up in the second half. The Hoosiers also needed to stay healthy as well. During this game, IU saw linebackers Cam Jones and Thomas Allen injured and lost Caleb Jones prior to the game.
The bottom line is IU is 4-0 and will head into Columbus as a top-10 team. Are there issues to iron out? Yes, but isn’t that what good coaches want? A win in a trophy game, but still many things to clean up? Possibly. The Hoosiers can’t hide from the national spotlight this week. All eyes will be on the game in Columbus, Ohio next week. Let the conversations of “this is IU’s biggest game since…” start.