BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After losing a tough battle in Happy Valley, the Hoosiers looked to bounce back into the Top 25 on Senior Night against Michigan. Indiana had not defeated the Wolverines since 1987 and looked to make history. Instead IU laid an egg and got blown out at Memorial Stadium. See below for what we learned from IU’s fourth loss of the season.
Hot Start Once Again?
IU opened the game with the ball and started out hot. The opening drive finished with a Stevie Scott TD run. Peyton Ramsey went 4-4 for 39 yards passing, 13 yards rushing, and he threw to 3 different receivers. Kalen DeBoer called 11 versatile plays in 5 minutes.
The second offensive drive started off with a really unique run-pass-option play. The injury bug hit the Hoosiers, however, as Ty Fryfogle needed help off the field. Then, Ramsey was hit hard on a throw leading to an interception. Ramsey walked off the field on his own strength. Fortunately, he ended up coming back in on the third drive.
The defense did not have the same success. On the first drive, although they made two emphatic tackles for loss, big pass plays from Patterson set up a goal-to-go and an easy TD pass to Ronnie Bell. Patterson went 7-7 for 79 yards on that TD drive and would continue to dice up the Hoosiers’ defense.
The second drive was a positive for IU’s defense as a big tackle by Juwan Burgess on an open receiver led to an incompletion followed by a Marcelino Ball sack. At the end of the first half, however, the Hoosiers cooled off and trailed 21-14.
Not Kalen DeBoer’s Best Outing
Make no mistake, Kalen DeBoer has been a critical component to the team exceeding expectations this year. However, this doesn’t mean he’s immune to criticism. Two plays stood out that highly impacted the game.
On 1st & 10 at the Michigan 49-yard line, DeBoer dialed up a slowly developing deep pass play. Defensive end Aiden Hutchinson hit Ramsey hard resulting in a Daxton Hill interception. Knowing that Michigan’s front 4 poses a significant threat to the quarterback, DeBoer’s play call put Ramsey in a tough situation.
The second play occurred after IU’s defense held Michigan to a field goal at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. Down 24-14, IU looked to score on this drive. A couple of plays later, IU faced a 3rd & 1 at Michigan’s 32-yard line. DeBoer questionably called a pass play which fell incomplete. The following 4th & 1 became 4th & 11 after a holding call on Matthew Bedford.
The Hoosiers punted and ended up with 0 points. Michigan’s offense followed up with 14 unanswered points. The Hoosiers would not score for the remainder of the game. In a game where Indiana did not have Whop, and Ty Fryfogle dealt with multiple injuries, DeBoer did not help Ramsey find easy completions. Specifically, David Ellis ended up only with 3 receptions for 36 yards, which is surprising because last week against Penn State, he totaled 7 catches for 85 yards. Eliis, filling in for Philyor, did Whop-like things early by catching a bubble screen and a deep wheel route down the sideline. His two big catches helped IU score another TD on their 3rd drive to take a 14-7 lead. Throwing quick passes to Ellis, Nick Westbrook, or Donavan Hale would have made the Hoosiers’ life easier.