These Hoosiers Can. And Did.

Saturday, September 8

Bloomington, Ind.

7:30 PM

Indiana University

Virginia

9/8/2018 11:21:00 PM | Football

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Indiana Wins Home Opener over Virginia, 20-16

By Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON – The kick was good!

In this case, it was Indiana coach Tom Allen's gleeful boot of a trash can that threatened to impair his leaps to high-five IU students in the wake of Saturday night's soggy 20-16 win over Virginia.

"It was in my way!" was Allen's grinning post-game explanation.

And whenever any Cavaliers seemed in Stevie Scott's way Saturday, he basically gave them the boot, too.

Scott finished just three yards shy of Hall of Famer Anthony Thompson's single-game true freshman rushing record, with 31 carries for 204 yards.

"Downhill runner," Scott replied post-game when asked to describe himself as a runner. "Just bulldoze people."

Scott had just one negative yard all night, given how he always seems to finish forward. And he had zero fumbles during what resembled monsoon conditions.

"I thought Noah was out there with the Ark a couple of times," Allen said.

But Allen had no real qualms handing rookie Scott the ball.

"You've got to believe in them, and you've got to let them go," Allen said of freshmen such as Scott. "The bottom line is that you grow up really fast when you're forced to.

"He's our biggest, strongest back … he's got huge hands. And he's really strong and I think that helps with ball security. It was a little unnerving because he is a true freshman, he is green, but I think we saw a guy grow up tonight in front of all of us. Really proud of him. And the O-line made it all happen … we ran the ball really good against a good defense."

Virginia had held Richmond to 34 rushing yards in a season-opening romp a week earlier. Indiana bettered that by over 200 yards, finishing with 237 (5.4 per attempt) to fuel a total offense advantage of 387-294.

"The push off the ball, the finishing of blocks, against a team that was lined up, schematically, to make the run game tough – and we still ran the ball," Allen said appreciatively. "I felt they were a really good front-seven defense.

"We thought, going in, our best way to exploit them was through the pass game. And then it rains all day."

But the Hoosiers found a way to win despite not scoring after halftime. Allen, who still serves as Indiana's defensive coordinator, liked the fact it was the defense that closed out the game after the Hoosier offense had done the honors in the season-opening win at Florida International.

"I'm so proud of the defense, I'll tell you," Allen said. "I take a lot of pride in that, there's no question … I just feel like you've got to play great defense if you want to win games. And so today was a prime example of that.

"I tell you what, that quarterback (Virginia's Bryce Perkins), he's special, now, in terms of athleticism. He is hard to tackle. He's a big man and he's got a different gear."

That was certainly in evidence during the game's first series when the Cavaliers marched 71 yards in 11 plays to score on Perkins' 1-yard pass to Olamide Zaccheus. Perkins ripped off a 47-yard run right up the gut on the game's fifth snap to ignite the drive.

Indiana responded impressively. IU redshirt sophomore quarterback Peyton Ramsey converted a 3^rd-and-8 with his feet, then a 3^rd-and-4 with his arm. Then on a 3^rd-and-1 at the Virginia 40, Scott roared off right tackle and took it to the house untouched.

Scott, a 6-foot-2, 236-pounder, showed some serious giddyup on the play that forged a 7-7 tie with 6:27 left in the first.

"I just depended on my breakaway speed," Scott said of the TD. "Just get to the end zone and, after that, celebrate with my team."

The Hoosiers were celebrating again just 34 seconds later when they took the lead – permanently, as it turned out.

IU had great coverage on the ensuing kickoff. True freshman linebacker Micah McFadden dislodged returner Joe Reed from the football and redshirt freshman Bryant Fitzgerald recovered it for Indiana at the Cavalier 21.

Another true freshman, Reese Taylor, sailed around right end for 11 yards on first down and the next snap saw Ramsey connect with redshirt junior wideout Donavan Hale for the TD from the 9. It marked Hale's third scoring reception on the young season.

A procedure penalty wiped out what appeared to be a successful extra-point kick. The next try was blocked by Virginia, with Juan Thornhill running the ball all the way back for a two-point play, cutting Indiana's lead to 13-9 at 5:53 of the first.

A 58-yard punt by Haydon Whitehead three snaps into the second quarter pinned Virginia back at its 2, and the Cavaliers never really got anything going over the balance on the half.

The Hoosiers, by contrast, struck fast to cap the half's scoring at the 1:36 mark. Ramsey hit Hale on a 33-yarder, then found Nick Westbrook wide open for the TD from 23 yards out.

So Indiana took a 20-9 lead into intermission, which turned out to be enough. Ramsey was already 11-of-13 for 92 yards and the two TDs by that time.

IU's offense subsequently was primarily a possession game buoyed by Scott, who got 140 of his rushing yards after halftime.

"I just went with the flow," Scott said. "If I was going to get the ball, just protect the ball. That how I looked at it.

"Once I got a couple of big runs, I was riled up."

But while Indiana got inside Virginia's 40 four times during the second half, the Hoosiers couldn't capitalize. A blocked field goal and other factors intervened.

Virginia pulled within a single score with 7:59 to play as Perkins hit Chris Sharp on a wheel route out of the backfield for a 20-yard TD.

The Hoosier offense ran 3:36 off the clock with a march that reached the Cavalier 37 – sparked by a clutch 28-yard catch by Luke Timian to convert a third down – but running out the final 3:23 was up to the youthful IU defense.

And the defense was up to the task.

Virginia (1-1) kept the ball for 18 methodical plays, twice converting fourth downs that could have essentially ended the game, but a fourth-down Perkins pass from the end zone from the IU 27 with no time left fell incomplete.

Perkins – a transfer from Arizona Western CC who began his college career at Arizona State – finished 12-of-24 for 106 yards through the air but also rushed for a team-high 123 yards.

Ramsey finished 16-of-22 for 150 yards and two TDs in the daunting conditions, marred by just one third-quarter interception.

Indiana (2-0) has now won 13 of its last 14 regular season non-conference games. It will try to extend that streak in next Saturday's noon kickoff against Ball State, a team that played host Notre Dame to a one-possession game Saturday (24-16).

No time for the Hoosiers just to kick the can down the road.