Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio Notes – ‘Crazy’ Victory Has IU Focused on Rutgers
10/27/2020 10:37:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sleep?
Are you kidding?
Indiana coach Tom Allen had no time to catch some ZZZZs. Not after his Hoosiers had defeated No. 8 Penn State 36-35 in overtime in a victory decades in the making.
"It has been crazy, I can confirm that, but a good kind of crazy," Allen said during Monday's Zoom media day. "It has been hard to sleep, for good reasons.
"My mind was just racing. My phone was blowing up with a lot of people reaching out congratulating us. A lot of individuals that throughout my whole career, all the way back to high school and college, and all the stops where I was coaching and all the different places, all the places we have been as a college coach. Everybody has reached out and I am trying to respond to those as best I can."
IU's sixth win over a Top-10 team reverberated throughout college football. The last time the Hoosiers had done that was in 1987 at No. 9 Ohio State. The last time it had beaten a Top-10 team at Memorial Stadium was in 1967, when it beat No. 3 Purdue 19-14.
Now comes Saturday's trip to Rutgers (1-0), which is coming off a win at Michigan State.
The Hoosiers can't let success do to them what Penn State couldn't.
"To be able to have that opportunity, then it becomes a reality, now you are going to handle that," Allen said. "We talked about 1-0 offensively. We talked about not blinking.
"Those do not just apply to negative situations. Those also apply to how you handle success. Sometimes that can be even harder, because the natural tendency is to (relax) when things go your way. We have to fight that. We have to be very focused. We have to be very laser-like in our intentions."
*****
While IU struggled offensively for much of Saturday's game, it scored touchdowns all five times it reached the red zone.
Allen noticed.
"That, to me, was the difference in the game. We did not get there enough, so that is where the pressure by not sustaining drives puts that on the defense. We need to be working both sides together."
****
A pair of young receivers -- Javon Swinton and Jacolby Hewitt -- made huge contributions in the game-tying drive to force overtime.
Swinton, a true freshman, caught two passes for 23 yards.
Hewitt redshirted his first season, then missed all of last year with a torn ACL.
Saturday was his first college game and he delivered with a spectacular diving, 14-yard catch.
"(Swinton) had nine snaps in the game and two of the biggest catches of the game in the final drive to tie it up," Allen said.
"I think about Jacolby Hewitt and all he has been through. This was his first college football game and he made the biggest catch.
"He got hit. It is a tiny, tiny window. It was an amazing catch by a young man, Jacolby, who has overcome so much.
"You want those things for these guys because they work hard, especially Jacolby with overcoming an injury."
*****
IU's offensive line play left Allen offering hard truth.
"I was disappointed in our offensive line. I am just going to call it what it is. I just did not think we played as well as I believe we can. I was disappointed in that and I think it affected our whole offense and just the whole execution.
"I just want to point it out. I am not going to say anything that is just not true. We talked about it as a staff. We are very open and honest with each other so those are things we have to fix."
*****
The spotlight has found safety Jamar Johnson. That's what happens when you total 10 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble against a Top-10 team.
The result – he was named Big Ten co-Defensive Player of the Week.
*****
Social media superstardom hasn't found quarterback Michael Penix Jr. despite his remarkable late-game performance capped by the winning – and diving – two-point conversion run.
"I got a couple more (social media) followers," he said, "but I do not pay attention to it.
"(Monday) was the last day to go over corrections. Now we are focused on the next week. This week we have Rutgers. That is all that I am really focused on. I do not get into the social media stuff all that much."
What did IU do in the couple days following the Penn State win?
"It's been a lot of recovery and watching film," Penix said. "We watched the game together as a unit and I watched it on my own. We are going over things that we need to fix so that we can execute at a higher level. We are glad that we got the win, but there are a lot of things that need to be cleaned up."
*****
Indiana continues to generate national attention.
The Football Writers Association of America named IU its Reveal Suits National Team of the week.
It was the third time the Hoosiers had won the 19-year-old award, and the first since 2007.
*****
Nick Sheridan's debut as an offensive coordinator delivered 36 points, and 16 points in IU's final two drivers.
It also sputtered for much of the game (generating only 211 total yards). Sheridan vowed to do better.
"Certainly, we did not play well for a large portion of the game. Obviously, proud on how they finished and how the guys kept battling.
"Are there things schematically that Penn State did that we can do better as coaches to put our players in good positions? Without a doubt.
"You are going to say that every week that there are some things that you wish you could make easier for the players. We need to execute better. We need to coach better. Ultimately, that falls on my shoulders."
Much is expected of IU's offense given it returns eight starters from a unit that averaged 31.8 points last season and is led by a dynamic quarterback in Penix (see his game-winning two-point conversion against Penn State as Exhibit A).
"Our execution was not to the level we had seen in camp and certainly not at the level that we expect our guys to do," Sheridan said, "so, we need to coach better. That starts with me and then certainly, I know the players are going to take responsibility for the things that they feel like they can improve on and do a better job of. I fully expect us to do that."
*****
It will take a while for Sheridan to find his play-calling groove. After all, Saturday was the first time he'd done it at the major college level.
"There are however many plays -- 60, 70, maybe 80 snaps," he said. "There are always going to be games you say, 'Man, I wish I would have called something different there.'
"There were plenty of plays where I felt comfortable with the call, but we needed to execute a little better. There are plenty of plays I can do a better job. I could put our players in a better position to be successful. You are constantly evaluating that. You are trying to be your toughest critic."
Sheridan says he's open to suggestions from fellow coaches.
"They can see it from a different lens. We had communication (Sunday) on things that we would have done differently, could have done differently, to try to make it easier on the players.
"Then, there are sometimes the players have got to execute better. They know that. We communicate that very clearly and very honestly.
"Ultimately, the performance of the offense falls on my shoulders. It starts with the play call and ends with the execution."
*****
For defense coordinator Kane Wommack, it was a no-brainer.
The Hoosiers would attack Penn State. This was no time for a bend-don't-break strategy.
"I thought I called the game aggressive," Wommack says. "I called it to win. You have to take some chances to win big games and I thought we did that up until the last three minutes of the game."
A blown coverage in the closing minutes of regulation resulted in Penn State's 60-yard touchdown pass that gave it a 21-20 lead.
Wommack blamed himself.
"We gave up a big play at the very end. That was inexcusable and it was my fault. I put us in a bad situation schematically. I have to do a better job for our players to give them a chance to go win the game and I did not think I did that on that call.
"Great defenses find a way to make the kill at the end. We use the analogy of a wolf pack and how they hunt, but they only get rewarded if they can make the kill."
Wommack thought of the blown lead at the end of last season's TaxSlayer Gator Bowl loss to Tennessee as well as the Penn State game.
"We have to learn how to make a kill, myself included, in terms of how we finish."
*****
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman C.J. Person totaled just one tackle against Penn State, but his impact was far greater.
"I am really excited about a young player and just the physicality that he brings out there at the point of attack," Wommack says. "There were a couple times where (Person) beat up some pretty good tight ends. A couple times he wore some tackles out."
Plenty of Hoosiers did the same to their Penn State counterparts, including linebackers Cam Jones and James Miller.
"Just the physicality of our defense in some of those critical moments was extremely exciting," Wommack says.
*****
Rutgers (1-0) also was nominated for National Team of the Week honors following its 38-27 win at Michigan State.
The victory snapped the Scarlet Knights' 21-game Big Ten losing streak. Their seven takeaways produced 21 points.
It was their first Big Ten road win since 2017 and it came under coach Greg Schiano, who had returned after previously coaching at Rutgers.
Quarterback Noah Vedral was 18-for-29 for 169 yards and a touchdown.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sleep?
Are you kidding?
Indiana coach Tom Allen had no time to catch some ZZZZs. Not after his Hoosiers had defeated No. 8 Penn State 36-35 in overtime in a victory decades in the making.
"It has been crazy, I can confirm that, but a good kind of crazy," Allen said during Monday's Zoom media day. "It has been hard to sleep, for good reasons.
"My mind was just racing. My phone was blowing up with a lot of people reaching out congratulating us. A lot of individuals that throughout my whole career, all the way back to high school and college, and all the stops where I was coaching and all the different places, all the places we have been as a college coach. Everybody has reached out and I am trying to respond to those as best I can."
IU's sixth win over a Top-10 team reverberated throughout college football. The last time the Hoosiers had done that was in 1987 at No. 9 Ohio State. The last time it had beaten a Top-10 team at Memorial Stadium was in 1967, when it beat No. 3 Purdue 19-14.
Now comes Saturday's trip to Rutgers (1-0), which is coming off a win at Michigan State.
The Hoosiers can't let success do to them what Penn State couldn't.
"To be able to have that opportunity, then it becomes a reality, now you are going to handle that," Allen said. "We talked about 1-0 offensively. We talked about not blinking.
"Those do not just apply to negative situations. Those also apply to how you handle success. Sometimes that can be even harder, because the natural tendency is to (relax) when things go your way. We have to fight that. We have to be very focused. We have to be very laser-like in our intentions."
*****
While IU struggled offensively for much of Saturday's game, it scored touchdowns all five times it reached the red zone.
Allen noticed.
"That, to me, was the difference in the game. We did not get there enough, so that is where the pressure by not sustaining drives puts that on the defense. We need to be working both sides together."
****
A pair of young receivers -- Javon Swinton and Jacolby Hewitt -- made huge contributions in the game-tying drive to force overtime.
Swinton, a true freshman, caught two passes for 23 yards.
Hewitt redshirted his first season, then missed all of last year with a torn ACL.
Saturday was his first college game and he delivered with a spectacular diving, 14-yard catch.
"(Swinton) had nine snaps in the game and two of the biggest catches of the game in the final drive to tie it up," Allen said.
"I think about Jacolby Hewitt and all he has been through. This was his first college football game and he made the biggest catch.
"He got hit. It is a tiny, tiny window. It was an amazing catch by a young man, Jacolby, who has overcome so much.
"You want those things for these guys because they work hard, especially Jacolby with overcoming an injury."
*****
IU's offensive line play left Allen offering hard truth.
"I was disappointed in our offensive line. I am just going to call it what it is. I just did not think we played as well as I believe we can. I was disappointed in that and I think it affected our whole offense and just the whole execution.
"I just want to point it out. I am not going to say anything that is just not true. We talked about it as a staff. We are very open and honest with each other so those are things we have to fix."
*****
The spotlight has found safety Jamar Johnson. That's what happens when you total 10 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble against a Top-10 team.
The result – he was named Big Ten co-Defensive Player of the Week.
*****
Social media superstardom hasn't found quarterback Michael Penix Jr. despite his remarkable late-game performance capped by the winning – and diving – two-point conversion run.
"I got a couple more (social media) followers," he said, "but I do not pay attention to it.
"(Monday) was the last day to go over corrections. Now we are focused on the next week. This week we have Rutgers. That is all that I am really focused on. I do not get into the social media stuff all that much."
What did IU do in the couple days following the Penn State win?
"It's been a lot of recovery and watching film," Penix said. "We watched the game together as a unit and I watched it on my own. We are going over things that we need to fix so that we can execute at a higher level. We are glad that we got the win, but there are a lot of things that need to be cleaned up."
*****
Indiana continues to generate national attention.
The Football Writers Association of America named IU its Reveal Suits National Team of the week.
It was the third time the Hoosiers had won the 19-year-old award, and the first since 2007.
*****
Nick Sheridan's debut as an offensive coordinator delivered 36 points, and 16 points in IU's final two drivers.
It also sputtered for much of the game (generating only 211 total yards). Sheridan vowed to do better.
"Certainly, we did not play well for a large portion of the game. Obviously, proud on how they finished and how the guys kept battling.
"Are there things schematically that Penn State did that we can do better as coaches to put our players in good positions? Without a doubt.
"You are going to say that every week that there are some things that you wish you could make easier for the players. We need to execute better. We need to coach better. Ultimately, that falls on my shoulders."
Much is expected of IU's offense given it returns eight starters from a unit that averaged 31.8 points last season and is led by a dynamic quarterback in Penix (see his game-winning two-point conversion against Penn State as Exhibit A).
"Our execution was not to the level we had seen in camp and certainly not at the level that we expect our guys to do," Sheridan said, "so, we need to coach better. That starts with me and then certainly, I know the players are going to take responsibility for the things that they feel like they can improve on and do a better job of. I fully expect us to do that."
*****
It will take a while for Sheridan to find his play-calling groove. After all, Saturday was the first time he'd done it at the major college level.
"There are however many plays -- 60, 70, maybe 80 snaps," he said. "There are always going to be games you say, 'Man, I wish I would have called something different there.'
"There were plenty of plays where I felt comfortable with the call, but we needed to execute a little better. There are plenty of plays I can do a better job. I could put our players in a better position to be successful. You are constantly evaluating that. You are trying to be your toughest critic."
Sheridan says he's open to suggestions from fellow coaches.
"They can see it from a different lens. We had communication (Sunday) on things that we would have done differently, could have done differently, to try to make it easier on the players.
"Then, there are sometimes the players have got to execute better. They know that. We communicate that very clearly and very honestly.
"Ultimately, the performance of the offense falls on my shoulders. It starts with the play call and ends with the execution."
*****
For defense coordinator Kane Wommack, it was a no-brainer.
The Hoosiers would attack Penn State. This was no time for a bend-don't-break strategy.
"I thought I called the game aggressive," Wommack says. "I called it to win. You have to take some chances to win big games and I thought we did that up until the last three minutes of the game."
A blown coverage in the closing minutes of regulation resulted in Penn State's 60-yard touchdown pass that gave it a 21-20 lead.
Wommack blamed himself.
"We gave up a big play at the very end. That was inexcusable and it was my fault. I put us in a bad situation schematically. I have to do a better job for our players to give them a chance to go win the game and I did not think I did that on that call.
"Great defenses find a way to make the kill at the end. We use the analogy of a wolf pack and how they hunt, but they only get rewarded if they can make the kill."
Wommack thought of the blown lead at the end of last season's TaxSlayer Gator Bowl loss to Tennessee as well as the Penn State game.
"We have to learn how to make a kill, myself included, in terms of how we finish."
*****
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman C.J. Person totaled just one tackle against Penn State, but his impact was far greater.
"I am really excited about a young player and just the physicality that he brings out there at the point of attack," Wommack says. "There were a couple times where (Person) beat up some pretty good tight ends. A couple times he wore some tackles out."
Plenty of Hoosiers did the same to their Penn State counterparts, including linebackers Cam Jones and James Miller.
"Just the physicality of our defense in some of those critical moments was extremely exciting," Wommack says.
*****
Rutgers (1-0) also was nominated for National Team of the Week honors following its 38-27 win at Michigan State.
The victory snapped the Scarlet Knights' 21-game Big Ten losing streak. Their seven takeaways produced 21 points.
It was their first Big Ten road win since 2017 and it came under coach Greg Schiano, who had returned after previously coaching at Rutgers.
Quarterback Noah Vedral was 18-for-29 for 169 yards and a touchdown.
Players Mentioned
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