IU Opponent Recap – Week 8

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

IU lost another heartbreaker this past Saturday, this time falling to Michigan State 17-9 despite controlling much of the contest. The Hoosiers sit at 3-4 but should be favored in four of their final five games. Instead of going through each past opponents game, we’ll spend less time on the past and more time on the future opponents as IU needs three more victories to reach their third straight bowl game.

Previous Opponents

IU’s second opponent, the Virginia Cavaliers, got blasted by Boston College 41-10. The defeat drops the Cavaliers to 5-2 on the season.

Georgia Southern remained winless, falling to UMass 55-20. The Eagles are flat out bad and Tyson Summers appears to have no chance of remaining the head coach.

Penn State drilled Michigan, flexing their muscles in a 42-13 victory. The win keeps the Nittany Lions at #2 in the country and the Wolverines are exactly who we thought they were. They are now unranked and full of questions about where their program is heading.

Charleston Southern is now 4-3 after beating Savannah State 52-27.

Future Opponents

Maryland – 13 at Wisconsin – 38

IU’s next two opponents faced off in Madison and the result was entirely predictable. Wisconsin stayed unbeaten with a convincing 38-13 stroll over the Terrapins. The Badgers are now 7-0 with a game at Illinois that will take them to 8-0. It seems incredibly likely that IU will be hosting yet another top five opponent in two weeks. Jonathan Taylor continued his excellent freshman season, running for 126 yards with a score and Troy Fumagali appeared healthy, catching for seven passes for 83 yards. Maryland found some success on the ground, gaining 143 yards on 35 carries (4.1 yards per carry) but Max Bortenschlager was unable to threaten Wisconsin through the air and the Terps were outgained 440-268. Maryland has some strengths but the lack of a passing game (outside of the occasional super play from D.J. Moore) is a crippling weakness.

Illinois – 17 at Minnesota - 24

Illinois battled but ultimately fell at Minnesota, dropping to 2-5 (0-4) on the season. Demry Croft went the whole way at quarterback for the Gophers and struggled mightily, going only 5 of 15 for 47 yards. However, Minnesota turned to their running game and had 292 yards on 55 carries (5.3 yards per carry). Kobe McCrary led the way and Rodney Smith added 103 yards. Illinois only averaged 3.4 yards per carry but Jeff George Jr. was able to be more efficient, completing 18 of 23 passes. This game was 10-7 entering the final quarter and Illinois was tied with 10:06 to play but the Golden Gophers scored on their next series and then got a pick six from Jonathan Celestin to put the game away.

Purdue – 12 at Rutgers – 14

Where to start? The Purdue Boilermakers outgained the Scarlet Knights 474 to 217 but they continually shot themselves in the foot and managed to give away an important game in their quest for bowl eligibility. The defeat drops Purdue to 3-4 (1-3) and improves Rutgers to 3-4 (2-2). They now have back-to-back wins in the conference (Illinois and Purdue) and have a bit of momentum for the first time in a few years. First downs were 25 to 8 and Rutgers had absolutely no business being close in this one but turnovers and a failure to convert on third (or fourth) down is a great equalizer. Purdue used both Elijah Sindelar and David Blough and neither was effective. Rutgers really only had one good offensive play and that came on their second play from scrimmage as Gus Edwards broke free for a 74 yard touchdown run. He would end up with 94 yards and Giovanni Rescigno added 87 yards. Both of these teams remain beatable and IU will likely be favored against them but they are not walkovers.