How Did Hoosier Opponents Fare in Week Three

Written By T.J. Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

FIU – 13 – Massachusetts -  21

The Florida International Panthers were expected to compete for a bowl game this season. That won’t be happening as they are off to a disastrous 0-3 start after a loss to the UMass Minutemen on the road this past Saturday. FIU was only 2-12 on third down and UMass outgained them 394-315.

Ball State – 41 – Eastern Kentucky -14

It’s foolish to make any declarative and definitive statements based on comparing scores. That being said, the Eastern Kentucky Colonials gave Purdue a real contest in week one (PU won 45-24 thanks to four EKU turnovers but the Colonials had 398 yards). The game’s outcome was never truly in doubt but EKU was far from embarrassed in that game. After falling to the Hoosiers in week two, Ball State moved to 2-1 on the season with a dominant 41-14 victory over Eastern Kentucky in Muncie. The Cardinals out-gained EKU 431-289, held the Colonials to only 3 yards rushing on 27 attempts. Riley Neal threw for 238 yards and a pair of scores and BSU ran the ball for 193 yards as they flew out to a 34-0 lead before gliding to the finish line as 41-14 victors. 

Wake Forest – 38 – Delaware - 21

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons followed up their breakthrough offensive performance in week two with a 38-21 victory over FCS foe Delaware. The win may prove costly though as starting quarterback Kendall Hinton suffered a non-contact injury to his left knee during the first quarter. Hinton’s status for Saturday’s clash with the Hoosiers is unknown.

Wake Forest ran for 302 yards and racked up 481 yards of total offense while holding Delaware to only 94 yards. The score was 17-14 after a pair of turnovers by Wake Forest but a lengthy touchdown drive erased all doubt about the outcome. The Demon Deacons are 3-0 for the first time since 2008 and they will be a very stiff test for IU this Saturday.

Michigan State – 36 – Notre Dame - 28

The Michigan State Spartans (2-0) were absolutely dominant for the better part of the night in South Bend and they held off a late Irish surge to knock off Notre Dame (1-2), 36-28. Notre Dame jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter before MSU’s balanced attack and strong defense put a stranglehold on the contest. The Spartans scored on a 38-yard completion from Tyler O’Connor to freshman Donnie Corley (who appears to be a very legitimate offensive weapon) and then surprised the Irish with a successful two-point conversion to take an 8-7 lead. It was a lead they would never relinquish. O’Connor found R.J. Shelton for a 10-yard touchdown just before halftime and then three touchdown runs (two by Gerald Holmes and one by L.J. Scott) were added in the third quarter to make the score 36-7, Michigan State. Notre Dame scored the game’s final 21 points and DeShone Kizer ended up with 344 yards and four total touchdowns but most of those numbers felt completely meaningless. MSU’s pass rush was ferocious and the Irish were unable to generate any kind of running game. Spartan linebacker Jon Reschke was a standout on defense and MSU won the line of scrimmage battle on both sides of the ball (by a landslide). Is Notre Dame good? Well, based on the waxing Texas just took at the hands of Cal, it does not appear so, but this was a very impressive performance by MSU. The Spartans are now 40-5 in their last 45 games and they are now ranked eighth in the country. They host Wisconsin on Saturday in a top ten clash before traveling to Bloomington for the October 1 primetime game.

Ohio State – 45 – Oklahoma -24

The Ohio State Buckeyes are 3-0 and the reshuffled lineup filled with elite, but unproven, prospects is outshining perhaps even the loftiest of expectations thus far. The Buckeyes shellacked the Sooners in Norman, 45-24 and sent a message that they are ready, once again, to challenge for a National Championship. Ohio State outgained Oklahoma by only 40 yards (443-403) but they held the ball for 11 more minutes and made the bigger plays when it mattered. After a Curtis Samuel scamper for a 36-yard touchdown, Oklahoma was driving to tie the game when Jerome Baker intercepted Baker Mayfield (who was not particularly sharp all night) and ran it back 68 yards for a score and a 14-0 OSU lead. Joe Mixon quickly sliced the deficit in half with a kickoff return for a touchdown but the Buckeyes Noah Brown scored three times in the second quarter, including a ridiculous catch in the corner of the end-zone that will be included on every year-end highlight montage, to take a 35-17 halftime lead. A fourth Noah Brown touchdown catch made the score 42-17 and the Buckeyes cruised to the 45-24 final. Ohio State has a bye week this coming Saturday before hosting Rutgers.

Nebraska – 35 – Oregon - 32

Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium was electric on Saturday afternoon as the Nebraska Cornhuskers took a huge victory over the Oregon Ducks, 35-32. The outcome may have been different if Oregon’s star running back, Royce Freeman wouldn’t have left the game in the first quarter with a leg injury but the Ducks were still able to run for 336 yards and five touchdowns and out-gained Nebraska, 482-428. However, Oregon was flagged for 12 penalties resulting in 124 “free” yards for Nebraska. The back and forth contest was led by Oregon 20-14 at halftime but a pair of third quarter touchdowns from Nebraska gave the Huskers a 28-20 lead. Oregon regained the lead at 32-28 with 10:31 remaining in the game but Tommy Armstrong dove into the end zone to cap a 34-yard run and give Nebraska a 35-32 lead with 2:29 to play. That would be the final score as Oregon’s final drive stalled at midfield. The victory moved to Nebraska to 3-0 and vaulted them into the top 25. They travel to Evanston in a dangerous game against a desperate Northwestern team and then host Illinois before a bye week and a trip to Bloomington. In short, it’s very possible Nebraska will be 5-0 when they take on the Hoosiers.

Northwestern – 24 – Duke - 13

The Northwestern Wildcats (1-2) desperately needed a victory to keep any hope of a bowl trip alive. After losing to Western Michigan and Illinois State, they answered the bell on Saturday night, handling the Duke Blue Devils (1-2), 24-13. The Wildcats won the yardage battle, 406-396 and a strong performance from sophomore Clayton Thorson (18-39, 320 yards with three touchdowns and two INTs) and wide receiver Austin Carr (135 yards and a TD) helped seal the crucial victory. Justin Jackson continued to struggle to get on track, rushing for only 3.4 yards per carry but Northwestern was finally able to generate some big plays in the passing game with receptions of 58, 44, 35 and 33 yards. The Wildcats will now host #20 Nebraska on Saturday night before road games at Iowa and Michigan State. The best they can likely hope for when their October 22 game against IU rolls around is 2-4. 

Maryland – 30 – Central Florida – 24 (2OT)

There’s the Maryland (3-0) passing offense we all know and hate to watch. Perry Hills was 10-23 for a only 127 yards  but the Terps ran for 246 yards and survived a road game at Central Florida (1-2)  to finish the non-conference portion of their schedule at 3-0. The Terrapins had six players finish with more than 20 rushing yards but none of those six exceeded 77 yards. Is that balance or is that a lack of having a top-end option at running back? I’m not sure but it was just enough on Saturday. UCF was coming off of a 51-14 drubbing at Michigan and a terrible 2015 so it doesn’t appear the Knights are even decent and the 458 yards they racked up against Maryland will be concerning for DJ Durkin as they head into conference play. The Knights have only themselves to blame for this loss as they turned the ball over on four occasions. Maryland will now host Purdue, a game in which they’ll be favored to move to 4-0. 

Rutgers – 37 – New Mexico – 28

Another week, another large deficit, another comeback win. Rutgers has started poorly in all three of their games this season. They couldn’t recover against Washington in week one but they rallied from an early 14-0 deficit against Howard to win and they dug out of a 21-point hole against New Mexico to pull out a 37-28 victory in Piscataway and finish the non-conference portion of their schedule at 2-1. Janarion Grant threw for a touchdown, returned a punt for a touchdown and had 32 receiving yards and Robert Martin showed he is the team’s lone feature back, rushing for 169 yards on 21 carries. New Mexico out-gained Rutgers by more than 100 yards (462-350) and Chris Laviano struggled mightily (11-27 for 152 yards) but the Scarlet Knights were able to avoid the upset. They now face a back-to-back gauntlet of Ohio State and Michigan…good luck with that.

Penn State – 34 – Temple - 27

Penn State (2-1) and head coach James Franklin desperately needed this contest and they hung on for a 34-27 victory over the Temple Owls. Trace McSorley threw for 287 yards in a very efficient performance and Saquon Barkley gained 68 yards in an injury-limited performance. The Owls hung around and made things very interesting thanks to a trio of PSU turnovers and a good performance from quarterback Phillip Walker but the Nittany Lions were the better team. Looking ahead, PSU, particularly McSorley, is sloppy with the ball and their defense has regressed from last year’s elite unit. Their offense is undoubtedly more exciting and explosive but they will severely tested this Saturday when they face the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor.

Michigan – 45 – Colorado – 28

For the first time this season, the Michigan Wolverines (3-0) faced some resistance. They trailed the Colorado Buffaloes (2-1) 21-7 at the end of the first quarter. Had the Wolverines been listening to that dastardly Freddy P. Soft all week and gotten complacent? No sir. The Wolverines charged back at the end of the first half thanks to a 17-0 run over the final 8:49. The Buffaloes responded with a 70-yard touchdown from Sefo Liafau to Shay Fields but Liafau was injured on the play. He left after one more series and the Buffaloes wouldn’t score again. De’Veon Smith’s 42-yard touchdown run gave Michigan a 31-28 lead, Ty Isaac added another score to make it 38-28 and Jabrill Peppers returned a punt 54-yards for the final score of the contest. Michigan’s defense continues to allow big plays and their running game isn’t dominant plus Wilton Speight struggled for the first time. They were far from perfect. However, this was a comfortable win, even after the dreadful start and Michigan is now fourth in the country. They host Penn State and Wisconsin in the next two weeks.

Purdue

The 1-1 Purdue Boilermakers were on a bye this past Saturday. They conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule by hosting Nevada (2-1) this Saturday at noon. 

Schedule Note

The remaining schedule looks quite daunting. At this time, Indiana is scheduled to face three of the top eight teams in the country (OSU, Michigan and MSU) and four top 25 teams in total.