Game Wrap and Reaction: Michigan State 17 Indiana 9
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Indiana has to re-evaluate its offense heading into the very manageable back-end of the schedule Image: Sarah Miller HoosierHuddle.com
Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Opponent: Michigan State Spartans
Location: Saturday October 21st, East Lansing, MI
Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Spartans meeting annually for the Old Brass Spittoon as Big Ten East opponents.
What The Game Meant:
This game was one of the toss-up road games the Hoosiers had a chance at winning that could push their season win total to seven or above. It’s also a trophy game, which are always huge.
Top Offensive Performers
Griffin Oakes, K, Indiana- Oakes continued his redemption tour that is 2017 as he nailed three field goals at a stadium where his struggles began in 2015. Oakes has been tremendous this year hitting 10-of-11 field goals and hitting 60-percent of his kickoffs for touchbacks.
Haydon Whitehead, P, Indiana-While the Indiana offense didn’t move the ball well on Saturday, punter Haydon Whitehead flipped the field all day. Whitehead punted nine times with a net average of 42.3 yards and pinning the Spartan offense inside their own 20-yard line four times.
Cody White, WR, Michigan State- While Michigan State’s offense was stagnant for three quarters, White was their most consistent receiver catching six passes for 99 yards.
L.J. Scott, RB, Michigan State-Scott had an eventful week as he was arrested for the seventh time for driving without a valid license. His punishment was that he had to sit out a single offensive drive. While he didn’t have a great game he wore out IU’s defense in the end grinding out 87 yards and a score (which IU allowed in order to stay in the game) on 22 rushes. He also added 15 yards on two catches.
Top Defensive Performers
Chris Covington, LB, Indiana-Covington is quietly becoming one of Indiana’s best defenders after showing flashes a season ago. He was all over the field on Saturday as he made 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, including a sack, and pressured the quarterback three times.
Tony Fields, Husky, Indiana- Tony Fields has been manning the husky position since Marcelino Ball went down against Georgia Southern and has done a really good job. He made eight tackles, one for a loss and forced a fumble which IU recovered.
Joe Bache, LB, Michigan State-Bache led the Spartans in tackles with 13 including a half tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
Khari Willis, LB, Michigan State- Willis made seven tackles with one coming for a loss for a defense that suffocated the Hoosier offense.
Special Team Performance
Saturday was another strong performance for this phase of the game for IU. We already talked about how great Oakes and Whitehead were in the kicking game above and those two units deserve a ton of credit for keeping IU in this game. Punt returner J-Shun Harris didn’t have too many attempts to return punts, just three returns for 10 yards, but nearly broke a couple for big gains.
Kick returner Devonte Williams bounced back nicely as he returned two kicks for 55 yards and took the touchback when he should have. For an offense that is struggling to string first downs together, the Hoosiers need as much as they can get out of their returners.
Key Stat(s)
2.0
The switch to Peyton Ramsey was supposed to spark the rushing attack. On Saturday the Hoosiers averaged just two yards per carry. That needs to change if the Hoosiers are going to win games at the back end of the schedule.
Turning Point
The Hoosiers had the Spartans set up with a third-and-nineteen while leading 9-3 with around six minutes left in the game from mid-field. A stop their probably ices the game, but Indiana had a miscommunication on defense and allowed Michigan State to get 16 yards and made it a fourth and manageable for MSU. The next play MSU picked up the first down and three plays later, the Spartans found the end zone for the game winning score.
I Knew it Was Over When…
When Brian Lewerke hit Cody White for 34 yards on third-and-nine for a first down with about 2:43 left in the game. The only chance Indiana had was to let L.J. Scott score so the Spartans wouldn’t run out the clock.
Players of the Game
Chris Covington, Indiana- Covington and the defense kept Indiana alive on a day they could not find the end zone. He is having an All-Big Ten type of year.
L.J. Scott, Michigan State- It doesn’t matter what people think his status for the game should’ve been, Scott grinded out 87 yards against the Hoosiers and scored a TD.
What I took away from the game
The Indiana Hoosiers are through the toughest stretch of the 2017 season. I get that fans are frustrated with a lack of wins and constantly coming up short, but Indiana has played ranked teams 14 of their last 29 games. That’s an absurdly difficult schedule. Indiana has 15 wins over the last two-and-a-half seasons and the back end of this year’s slate is far softer. However, this loss stings as it was a game that could have vaulted Indiana from a six or seven-win team to a squad that could win eight.
As for the game itself, Indiana has a lot to figure out on offense while the defense and special teams is keeping them competitive. The rushing attack for IU was abysmal as the Hoosiers averaged just two yards per rush and what was a change-up with Ramsey running has now become very predictable and bland. The most troubling issues came on Indiana’s two red zone trips that resulted in two short Oakes field goals.
Indiana’s first trip deep in MSU territory came after the defense forced a takeaway and gave the offense the ball at the 15-yard line. The Hoosiers ran two quarterback draws before taking a shot at the end zone with a pass to Taysir Mack that was incomplete. IU ran three plays that netted zero yards. The next trip inside the red zone saw IU have a first-and-10 from the 11-yard line and clinging to a 6-3 lead. A touchdown probably seals the game at 13-3. Instead the Hoosiers ran Ellison three times, the first two runs netted seven yards, but offensive coordinator Mike DeBord went to the well too many times instead of attempting some sort of play action pass and ultimately the Hoosiers left the door cracked open for the Spartans and they burst through it.
The Hoosiers need to make the winning plays like getting a stop on third-and-19 and cashing in on great field position to put teams away. They have to play 10 to 14 points better than these teams, because they will not get any favors from officials, who had another off-putting afternoon (more on this later in the week).
The Hoosiers now head to Maryland at 3-4 and needing a win before hosting another top-10 team in Wisconsin. Tom Allen loves his team and says they’re not backing down from anything, this is the week we find out if Indiana is a team just good enough to hang with the big boys or a team that is good and can beat lesser opponents when given the chance. Maryland has crashed back to earth after their win at Texas. IU cannot let them off the mat this week.