Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosiers_Huddle)

Opponent: Ohio State Buckeyes

Location: Saturday, November 21, 2020

Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Buckeyes play annually as part of the Big Ten East.

What The Game Meant: This was a chance for the Hoosiers to prove themselves against one of the elite teams in college football. While the game did not go IU’s way, it is not an indictment of where this program is.

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Top Offensive Performers

Michael Penix, QB, Indiana- Penix had a career day. He threw for five touchdowns and 491 yards. He was five yards shy of Indiana’s record for yards in a single game and was the first Hoosier to throw for five touchdowns since Kellen Lewis did it in 2006 against Michigan State.

Ty Fryfogle, WR, Indiana- The beneficiary for many of Penix’s throws, Fryfogle became the first Big Ten player ever to have back-to-back 200-yard receiving games. He made seven catches for 218 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first time a Hoosier had three receiving touchdowns since 2013 when Shane Wynn did it in the Bucket Game against Purdue. Fryfogle averaged a monstrous 31.1 yards per reception.

Master Teague, RB, Ohio State- Teague doesn’t ‘wow’ people like Zeke Elliott or J.K. Dobbins, but the man just runs hard and goes forward. He had 169 yards on 26 attempts and found the end zone twice.

Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State- Wilson is also on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List for good reason. He led the Buckeye receivers with 169 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches.

Top Defensive Performers

Jamar Johnson, DB, Indiana- Jamar Johnson continued his hot play in 2020 as he made two interceptions, five tackles and a sack. The blemish on Johnson’s day was his fumble on the return of his second interception that took points off the board for IU.

Jerome Johnson, DL, Indiana- The big fella was a force for IU in the middle of the defense. He had four tackles, a sack and an interception. This Johnson may be the most underrated player on IU’s defense.

Pete Warner, LB, Ohio State- Warner made the plays when Ohio State needed it most. He forced David Ellis’s fumble and then sacked Penix on Indiana’s penultimate drive to force a punt. He made eight total tackles.

Shaun Wade, DB, Ohio State- It was far from a banner day for the Buckeye secondary, but it was a Wade pick six that turned out to be the decisive score. He made three tackles and broke up another pass.

Special Team Performance

The Hoosiers won the special teams battle. After one poor kick return the Hoosiers chose to fair catch the rest and it set them up with solid field position the entire day.

Haydon Whitehead’s performance will go unnoticed by most people, but he had a huge day averaging 43.2 yards per kick and not allowing a returnable punt.

Reese Taylor had a couple of nice punt returns as he accounted for 22 yards on two returns.

Charles Campbell did not attempt a field goal, but connected on all five extra points.

Key Stat(s)

Zero

After scoring 51 points off turnovers in their first four games the Hoosier did not score one off their three takeaways on Saturday and that was a huge disappointment since all three gave IU great field position.

Turning Point

The game had many twists and turns, but the whole feel of the game changed late in the second quarter when it looked like Indiana was going to score to pull within 21-14. However, David Ellis fumbled at the Ohio State 12-yard line and Ohio State scored on the ensuing possession to go up 28-7. That lead would balloon to 35-7 early in the third quarter. IU would fight and claw back to 42-35, but that sequence changed the game.

I Knew it Was Over When…

The game could’ve been over at 35-7, but it wasn’t until Indiana’s last ditch lateral play was stopped that this game was over.

Players of the Game

Michael Penix and Ty Fryfogle, Indiana- This duo was electric and keyed an attempted Indiana comeback

Garrett Wilson, Ohio State- Wilson set the tone early with two big catches and paced all Ohio State receivers with 169 yards.

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What I took away from the game

The Hoosiers traded punches for 60 minutes with one of the super heavy weights of the sport. The fight the Hoosiers showed after falling behind 35-7 was great. The Hoosiers may have the best passing attack in the Big Ten as well. However, IU still fell just short against the third-ranked Buckeyes. The Hoosiers did not play a clean enough game. There were big dropped passes, missed tackles, fumbles in the red zone, zero running game and a pick six that will keep the Hoosiers up thinking about what could have been.

The loss is disappointing and the coaches will not accept it, but it’s not a season wrecker. Or at least it shouldn’t be. The Hoosiers proved they belonged on the same field as Ohio State after most of the country thought IU was smoke in mirrors and had zero business in the top 10.

There’s still plenty of work to do for IU.

The offensive line was once again a concern for the Hoosiers. They allowed two sacks and four tackles for loss and failed to open any holes in the running game. The Hoosiers had 16 rushes for minus-one yard. That includes a 16-yard loss on a botched snap by Harry Crider. The Hoosiers need to figure that part of their game out. Whether that means shuffling the offensive line or trying something different is to be determined. It should be noted that the Hoosiers were without starting left tackle Caleb Jones again.

It may also be time for running backs coach Mike Hart to give more opportunities to Sampson James and Tim Baldwin. James led the Hoosiers in rushing with 10 yards, but had only three carries and Baldwin looked explosive against Michigan State. Stevie Scott has done a ton for the Hoosiers over the last two seasons, but he has just not been effective most of the time for the Hoosiers.

While the result was tough to swallow, the Hoosiers aquitted themselves very well on national TV. They’re for real and the buy-in should be affected by the loss.

What’s next for the Hoosiers? Hopefully a game against Maryland. The Terrapins have had their last two contests cancelled due to a COVID outbreak, but the game is still on for now. The Hoosiers could use another game before facing Wisconsin.