Postgame Quotes: Indiana vs. Ohio State
11/21/2020 4:58:00 PM | Football
Indiana vs. Ohio State
Nov. 21, 2020
Postgame Quotes
Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen
Q. On the sequence at the end of the half…
"I thought it was huge. We had a chance to go in and score, and not only did we not score, they get the ball and then drive down the field and get all that momentum going into halftime. So, I thought that was a pretty tough sequence of events there that you hate to have happen. But you have got to secure the football, you have got to do a better job of that offensively and punch it in when you are in a tight red zone like that. So yeah, that was probably a pretty critical turning point in the game."
Q. On Michael Penix Jr.'s leadership…
"There is no question. I think that is part of leadership. It is by your performance, and the way that you exude confidence to your teammates when they know that as long as we have got time on the clock, and snaps to be played then we have got a chance. So, he shows tremendous poise, that is what we talked about for this game knowing we were going to need it, and he does not just talk about having that, he lives it out and he showed it again this game and he brought us back. Defense made some timely stops, got some takeaways and gave us a chance, but yeah, his leadership by the way that he plays the game is pretty special."
Q. On the lack of tackling…
"The tackling was pretty apparent. I thought it was not good. A lot of them were on Justin Fields. He is so strong and quick, and some of our best players consistently could not get him on the ground, which is disappointing, and frustrating. So that was part of it, and even just wrapping up. They are big strong backs but, they have got so much talent on the perimeter that it stresses you to, you want to get pressure on him and then stop the run without; it is just kind of a catch 22 they put you in because of their talent, and his escape ability to make plays with his legs is hard. So, that stretch there but I will tell you, for our kids to be able to just stay the course, and keep fighting and keep playing, and have a chance, we had the ball at the end of the game in the fourth quarter down by seven to go win the game, but were not able to do it."
Q. On the team's character…
"Without question. That is what I just told them in the locker room. So disappointed that we fell short but, proud of the heart, the fight, the toughness of this team. The did not quit and you have got a chance to see that they truly are special, and we have just got to play better. IT was a really good football team we played. They are substantially elevated level of play compared to the other teams we have played so far in so many different ways. But for our guys to be able to put ourselves in that position, and obviously give them credit for making plays, but we continued to battle to the very, very end."
Indiana Player Quotes
Michael Penix Jr., Quarterback
Q. On coming up just short…
"It hurts but we just have to keep a 1-0 mindset. We are going to continue to push forward, correct the things we need, and get ready for next week."
Q. On the offensive turnaround in the second half…
"We got comfortable. We come out in the second half and executed the simple things like playing hard. We came out, played hard for each other and that is what we talked about in the locker room during halftime. We had to go in and execute the small things, play hard for each other, correct the mistakes, and that is what we did and we started to see the results we wanted."
Q. On the explosive plays…
"I feel like that happened as the game went on. On film, they did not show too much of them giving up the deep ball. As the plays were happening, Coach Nick Sheridan put us in great situations to make those plays. We have a lot of playmakers on the field that can go up and catch the ball to makes those plays."
Ty Fryfogle, Wide Receiver
Q: On Michael Penix Jr.'s play…
"Mike is very special. You can look at the tape and he can make any play on the field. He can do anything really. He is very special. When I go back and look at the film, I see some special throws that Mike makes. Mike is a great playmaker. I just love Mike."
Q: On the first half…
"It was a very disappointing first half. We came out sloppy and everybody is to blame. We have to find a way to put four quarters together. When we do, that is when this football team will be really special."
Q: On what worked well today…
"I was moving around everywhere today. The coaches put me in great spots to make plays but that does not matter when you lose. It is just disappointing."
Jamar Johnson, Defensive Back
Q: On continuing to fight…
"During halftime we knew we did not play our best in that first half. When we came out in the locker room, we said we have to fight, make an effort, and play our game. We have to get back to the old Hoosiers that we know. We have to fight and finish these last two quarters as strong as we can. We have to leave the tank empty. We fought hard but we did not come up with the result that we wanted. But it shows that this team will fight until the end no matter what."
Q: On the defensive game plan…
"We knew in weeks prior that the teams that [Ohio State QB Justin Fields] has been playing have been lining up in the coverage and showing them that same coverage, so it makes it easier on him to know where the holes are at in the defense. This week we started showing different coverages. We would show Cover 2 and play Cover 3 or show Cover 3 and play Cover 2. We were messing up his reads and trying to get to him that way. We know he mainly likes to look at one receiver. He really does not go through his progression that much. We were just disguising our coverages."
Q: On the missed tackles…
"We did miss a lot of tackles, way more than we wanted. We cannot really go off of one or two plays. It was a team effort. Some of those plays we could have made on defense, some plays on offense and some plays on special teams. We have to just come together as a team better."
Nov. 21, 2020
Postgame Quotes
Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen
Q. On the sequence at the end of the half…
"I thought it was huge. We had a chance to go in and score, and not only did we not score, they get the ball and then drive down the field and get all that momentum going into halftime. So, I thought that was a pretty tough sequence of events there that you hate to have happen. But you have got to secure the football, you have got to do a better job of that offensively and punch it in when you are in a tight red zone like that. So yeah, that was probably a pretty critical turning point in the game."
Q. On Michael Penix Jr.'s leadership…
"There is no question. I think that is part of leadership. It is by your performance, and the way that you exude confidence to your teammates when they know that as long as we have got time on the clock, and snaps to be played then we have got a chance. So, he shows tremendous poise, that is what we talked about for this game knowing we were going to need it, and he does not just talk about having that, he lives it out and he showed it again this game and he brought us back. Defense made some timely stops, got some takeaways and gave us a chance, but yeah, his leadership by the way that he plays the game is pretty special."
Q. On the lack of tackling…
"The tackling was pretty apparent. I thought it was not good. A lot of them were on Justin Fields. He is so strong and quick, and some of our best players consistently could not get him on the ground, which is disappointing, and frustrating. So that was part of it, and even just wrapping up. They are big strong backs but, they have got so much talent on the perimeter that it stresses you to, you want to get pressure on him and then stop the run without; it is just kind of a catch 22 they put you in because of their talent, and his escape ability to make plays with his legs is hard. So, that stretch there but I will tell you, for our kids to be able to just stay the course, and keep fighting and keep playing, and have a chance, we had the ball at the end of the game in the fourth quarter down by seven to go win the game, but were not able to do it."
Q. On the team's character…
"Without question. That is what I just told them in the locker room. So disappointed that we fell short but, proud of the heart, the fight, the toughness of this team. The did not quit and you have got a chance to see that they truly are special, and we have just got to play better. IT was a really good football team we played. They are substantially elevated level of play compared to the other teams we have played so far in so many different ways. But for our guys to be able to put ourselves in that position, and obviously give them credit for making plays, but we continued to battle to the very, very end."
Indiana Player Quotes
Michael Penix Jr., Quarterback
Q. On coming up just short…
"It hurts but we just have to keep a 1-0 mindset. We are going to continue to push forward, correct the things we need, and get ready for next week."
Q. On the offensive turnaround in the second half…
"We got comfortable. We come out in the second half and executed the simple things like playing hard. We came out, played hard for each other and that is what we talked about in the locker room during halftime. We had to go in and execute the small things, play hard for each other, correct the mistakes, and that is what we did and we started to see the results we wanted."
Q. On the explosive plays…
"I feel like that happened as the game went on. On film, they did not show too much of them giving up the deep ball. As the plays were happening, Coach Nick Sheridan put us in great situations to make those plays. We have a lot of playmakers on the field that can go up and catch the ball to makes those plays."
Ty Fryfogle, Wide Receiver
Q: On Michael Penix Jr.'s play…
"Mike is very special. You can look at the tape and he can make any play on the field. He can do anything really. He is very special. When I go back and look at the film, I see some special throws that Mike makes. Mike is a great playmaker. I just love Mike."
Q: On the first half…
"It was a very disappointing first half. We came out sloppy and everybody is to blame. We have to find a way to put four quarters together. When we do, that is when this football team will be really special."
Q: On what worked well today…
"I was moving around everywhere today. The coaches put me in great spots to make plays but that does not matter when you lose. It is just disappointing."
Jamar Johnson, Defensive Back
Q: On continuing to fight…
"During halftime we knew we did not play our best in that first half. When we came out in the locker room, we said we have to fight, make an effort, and play our game. We have to get back to the old Hoosiers that we know. We have to fight and finish these last two quarters as strong as we can. We have to leave the tank empty. We fought hard but we did not come up with the result that we wanted. But it shows that this team will fight until the end no matter what."
Q: On the defensive game plan…
"We knew in weeks prior that the teams that [Ohio State QB Justin Fields] has been playing have been lining up in the coverage and showing them that same coverage, so it makes it easier on him to know where the holes are at in the defense. This week we started showing different coverages. We would show Cover 2 and play Cover 3 or show Cover 3 and play Cover 2. We were messing up his reads and trying to get to him that way. We know he mainly likes to look at one receiver. He really does not go through his progression that much. We were just disguising our coverages."
Q: On the missed tackles…
"We did miss a lot of tackles, way more than we wanted. We cannot really go off of one or two plays. It was a team effort. Some of those plays we could have made on defense, some plays on offense and some plays on special teams. We have to just come together as a team better."
Players Mentioned
FB: Under the Hood with Indiana Football - Week 7 (at Oregon)
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FB: Pat Coogan Media Availability (10/7/25)
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FB: Aiden Fisher Media Availability (10/7/25)
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FB: Elijah Sarratt Media Availability (10/7/25)
Tuesday, October 07