Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers entered Saturday’s contest as losers of four straight games. Rutgers entered the contest with 21 straight conference home losses and losers of three straight. One streak needed to end and despite a strong start from the Hoosiers, the IU offense made sure the Rutgers fans finally went home happy. After the first quarter, the Hoosiers were outplayed in every phase of the game and fell to 3-5 on the season with a 24-17 defeat. Rutgers out-gained Indiana 305-272 and scored 24 unanswered points to come from behind and pull away for the win. This game continued IU’s recent fourth quarter struggles and extended them to the entirety of the second half.

Indiana began with the ball and electric freshman Jaylin Lucas made his presence known immediately, breaking free and speeding down the sideline. 92 yards later, Lucas had put the Hoosiers on the board with a kickoff return touchdown. Rutgers picked up one first down but were forced to punt the ball away, giving the Hoosiers possession on the nine-yard line. The IU offense marched down the field with Connor Bazelak picking apart the defense and ultimately keeping the ball on an option play and running in for a seven-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 less than eight minutes into the game. Again, Rutgers picked up one first down but the IU defense stood tall and made the Scarlet Knights punt it away. Indiana was driving again and had Rutgers scrambling before a catch by Andison Coby was reviewed. The call on the field stood but it stalled IU’s rhythm and a pair of penalties backed them up with a third and 29. The Hoosiers had to punt it away and Rutgers finally woke up as the first quarter ended. Sean Ryan had a trio of excellent catches to help the Scarlet Knights get into the end zone. The touchdown catch from 15 yards out appeared to have been bobbled as he went out of bounds but the play was not reviewed and Ryan made it 14-7. Both teams went three and out on back-to-back possessions before Rutgers finally got a first down with around three minutes remaining in the first half. The Hoosiers stopped the Scarlet Knights after that but a punt of 66 yards ended any hopes IU had of moving the ball and they sat on the ball to end the first half with the score 14-7.

Rutgers had the ball to begin the second half and converted a fourth and one with a strong run from Samuel Brown to keep the drive going. A third and seven was incomplete but Indiana was called for defensive holding to put Rutgers in field goal territory and Jude Mcatamney nailed a 49 yarder to make it 14-10. The Indiana offense continued to struggle mightily, quickly going three and out and giving Rutgers the ball at the 43-yard line. The Scarlet Knights methodically went down the field with their running game and some short passes and ultimately hit paydirt as Samuel Brown dove into the end zone for a short score to give Rutgers the lead at 17-14. The Hoosiers went three and out yet again and punted the ball back to Rutgers as the third quarter came to a close. Aaron Cruickshank broke loose for a 42-yard run to move Rutgers into Indiana territory as the time of possession disparity continued to mount. The Indiana defense stood tall on third and five to force a 56-yard field goal. It was a curious decision from Greg Schiano and the kick never had a chance, setting the Hoosiers up on the 38-yard line. On IU’s third possession of the second half, the Hoosiers went three and out for the third time and punted back to the Scarlet Knights. Aaron Cruickshank returned the punt for a touchdown but the play was called back for an illegal block in the back and Rutgers began at the 7-yard line. The Hoosiers defense continued to give IU a chance as they forced a three and out. The punt was not a great one and IU had the ball at the 47-yard line with 9:23 remaining. The Hoosiers finally picked up a first down thanks to a pass interference penalty on Rutgers. The Hoosiers immediately gave some of that yardage back with a face mask penalty on an offensive lineman and the resulting third and 16 was a one-yard play. That forced Charles Campbell into a 52-yard field goal that he hooked badly and the Hoosiers remained behind by three with less than eight minutes left. IU forced a second straight three and out and Rutgers punted the ball 48-yards to give IU the ball at the 12-yard line with 5:52. The Indiana offense, not content with simply punting the ball away every possession, got out a hammer and drove the final nail into its own coffin. Connor Bazelak, under pressure and in the end zone, threw a pass directly to a Rutgers defender and the Scarlet Knights returned it for a touchdown to take a commanding 24-14 lead. The teams traded three and outs and IU took over deep in its own territory with around 3:30 left. Jaylin Lucas took a screen pass for a nice gain and Javon Swinton got behind coverage for a nice gain to give the IU offense a couple of rare first downs. Lucas caught another screen and moved the Hoosiers to the 15-yard line but a sack set up a third and long that was incomplete and Charles Campbell hit a 39-yard field goal. The ensuing onside kick from Chris Freeman was easily recovered by Rutgers and the contest ended at 24-17.

The Indiana Hoosiers will return home to lick its wounds with a bye week looming and two weeks before the next game. There are lots of questions facing this program and no answers. Hoosier Huddle will have continued coverage of the fifth straight defeat for Indiana.

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