No. 17/19 Indiana Wins at Rutgers, 37-21

Saturday, October 31

Piscataway, N.J.

3:30 p.m.

Indiana University

2-0 , 2-0

Rutgers

1-1 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Indiana

Rutgers

10/31/2020 7:10:00 PM | Football

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Let down?

Not a chance.

Indiana unleashed dominant offense and defense against Rutgers Saturday en route to a 37-21 victory, a 2-0 record and plenty of momentum with Michigan next at Memorial Stadium.

It was an impressive follow-up to last week's overtime thriller over No. 8 Penn State and solidified its Top-20 status. The Hoosiers will face a Wolverine squad coming off a rivalry loss to Michigan State.

"The one word this week was focus," linebacker Micah McFadden said. "We've got to focus on the next game. You can't get over excited. Focus and keep executing.

"Don't let this get to our heads. Keep guys humble and keep making plays."

The last time IU started 2-0 in the Big Ten was 1991.

"We expected to do things like this," head coach Tom Allen said. "We've talked about it, but you still have to live it out.

"We have to continue to get better, block out all the noise, and live out our mission to not blink, including with positive things."

For those who didn't see this coming, tight end Peyton Hendershot had a message for you.

"I think we're the only ones who believed that. Coach (Tom) Allen has believed in us for a long time. This team is really special. If we continue to focus, we'll be a great team."

Added Allen, who evened his Indiana record at 20-20: "To start the season 2-0 is huge for our program.

"It's hard to win on the road, especially after last week's massive win. I tried so hard to get guys locked in."

And then the coach came out, especially when he considered the 11 penalties for 119 yards.

"We made it harder than we needed to. We were still a little sloppy. We had too many penalties."

But no turnovers against a defense that forced seven the previous week in a win over Michigan State.

"We protected the ball," Allen said. "That was a big point of emphasis."

Big plays were everywhere you looked on Saturday, from cornerback Tiawan Mullen's 2.5 sacks, to interceptions by McFadden, defensive lineman Jonathan King, and cornerback Jaylin Williams to spectacular catches from receiver Whop Philyor (he finished with 5 catches for 137 yards, a 27.4-yard average) to kicker Charles Campbell's three field goals (he is 5-for-5 for the season and 7-for-7 for his career).

Then there was quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who opened 3-for-10 for 23 yards, then turned into Peyton Manning. His 14-for-16-for-215-yard finish turned a 7-0 deficit into a 37-15 lead.

"It was just an excellent job by the whole offense," Penix said. We were dialed into the simple plays. (Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan) called a great game. All we had to do was execute.

"I looked at my reads. I went to the open receiver. Those guys got open and made spectacular catches."

Six early drops contributed to Penix's slow start.

"There were some drops that weren't on him," Allen said. "He threw well. He caught fire in the second half."

Missing out on 7-on-7 summer drills because of the pandemic, Allen added, likely contributed to the incompletions.

"I knew it would take some time. What you saw at end of last week (Penix completed his final 7 passes against Penn State) and this week … he'll keep getting better."

Hendershot, who had a couple of early drops before rebounding for six catches, two for touchdowns, wouldn't put it all on missed practice time.

"I'm sure that played a role, but I have to catch the ball. We have to catch the ball. We have to make those plays. Mike is throwing the ball well."

IU's defense attacked with blitzes (can you say Mullen?), tenacious coverage (those 3 interceptions) and upfront dominance (see lineman Demarcus Elliott's key fourth-down-pass knockdown).

The Hoosiers held Rutgers to 4-for-15 on third downs, 0-for-4 on fourth downs.

"Our confidence has sky rocketed," cornerback Reese Taylor said. "We were prepared for anything, any formation.

"When we play as one, we have one of the top defenses in the nation."

Jaylin Williams wasn't about to argue.

"We'll do whatever we need to do to win. The coaches put us in position to make plays. We just have to execute."

IU has forced six takeaways this season.

"We work on it every day," Williams said. "We put our hearts on the field. That leads to takeaways."

More and more, this is defense as Allen imagined it when he arrived in Bloomington five years ago to fix one of the nation's worst units.

"We want to be a defense that creates game-changing plays," he said. "We are not a bend-don't-break defense.

"Overall, we want to be aggressive and create pressure on the quarterback. Our defensive backs are talented enough to play little bit of man and zone."

As far as the game, defenses ruled early. A pair of punts were traded.

Then IU's defense briefly blinked.

A roughing-the-quarterback penalty when the Hoosiers had stopped Rutgers on fourth down gave the Scarlet Knights a second chance, and they capitalized with a touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead.

Despite penalties, dropped passes and a bad snap, IU responded with Campbell field goals of 42 and 28 yards for a 7-6 score.

Then IU forced a turnover (King's interception via linebacker Cam Jones pressure) to get the ball at the 6-yard line. Penix's 1-yard run made it 13-7.

Williams' interception resulted in a 15-yard touchdown pass and catch from Penix to Ty Fryfogle and a 20-7 halftime lead.

IU had a 140-60 total yard advantage.

McFadden led the Cream & Crimson second-half charge with an early interception. Penix followed with a 63-yard pass to Philyor to set up Campbell's third field goal and a 23-7 lead.

Another roughing-the-passer penalty on IU set up a second Rutgers TD, this one on Kay'Ron Adams' 37-yard run. The Scarlet Knights converted the two-point conversion for a 23-15 Hoosier lead.

Penix threw his second TD pass, this one for 11 yards to Hendershot, for a 30-15 lead late in the third quarter.

Penix later hit Hendershot with a 1-yard touchdown pass and a 37-15 advantage.

Rutgers added a touchdown, then nearly got another off an eight-lateral spectacle that, after a lengthy review, was overturned because of an illegal forward pass.

IU had hung on, and Allen pushed perspective.

"We have a whole bunch of things we have to get better. Film doesn't lie. I want us to handle success."