Hoosiers' Offense was Too Little Too Late as Comeback Bid Fell Short
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Peyton Ramsey and the Hoosiers scored 22 fourth quarter points, however it was not enough. Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle
Written by Nathan Comp
For Indiana’s offense, the story can be written in just four words: too little, too late. The Debord-led offense mounted a 22-point comeback in the 4th quarter to tie the game, but their inefficiency in the first 3 quarters had dug them too big of a hole to climb out. Ultimately, when Indiana had the ability to win the game on their final two drives, they faltered with a 3-and-out and a Peyton Ramsey strip sack.
The offensive performance can be primarily summed up by the performance in the first 3 quarters. Just one week after the Minnesota defense allowed previously winless Nebraska to have three different 100-yard rushers, Indiana puzzled everyone by gameplanning a primarily pass-first offensive attack. Unfortunately, none of this passing attack was of the vertical downfield nature, but instead focused on dink-and-dunk options. This was best shown through Peyton Ramsey’s early stat line in which he had completed 75% of his passes (9-12) but had only 42 passing yards to his credit. Ramsey did accomplish a couple 3rd down conversions using his legs, but the offense’s efficiency once it entered the redzone diminished. The Hoosier offense went to halftime having scored only 9 points, all by the leg of Logan Justus. Two of these field goals were made after the offense stalled inside the redzone, and the third came from inside the 30-yard line, despite the defense forcing a turnover in Gopher territory.
The story appeared to be the same in the third quarter. Despite Stevie Scott’s 7.6 yard per carry average in the first half, the deficit on the scoreboard forced the Hoosiers to abandon the run game. Nothing seemed to work, and Indiana was unable to put any number on the scoreboard in the quarter as the Minnesota lead grew to 22.
Then, when things looked the bleakest, the offense began to open up. First, Ramsey was able to throw a 43-yard dime to Donovan Hale for the Hoosiers’ first touchdown of the game on just a 2-play drive. Next offensive series, the offense continued the vertical passing attack and found Ty Fryfogle for a 37-yard touchdown pass. The defense continued to get stops and force turnovers, eventually allowing Stevie Scott to carry a touchdown that, after the successful 2-point conversion, would tie the game at 31 with just under 4 minutes to play. This 22-point explosion came in just 10 minutes of game time and was just enough for Indiana to gain hope that after playing poorly they could pull away a victory.
Instead, with the game tied, the Indiana offense ran 3 times with Stevie Scott, the 3rd of which was stuffed for a 3-yard loss and forced Indiana to punt. The rest was history, as Minnesota’s offense came back to life on the next play, scoring a touchdown and sucking all of the momentum back that Indiana had clawed back. With just over a minute to play, Ramsey was unable to lead the team down the field and instead was sacked and fumbled. Just a couple minutes after the Hoosiers had the opportunity to drive the field and win the game, Minnesota was lined up in victory formation.
The all-around performance was just not good enough for Indiana to go on the road and be victorious. The offense only looked strong for 10 minutes, and by then, it was too late. With three games remaining, Indiana will still need two wins to gain bowl eligibility.