Indiana Pulls Away In Piscataway for 2-0 Start

Image: Indiana University Athletics

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

Very few people expected the only Big Ten matchup of unbeaten teams to take place in Piscataway but that was reality as the 1-0 Indiana Hoosiers and 1-0 Rutgers Scarlet Knights kicked off at SHI Stadium on Halloween afternoon.

Indiana was playing their first game as a top 20 team since 1993 as Rutgers took possession first. The first four attempts on offense ended in punts and it appeared the Scarlet Knights third possession would be a punt as well but Micah McFadden was called for a roughing the passer penalty to extend the drive. On the next play, Noah Vedral connected with Bo Melton for a 23 yard touchdown to put Rutgers ahead 7-0. Indiana moved the ball well, getting inside of the red zone but a snap by Harry Crider lost the Hoosiers 15 yards and they settled for a 42-yard field goal to make it 7-3 in favor of Rutgers.

Indiana’s defense, particularly the defensive front, began to dominate the contest as Tiawan Mullen crashed in on a corner blitz and brought down Noah Vedral, forcing a three and out. The Indiana offense had good field position and was able to get into the red zone again but were once again forced to settle for a field goal. Charles Campbell hit a 27-yard attempt to make it 7-6.

The next drive for Rutgers ended just like the preceding one as Tiawan Mullen brought down Vedral and forced a punt. Indiana’s offense was having a difficult time doing much of anything but a punt pinned the Scarlet Knights inside the 15-yard line. Cam Jones hit Vedral as he was throwing and the popped up ball was snagged by Jonathan King at the Rutgers six-yard line. Indiana capitalized, taking their first lead at 13-7 with a quarterback sneak from a yard out by Michael Penix.  

On the very next play, the IU defense struck again. This time, it was Sio Nofoagatoto’a hitting Vedral and Jaylin Williams coming up with the interception at the Rutgers 28-yard line. Michael Penix threw a bullet to Ty Fryfogle for a 15-yard touchdown and gave IU control of the contest. The Hoosiers forced a three and out but a holding penalty persuaded Tom Allen to simply run out the clock and head to the locker room with the 20-7 halftime advantage. Rutgers only managed 60 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes. Despite a mostly ineffective offense, IU led by 13 thanks to a terrific performance from Kane Wommack’s defense.

The second half began with a quick three and out from the Indiana offense and Rutgers started their possession near midfield. However, the IU defense stood tall again as Micah McFadden came up with the third interception of the contest. The Hoosiers attacked, going deep for the first time all game. Michael Penix connected with Whop Philyor and he was pulled down inside of the five-yard line. Unfortunately, he was called for a facemask penalty that turned a 63-yard gain into a 48-yard gain. IU was unable to get into the end zone, settling for a third red zone trip that ended in a field goal from Charles Campbell to make it 23-7.

Rutgers had their best drive of the game, one that was kept alive by another roughing the passer penalty. Instead of a turnover on downs, Jovan Swann inadvertently struck Noah Vedral in the head and gave the Scarlet Knights second-life. Kay’ron Adams broke loose for a 37-yard touchdown and Isiah Pacheco converted the two-point conversion to make it a one-score game at 23-15.

With some pressure applied, the IU offense responded.

Michael Penix was outstanding on the ensuing drive as he carved up the Rutgers defense and quickly led IU to the end zone with a drive that ended in a short touchdown reception for Peyton Hendershot to restore IU’s lead to 30-15.

Rutgers had a nice kick off return to the Indiana 45-yard line but the Hoosiers forced a turnover on downs and Michael Penix connected with Peyton Hendershot for another short touchdown to make it 37-15 in the fourth quarter. Indiana forced yet another turnover on downs after Rutgers moved the ball into IU territory and the Hoosiers used their possession to drain time from the clock.

The Scarlet Knights were able to get one more score as they drove against a prevent zone defense and Vedral hit Melton for his second touchdown reception of the game. Rutgers failed to get the two-point conversion and the score was 37-21 with 3:21 remaining.

The Scarlet Knights tried an onside-kick that they were able to recover. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Indiana gave RU the ball at the Indiana 33-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Tiawan Mullen came up with his third sack on another corner blitz as Kane Wommack dialed the pressure back up. On third down, Cam Jones had another sack to force a fourth and 32. Rutgers converted with a ridiculous play with eight laterals that resulted in a touchdown. However, a review determined that an illegal forward pass was made so the Hoosiers took over on downs and ran out the clock for the 37-21 victory.

The Indiana defense dominated the Rutgers offensive line, getting three interceptions and four sacks. Michael Penix was 17-26 for 238 yards with three touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. He was particularly impressive in the second and third quarters as Indiana’s offense pulled away from the Scarlet Knights. Stevie Scott had 81 rushing yards on 21 carries and Whop Philyor had five catches for 137 yards. Peyton Hendershot had six receptions with two short touchdown catches.

Noah Vedral was 20-33 but only had 138 yards and threw a trio of interceptions. Both of his touchdown throws went to Bo Melton. IU was only 2-11 on third down but the Hoosiers outgained the Scarlet Knights 352 yards to 277 yards. The biggest negative for IU was likely the 11 penalties that gave Rutgers 118 yards. Ultimately, Indiana did more than enough to move to 2-0 on the young season. The #17 Hoosiers will now return home to play the 1-1 Michigan Wolverines next Saturday at noon. Hoosier Huddle will have continuing coverage of this game.