Indiana Blanks Rutgers, 35-0, on Bicentennial Homecoming

Saturday, October 12

Bloomington, Ind.

Noon

Indiana University

4-2 , 1-2

Rutgers

1-5 , 0-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Rutgers

Indiana

Indiana Blanks Rutgers, 35-0, on Bicentennial Homecoming

10/12/2019 3:15:00 PM | Football

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana's Stevie Scott III and Whop Philyor showed what ruthless can mean.

Rutgers had no answer and no chance.

Saturday's 35-0 Bicentennial Homecoming win showcased head coach Tom Allen's fix-and-execute preparation plan, with Scott and Philyor at the offensive forefront.

As for the defense, well, sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

Hold that thought.

Scott attacked with the run – a season-high 164 rushing yards on just 12 carries. Philyor staggered with the catch and run – 10 receptions for a career-high 182 yards.

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was a most interested facilitator and benefactor -- 20-for-29, 282 yards, three touchdowns, one interception.

Defensively, Indiana held Rutgers to 75 total yards and just one passing yard.

Linebacker Reakwon Jones led off the scoring with a 17-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown just 10 seconds into the game. It's believed to be the fastest touchdown score in Memorial Stadium history.

It was the Hoosiers' second shutout of the season, and was a big turnaround after allowing 40 points to Michigan State in their previous game. The passing total was the lowest for a Football Bowl Subdivision team this season and IU's lowest against a Big Ten team since holding Minnesota to zero yards in 1985. The 75 total yards allowed were the Hoosiers' fewest since 1966.

"We never gave them a chance to get anything going," Allen said. "I'm excited about that. We fixed things. We tackled well. We took advantage of what they were giving us."

Scott had come close to his freshman dominating form with his 97-yard rushing effort against Connecticut last month, but this was different. He busted big runs, showcasing power and speed against a Big Ten opponent. Arm tackles had no chance.

By the end, Scott averaged 13.7 yards per carry en route to his first 100-yard game of the season and seventh of his two-year college career.

"I'm happy for him," Philyor said. "That's my guy. I live right next door to him. That's all he's going to be talking about. 'I got a hundred yards.'"

Added Allen: "He had that one run where he ran right over one of them. That was a grown-man run, a confident run, an attitude run. He's growing in his confidence."

Philyor followed up his 14-catch, 142-yard effort at Michigan State to become the first Hoosier receiver to ever post consecutive double-digit catch totals.

"It's good," Philyor said. "If the offensive line wasn't blocking the way it did, it wouldn't have happened, so I give kudos to them."

Added Allen: "Whop continues to improve. I'm not surprised with him. He's a special player. He brings so much energy. He makes contested catches."

IU was aiming for a dominating win coming off a bye, which followed Michigan State heartbreak.

The Hoosiers delivered, big time.

"This was much needed," Allen said. "We took care of business."

The defense certainly did. It recorded six sacks for 42 yards, big given Rutgers entered the game having allowed only seven sacks.

The first sack, on the game's first play, by defensive tackle Demarcus Elliott, resulted in Jones' first college touchdown.

"I saw Demarcus hit him and I saw the ball fly out," Jones said. "I used good technique to scoop up the ball, get to the outside and score. It was totally surprising."

With a 4-2 record, IU is two victories away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. Outback Bowl representatives were at Saturday's game.

The Hoosiers were not, Philyor insisted, paying attention to that. Not with a trip to Maryland looming on Saturday, and games against nationally-ranked Penn State and Michigan, among others, to follow.

"We focus on next week, not on a bowl game," Philyor said. "We're not there yet. We focus on week to week. Focus on Maryland."

Memorial Stadium has become a place where nail biters have no chance. The previous three games were 52-0 over Eastern Illinois, a 51-10 loss to Ohio State and a 38-3 win over Connecticut.

Saturday was quickly more of the same, not unexpected given Rutgers (1-5) arrived in turmoil. Fired head coach Chris Ash was out, interim head coach Nunzio Campanile was in. The offense had scored just 23 points in its previous four games. The defense had allowed 160 points in that same span. Its starting quarterback and running back had elected to redshirt.

IU didn't care. It wanted to make a quick statement.

"We wanted a fast start," Allen said.

Elliott saw to that with his strip sack that produced Jones' touchdown.

"We work all week on takeaways," Elliott said. "To get a takeaway and a score on the first play was amazing."

On IU's first possession, Penix threw 56 yards to Philyor and 14 yards to tight end Peyton Hendershot. That was good for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead, all in less than three minutes.

Four minutes later, Penix hit receiver Nick Westbrook with a 19-yard touchdown pass for a 21-0 lead.

"It was 21-0 before you could blink," Allen said.

Then the Hoosiers did blink, with an interception, a fumble, three punts and a failed fourth-down attempt to end the half.

Allen was not happy, and expressed it.

"You've got to teach them how to keep playing," he said. "I'm so hoarse because I was yelling the whole time to stay focused and finish. Keeping the pedal down is hard to do."

The Hoosiers opened the second half with ferocity. Scott broke loose for a 57-yard run. Penix hit Ty Fryfogle with a 10-yard touchdown pass and a 28-0 lead.

Running back Sampson James added a touchdown run near the end of the third quarter to make it 35-0.

That ended the scoring, but not the optimism.

"We have a big stretch coming up," Allen said. "It will be very critical.

"I'm very encouraged. I'd be more pleased if we were 5-1, but we learned some things from that (Michigan State loss).

"There's so much youth on our team. I feel good about where we are and where we're headed if we continue to grow and prepare at a high level. We're not where we want to be, but we're making progress."