No. 12 Hoosiers Take Down Maryland, 27-11

Saturday, November 28

Bloomington, Ind.

Noon

Indiana University

5-1 , 5-1

Maryland

2-2 , 2-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Maryland

Indiana

11/28/2020 3:22:00 PM | Football

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Concern?

You bet there was.

Dominant defense?

Was there ever.

On a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon, No. 12 Indiana got the response from the Ohio State defeat it wanted -- a 27-11 win over Maryland -- and the health issue it didn't need.

The big question is the status of quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

"We don't know right now," coach Tom Allen said. "We'll do more tests. It's a lower leg injury. He's being evaluated."

The 6-3 redshirt sophomore ran 21 yards for a first down late in the third quarter, was pushed out of bounds at the Maryland 10-yard line and hit the ground. IU's medical staff quickly surrounded him. He eventually got up and hopped into Memorial Stadium's medical facilities.

He never returned.

Backup Jack Tuttle replaced him and went 5-for-5 for 31 yards.

"It's good he got a chance to get some meaningful reps," Allen said about Tuttle. "He did a good job making the calls and checks. He's been here a few years. He understands out system. He competes extremely hard. We've very confident in Jack."

IU (5-1) has recruited for this. Last year it was Peyton Ramsey taking over for an injured Penix, and he led the Hoosiers to an 8-5 record and the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

Now it's Tuttle, a 6-4, 215-pound former 4-star high school prospect out of California who spent a year at Utah before transferring to Indiana last season.

He hadn't thrown a pass this season until Saturday. He had thrown 11 in his Hoosier career.

"Tuttle came in real poised and confident in what he was doing," running back Stevie Scott III said. "He's capable of making plays. It's about him believing in himself."

Added Allen: "Whatever the mission is, when you're called upon, you have to step up."

Penix struggled in the first half, when he was just 2-for-15 for 37 yards. He had found his third quarter rhythm before getting hurt. He finished 6-for-19 for 84 yards, a huge drop from the 491 yards and five touchdowns he had the previous week against Ohio State.

"He was a little off," Allen said. "There was pressure. He got people in his face quite a bit.

"He was missing guys. He had some high throws. Sometimes, you have days like that. The whole team has to respond. The offense has to adjust.

"Guys had to step up, guys did, that's why we won."

IU finished a best-ever 5-1 against Big Ten East opponents.

"It's something we talk about," Scott said. "You see the program change. We wanted to change this culture.

"We're still breaking through. It's having the mindset and confidence that we can continue to make plays."

The defense boosted its national-best interception total to 16 with three picks of Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa -- by cornerbacks Tiawan Mullen and Jaylin Williams, and by linebacker Micah McFadden. It also sacked him three times for a loss of 23 yards.

"We did a lot of studying on him," Mullen said. "We studied which way he looked. That was the way we wanted to attack."

The Hoosiers allowed just 63 second-half yards, 43 on Maryland's last play, a touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Dontay Demus.

"I'm still ticked off by that last touchdown," Allen said. "It shouldn't have happened."

Still, linebacker Cam Jones said, "We started kind of slow, but we knew we had to step up and get their offense off the field. We stayed focused to the details."

Maryland (2-2) came in with the Big Ten's worst run defense. IU was 13th in rushing.

The partial Cream & Crimson solution -- Wildcat formation, something the Hoosiers have worked on since August camp, but hadn't shown in games.

Direct snapping to Scott and fellow running back David Ellis -- especially after Penix opened 1-for-5 for 37 yards -- helped energize the rushing attack early on.

By halftime, the Hoosiers had rushed for 102 yards, huge for a team averaging 76.0 a game against a defense stacked to stop the run.

They punished Maryland for 132 second-half rushing yards to finish with a season-high 234.

"It's knowing the assignments and making plays," Scott said. "If the quarterback is struggling, put the team on our backs."

Leading the way was true freshman running back Tim Baldwin Jr. Taking advantage of the absence of back-up running back Sampson James, Baldwin rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries. He entered the game with 18 rushing yards.

"It's patience, reps, film study," Baldwin said. "We have a great strength staff. Know your assignment and do the job the best you can."

Added Allen: "He ran extremely effectively. He's a talented runner. We have four guys at that position who can all make plays.

"He's very patient. Some guys have a knack to find the holes. The staff is very confident in Tim. He's very smart. He works very hard. He has strong attention to detail. He cares a bunch."

Baldwin became the 14th Hoosier true freshmen to rush for at least 100 yards.

"It was being patient and trusting in the offensive line," he said. "Trust the coaches make the right call.

"Before, I was just bursting through the holes and not reading stuff. Once I was able to do that, it helped."

Added Scott: "He knows how to play his role. Whenever his name is called, he's trying to make a play. He's doing a great job running and protecting the ball. He's come a long way. He's learned a lot."

Scott, meanwhile, powered his way to 80 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He said IU emphasized the Wildcat formation in last week's practice.

"We ran it a lot in to make sure we executed it and could run it with no worries. When we ran it, it felt like practice. We felt it was something different to run with the offense."

Getting the direct snap, he added, created cut-back opportunities where, "you're reading the holes and gaps, and when you see it, hit it. Try to make a play."

On the game's opening possession, Maryland drove inside the Indiana 15-yard line, missed an open receiver in the end zone, and then a field goal.

IU used seven-straight runs via the Wildcat formation to produce a touchdown, capped by Scott's 3-yard scoring run, for a 7-0 late-first-quarter lead.

The Hoosier defense came up with a pair of first-half interceptions, by Mullen and Williams, but couldn't convert them into points.

One reason -- Williams fumbled at the end of his 43-yard return, and Maryland recovered. It's the second-straight game IU has fumbled an interception return.

"That's frustrating," Allen said. "We have to have better ball security."

The Terrapins got a field goal late in the second quarter for a 7-3 halftime score.

IU opened the third quarter with a 17-yard pass from Penix to Whop Philyor, and a 19-yard Scott run to drive inside the Maryland 5-yard line. The Hoosiers were stopped when a fourth-and-2 run couldn't produce a first down.

However, on the Terrapins' next play, linebacker D.K. Bonhomme sacked Tagovailoa in the end zone for a safety and a 9-3 lead.

IU was driving late in the third quarter when Penix was hurt. Tuttle replaced him. Two direct snaps to Scott produced a rushing touchdown. Tuttle's two-point conversion pass to tight end Peyton Hendershot made it 17-3.

Charles Campbell added a 33-yard field goal to make it 20-3 early in the fourth quarter. Scott's 2-yard TD run made it 27-3.

Maryland got a 43-yard touchdown pass and a conversion pass in the final 92 seconds for the final 27-11 score.

Next up – a Saturday trip to No. 16 Wisconsin (2-1).

"We had to respond and bounce back (from the Ohio State loss)," Mullen said. "Everyone knows we left it on the field. We moved on from that. We had to respond the right way and get the W."