Indiana Suffers Loss to No. 5 Ohio State

Saturday, October 23

Bloomington, Ind.

7:30 PM

Indiana University

2-5 , 0-4

#5/5 Ohio State

6-1 , 4-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Ohio St.

Indiana

10/23/2021 11:20:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes ---WATCH | Tom Allen Postgame Press Conference WATCH | Micah McFadden Postgame Press Conference

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It will get better for Indiana football.

Fifth-ranked Ohio State excellence collided with Indiana vulnerability at sold-out Memorial Stadium Saturday night and the result was a nationally televised 54-7 Buckeye victory. They scored the game's final 47 points.

"It was ugly," head coach Tom Allen said. "Painful. Not good."

In the aftermath, facing a 2-5 record, linebacker Micah McFadden pushed a moving-on message.

"We've got to fix it. It's a start to a new season. We're moving on to the next game.

"We're better than this. We know that. We have to come back ready to play. We have to step up and find a way to win a game."

In the aftermath, Allen again emphasized his belief in his team.

"We don't have a choice (but to bounce back)," he said. "We're nowhere close to what we thought it was going to be.

"I'm proud of the guys for staying together. They will continue to do so.

"Challenges are there. L-E-O (Love Each Other) is the foundation. Injuries continue to mount. The disappointments continue. You fall back on who you are and what you're made of.

"As tough as tonight was, you put it in the trash and press on."

The brutal schedule will soften. Sixth-ranked Michigan (7-0) is the only remaining Top-10 team. Purdue (4-3) is ranked No. 25, but will fall out of the polls after Saturday's loss to Wisconsin.

As for the game …

Jack Tuttle joined the growing injured-IU-quarterback list after taking a big shot from a couple of Buckeyes while throwing a 7-yard first-quarter touchdown pass to tight end Peyton Hendershot. He suffered a lower leg injury.

He missed the next couple of series, returned for one series, and didn't play the rest of the game. He finished 4-for-7 for 41 yards and a touchdown.

"He did a great job while he was in there," Allen said. "X-rays were negative. He was in a lot of pain."

As for Tuttle's status for next week's game at Maryland, "We don't know," Allen said.

True freshman Donaven McCulley replaced him and went 1-for-6 for 30 yards. That included his first college completion, a 30-yard connection to Ty Fryfogle early in the third quarter.

Mainly playing out of the run-pass option, he ran 11 times for nine yards.

"We had some concerns of him being ready," Allen said. "He has to grow.

"We didn't want to put him in a bad spot and have him make complex reads. We wanted him to focus on small things.

"It was a way to protect him."

Walk-on quarterback Grant Gremel also played and was 3-for-4 for nine yards.

"Jack was out so early that it put us in a position we didn't want to be in," Allen said. "That's why we put Grant in. (McCulley) wasn't here in the spring. He didn't have enough reps. We have to address that moving forward.

"Grant has been here longer. He knows (the playbook and reads) better. We have to come up with expanded plays for (McCulley)."

IU recruited for quarterback depth, but injuries shredded it.

Third-string Dexter Williams II tore his ACL in the offseason. Starter Michael Penix Jr. injured his left (throwing) shoulder against Penn State in early October. Then Tuttle got crunched.

That left McCulley, a four-star, dual-threat prospect out of Indianapolis who hadn't thrown an official forward college pass until Saturday night, and Gremel, a redshirt sophomore from Noblesville with one game on his resume, last month against Idaho.

Gremel played, Allen said, because "There were times we felt Donaven was rattled. We wanted to get him calmed down. He did some positive things.

"Grant has taken some reps in practice. He can throw.

"There was never a thought we'd be in this situation going into the season. We've got one healthy scholarship quarterback left. We've got to battle. Next man up."

The defense, so good the previous week against Michigan State, was no match for the Big Ten's best offense (48.5-points-a-game average), especially with standout cornerbacks Tiawan Mullen and Reese Taylor sidelined for the second-straight week with injuries.

"Not having them makes a major difference in our defense, especially with those receivers," Allen said.

"But I expected us to play better."

In Ohio State's first nine possessions, it had seven touchdowns, one field goal, and one punt. It totaled 539 yards, 352 passing yards and 31 first downs. It averaged 7.8 yards a play -- 5.8 yards per carry, 12.6 yards per completion.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud was 21-for-28 for 266 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Eleven receivers caught at least one pass. Jaxon Smith-Njigba led with six catches for 99 yards.

"They hit us on some gashes," McFadden said. "Their receivers made plays. Their quarterback made plays.

"It hurts. It's sad we didn't play better."

Added Allen: "That quarterback, with the way he's playing, it's impressive. They have a lot of talent. We saw a lot of it tonight."

The Buckeyes (6-1) protected Stroud (he was only sacked once) and opened large holes for the rushing attack.

"We did blitz some," McFadden said. "They honed in on it well. We didn't get the pressure we needed. We didn't get in (Stroud's) face as much as we should have.

"Their offensive line did a good job of moving us off the ball. We could have done a better job. They blocked hard. They ran hard. We didn't tackle well."

IU's focus on preventing explosive plays left it vulnerable for everything else.

"We should have been more aggressive," Allen said.

IU gained 75 yards on its first possession with Tuttle at quarterback, lost 21 yards on its next six. It finished with 128 total yards.

"Without Jack," Allen said, "it wasn't quite the same."

IU gave up a touchdown on the game's opening possession. Tuttle was sacked on the Hoosiers' first offensive play.

Then he went to work.

He hit Hendershot with consecutive first-down producing passes, then connected with Miles Marshall for 12 yards and another first down. McCulley came in for a 15-yard run before Tuttle connected with Hendershot for a touchdown pass on third-and-7 for a 7-7 tie.

But Tuttle paid the big-hit price.

McCulley replaced him and slipped for a six-yard loss, then threw consecutive incompletions under pressure.

The Hoosiers punted, and the rout was on.

"A lot of times," McFadden said, "guys felt they should have made the play. A lot of times, we were in great position. We didn't come up with the play."