Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Notes: Indiana vs. Ball State
8/31/2019 5:12:00 PM | Football
Post-Game Notes
Indiana vs. Ball State
Aug. 31, 2019
TEAM
• Today's game kicked off the 135th season of Indiana Football.
• Indiana has won 14 of its last 16 season openers.
• Head coach Tom Allen is 2-1 in openers, with the lone loss coming in 2017 to No. 2 Ohio State.
• IU has won 15 of its last 16 non-conference games, including seven straight.
• Today marked the Hoosiers fourth game in an NFL Stadium in Indianapolis: Illinois (Nov. 10, 1984) and Penn State (Oct. 28, 2000) at the RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome), and Ball State at Lucas Oil Stadium twice (Sept. 3, 2011 and today).
• Indiana leads the all-time series with the Cardinals, 7-3, and has won three-consecutive contests.
• IU is now 40-9-1 (.810) all-time against Mid-American Conference opponents.
• The Hoosiers won the coin toss and elected to defer.
• True freshmen D.K. Bonhomme, David Ellis, Sampson James, Tiawan Mullen and Sean Wracher made their Indiana debuts.
• Senior left tackle Coy Cronk, fifth-year senior linebacker Reakwon Jones, fifth-year senior right guard Simon Stepaniak and fifth-year senior wide receiver Nick Westbrook served as game captains.
OFFENSE
• Redshirt freshman Michael Penix Jr. became the first IU freshman quarterback to start a season opener since Antwaan Randle El in 1998.
• Penix joined Randle El as the only freshman to surpass 300 passing yards in his first start and is one of just four freshmen to reach the benchmark (Kellen Lewis, Bob Hoernschemeyer). The Tampa native finished with 326 yards on 24-of-40 with one touchdown. Penix added 67 yards on the ground for 393 total yards.
• His total yards and passing yards trail only Randle El for the most in a debut. Randle El posted 467 total yards and 385 passing yards against Western Michigan on Sept. 12, 1998.
• The Hoosiers reached the end zone for the first time in 2019 when Penix connected with fifth-year senior Nick Westbrook from 75 yards out in the first quarter. It marked Indiana's longest passing touchdown since Westbrook hauled in a 75-yarder from Richard Lagow vs. Wake Forest on Sept. 24, 2016.
• Westbrook now owns three 70-plus yard TDs (79, 75, 75), two of which have come against Ball State (79, Ball State in 2016), while the 75-yarder was a career-best for Penix.
• The Lake Mary, Fla., native went over 100 yards for the sixth time in his career with 103 on three receptions.
• Stevie Scott III reached the end zone twice, his third-career multi-score rushing game. The sophomore rushed for 48 yards, matched a career-best with three catches and set a career-high with 28 receiving yards.
• Redshirt sophomore tight end Peyton Hendershot set new career-highs with 69 yards and four receptions. Hendershot also hauled in a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
• Junior Ty Fryfogle set a new career-high with six receptions and finished with 41 yards.
• Junior Whop Philyor caught six balls for 66 yards and added a 22-yard rush.
• Penix, junior left guard Harry Crider and redshirt sophomore right tackle Caleb Jones made their first career starts.
DEFENSE
• Fifth-year senior linebacker Reakwon Jones led the Hoosiers in tackles with a career-high 11, his first double-digit game.
• Redshirt junior husky Marcelino Ball matched his career-best for the fifth time with 10 stops.
• Sophomore safety Devon Matthews posted a career-high with nine tackles and six solos.
• Sophomore linebackers Micah McFadden (1 TFL) and Cam Jones (1 PBU, 1 QBH) also netted career-bests with six stops.
• Sophomore husky Jamar Johnson secured the team's first sack of the season and the first of his career in the third quarter.
• Redshirt junior defensive lineman Jerome Johnson and redshirt freshman linebacker James Miller combined for a sack in the fourth quarter, and Johnson accounted for the team's final sack later in the stanza.
• Johnson tied his career-high with 1.5 sacks and five tackles. He now owns six career sacks, while Miller entered the sack column for the first time.
• Sophomore Jaylin Williams pulled in his second career interception in the fourth quarter, returning the pick 29 yards.
• With the INT, the Hoosiers have at least one takeaway in their last 19 games, the longest streak in the country, and at least one pick in 11 straight contests.
• Fifth-year senior cornerback Andre Brown Jr. posted four stops to push his career total to 101.
• Redshirt sophomore defensive end Alfred Bryant, redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Juan Harris, sophomore defensive end James Head Jr., sophomore safety Devon Matthews and sophomore linebacker Micah McFadden made their first career starts.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Fifth-year senior Logan Justus put the Hoosiers first points of 2019 on the board with a then-career-long 48-yard field goal in the opening quarter. He then went on to best that twice, including a 49-yarder in the second quarter and a 50-yarder in the fourth quarter. Justus also added a 30-yard field goal to finish the game with a career-high four, tying the single-game Indiana record.
• The McCordsville, Ind., native collected his second game with at least three field goals, and is now 19-of-22 in his career (86.3 percent). Justus recorded his sixth-career multi-FG game and his fourth in five games, and he has hit 12 of his last 13 attempts.
• Justus is the 11th Hoosier (22nd time) to record a 50-yarder.
• Freshman David Ellis returned four kicks for 104 yards. In addition, he completed a two-point conversation on a pass to Peyton Hendershot in the fourth quarter.
• Fifth-year senior Haydon Whitehead averaged 51.7 yards on his three punts. Whitehead recorded a career-best 63-yard effort in the fourth quarter and had two punts downed inside the 10-yard line.
Indiana vs. Ball State
Aug. 31, 2019
TEAM
• Today's game kicked off the 135th season of Indiana Football.
• Indiana has won 14 of its last 16 season openers.
• Head coach Tom Allen is 2-1 in openers, with the lone loss coming in 2017 to No. 2 Ohio State.
• IU has won 15 of its last 16 non-conference games, including seven straight.
• Today marked the Hoosiers fourth game in an NFL Stadium in Indianapolis: Illinois (Nov. 10, 1984) and Penn State (Oct. 28, 2000) at the RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome), and Ball State at Lucas Oil Stadium twice (Sept. 3, 2011 and today).
• Indiana leads the all-time series with the Cardinals, 7-3, and has won three-consecutive contests.
• IU is now 40-9-1 (.810) all-time against Mid-American Conference opponents.
• The Hoosiers won the coin toss and elected to defer.
• True freshmen D.K. Bonhomme, David Ellis, Sampson James, Tiawan Mullen and Sean Wracher made their Indiana debuts.
• Senior left tackle Coy Cronk, fifth-year senior linebacker Reakwon Jones, fifth-year senior right guard Simon Stepaniak and fifth-year senior wide receiver Nick Westbrook served as game captains.
OFFENSE
• Redshirt freshman Michael Penix Jr. became the first IU freshman quarterback to start a season opener since Antwaan Randle El in 1998.
• Penix joined Randle El as the only freshman to surpass 300 passing yards in his first start and is one of just four freshmen to reach the benchmark (Kellen Lewis, Bob Hoernschemeyer). The Tampa native finished with 326 yards on 24-of-40 with one touchdown. Penix added 67 yards on the ground for 393 total yards.
• His total yards and passing yards trail only Randle El for the most in a debut. Randle El posted 467 total yards and 385 passing yards against Western Michigan on Sept. 12, 1998.
• The Hoosiers reached the end zone for the first time in 2019 when Penix connected with fifth-year senior Nick Westbrook from 75 yards out in the first quarter. It marked Indiana's longest passing touchdown since Westbrook hauled in a 75-yarder from Richard Lagow vs. Wake Forest on Sept. 24, 2016.
• Westbrook now owns three 70-plus yard TDs (79, 75, 75), two of which have come against Ball State (79, Ball State in 2016), while the 75-yarder was a career-best for Penix.
• The Lake Mary, Fla., native went over 100 yards for the sixth time in his career with 103 on three receptions.
• Stevie Scott III reached the end zone twice, his third-career multi-score rushing game. The sophomore rushed for 48 yards, matched a career-best with three catches and set a career-high with 28 receiving yards.
• Redshirt sophomore tight end Peyton Hendershot set new career-highs with 69 yards and four receptions. Hendershot also hauled in a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
• Junior Ty Fryfogle set a new career-high with six receptions and finished with 41 yards.
• Junior Whop Philyor caught six balls for 66 yards and added a 22-yard rush.
• Penix, junior left guard Harry Crider and redshirt sophomore right tackle Caleb Jones made their first career starts.
DEFENSE
• Fifth-year senior linebacker Reakwon Jones led the Hoosiers in tackles with a career-high 11, his first double-digit game.
• Redshirt junior husky Marcelino Ball matched his career-best for the fifth time with 10 stops.
• Sophomore safety Devon Matthews posted a career-high with nine tackles and six solos.
• Sophomore linebackers Micah McFadden (1 TFL) and Cam Jones (1 PBU, 1 QBH) also netted career-bests with six stops.
• Sophomore husky Jamar Johnson secured the team's first sack of the season and the first of his career in the third quarter.
• Redshirt junior defensive lineman Jerome Johnson and redshirt freshman linebacker James Miller combined for a sack in the fourth quarter, and Johnson accounted for the team's final sack later in the stanza.
• Johnson tied his career-high with 1.5 sacks and five tackles. He now owns six career sacks, while Miller entered the sack column for the first time.
• Sophomore Jaylin Williams pulled in his second career interception in the fourth quarter, returning the pick 29 yards.
• With the INT, the Hoosiers have at least one takeaway in their last 19 games, the longest streak in the country, and at least one pick in 11 straight contests.
• Fifth-year senior cornerback Andre Brown Jr. posted four stops to push his career total to 101.
• Redshirt sophomore defensive end Alfred Bryant, redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Juan Harris, sophomore defensive end James Head Jr., sophomore safety Devon Matthews and sophomore linebacker Micah McFadden made their first career starts.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Fifth-year senior Logan Justus put the Hoosiers first points of 2019 on the board with a then-career-long 48-yard field goal in the opening quarter. He then went on to best that twice, including a 49-yarder in the second quarter and a 50-yarder in the fourth quarter. Justus also added a 30-yard field goal to finish the game with a career-high four, tying the single-game Indiana record.
• The McCordsville, Ind., native collected his second game with at least three field goals, and is now 19-of-22 in his career (86.3 percent). Justus recorded his sixth-career multi-FG game and his fourth in five games, and he has hit 12 of his last 13 attempts.
• Justus is the 11th Hoosier (22nd time) to record a 50-yarder.
• Freshman David Ellis returned four kicks for 104 yards. In addition, he completed a two-point conversation on a pass to Peyton Hendershot in the fourth quarter.
• Fifth-year senior Haydon Whitehead averaged 51.7 yards on his three punts. Whitehead recorded a career-best 63-yard effort in the fourth quarter and had two punts downed inside the 10-yard line.
Players Mentioned
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