Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers and 25th ranked Michigan State Spartans both came into the battle for the Old Brass Spittoon at 3-1 and the two played a terrific game at Spartan Stadium. Both quarterbacks, Brian Lewerke and Michael Penix, put on a show as the two sides traded blows before the Michigan State Spartans eventually pulled out a narrow victory, 40-31.

Michigan State started the game with the ball at the 25 and quickly marched into IU territory. However, the Hoosiers held strong on a third and ten and forced a 43-yard field goal attempt from MSU’s Matt Coghlin. He has struggled this season and that continued as he put the kick wide. The Hoosiers took over at the 25 and saw the Spartan defense for the first time. Michael Penix Jr. returned to the lineup after missing the past two games but Indiana went three and out and punted to the 29. Michigan State got a couple of nice plays, including a 20-yard completion and a pass interference on Reakwon Jones and Elijah Collins finished the drive with a four yard touchdown. Indiana moved the ball on their second drive but failed to convert on a fourth and one near midfield, giving MSU good field position. The Indiana defense stood tall though, stopping Michigan State on a fourth and one of their own. The Hoosiers capitalized on the momentum as Stevie Scott broke off a 19-yard run and then Penix found Whop Philyor for a 28-yard touchdown that tied the game. Michigan State had not surrendered any first quarter points on the season until that score. The Spartans started the second quarter with a nice drive that ended with a Darrell Stewart reception from five yards out to put Michigan State back in front 14-7. Indiana went three and out and punted to the 28. Again, the Hoosiers hung in the game and got a stop. Michael Penix got into a rhythm and connected with Whop Philyor and Donavan Hale multiple times to get inside the red zone. A pass interference penalty on the Spartans gave IU the ball on the two-yard line and Penix kept the ball on a run around the outside for the tying score. The teams traded punts and MSU took over at the 44 with 1:25 left in the first half. Brian Lewerke again found Darrell Stewart, this time for a 26-yard touchdown right before the end of the first half. The teams went to the locker room with the Spartans ahead 21-14.

Indiana started the second half with the ball at 11 and fed the Spartans a steady diet of Whop Philyor. The offense moved efficiently down the field and got into the red zone but were forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal from Logan Justus that made it 21-17. Indiana forced Michigan State to punt and then Michael Penix went to work, orchestrating an excellent drive. Penix completed 20 straight passes during this stretch of time and eventually found Donavan Hale on third and nine for a 12-yard touchdown that Hale pulled in with one hand. IU their first lead and then forced MSU to punt. Whop Philyor’s long punt return was called back to the 11-yard line due to a holding penalty and then Penix overthrew Philyor by inches on a play that would have resulted in a touchdown. The Hoosiers had to punt and MSU took over on a short field. They capitalized on the good field possession as Brian Lewerke found Matt Seybert for a touchdown to give MSU the lead back at 28-24. IU had to punt and MSU took over at the 20 with less than nine minutes to play. Indiana recovered a Brian Lewerke fumble on a third down but the officials again called a penalty on the Hoosiers and gave the ball back to the Spartans. They eventually got into field goal range and Matt Coghlin hit a 44-yard attempt to make it 31-24. IU got possession at the 22-yard line with less than four minutes remaining, needing a touchdown. A pair of pass interference penalties helped the Hoosiers as Josiah Scott could not cover Donavan Hale. Penix then connected with Hale on a third and ten for a first down. The redshirt freshman then hit Whop Philyor on a slant route to get the Hoosiers inside the 25-yard line. A roughing the passer penalty on a very late hit from the Spartans moved the ball to the 11-yard line. Then Michael Penix threw a perfect ball to Whop Philyor and scored on an 11-yard play. With 2:00 remaining in the game, MSU took over at the 25-yard line with the score tied at 31. On the very first play of the drive, Brian Lewerke threw it to Darrell Stewart for a 44-yard gain that put the Spartans in field goal range right away. Lewerke then ran it to the one-yard line and Marcelino Ball tackled him short of the end zone for some reason. That allowed the Spartans to run the clock down and Matt Coghlin kicked a chip shot field goal with only five seconds remaining to take a 34-31 lead. Indiana had one final play that resulted in a meaningless touchdown for the Michigan State defense to end the game at 40-31.

Michael Penix Jr. was outstanding as he went 33-42 for 286 yards with three touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. Brian Lewerke was only 18-36 but he had 300 yards and three passing touchdowns of his own. Whop Philyor and Donavan Hale were outstanding on the day. Philyor had 14 catches for 142 yards with two scores and Hale had seven catches for 99 yards with a touchdown. Hale also drew multiple pass interference penalties and was a handful for All-Big Ten corner Josiah Scott. Ultimately, the Hoosiers came up short yet again in a great effort against a Top 25 opponent. Indiana has the firepower with Michael Penix at the helm to have a successful season but they will need to begin finding a way to turn these close losses into wins if they are to return to the postseason. The Hoosiers now have an off week before hosting Rutgers for Homecoming.

The Huddle

Hoosiers Come Up Short in Spartan Stadium

Hoosier Huddle