Live Thread: Peyton Ramsey Drive-by-Drive For Indiana
A week of uncertainty over the status of Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was finally answered when junior Peyton Ramsey — and not redshirt freshman start Michael Penix Jr. — took that first snap.
Here is our live thread on how Ramsey did drive-by-drive:
FIRST QUARTER
FIRST DRIVE: Ramsey was 6-for-8 passing for 63 yards on the first drive, but the Hoosiers had to settle for a field goal. He found Whop Philyor five times. He looked sharp, with only a bad under throw on his first toss being an issue. Nebraska 7, Indiana 3, with 8:45 to go in the first quarter.
SECOND DRIVE: Ramsey made a great throw on the run to Philyor, one four completions for first downs on the drive. The best catch was by Philyor, who tapped down a toe before going out of bounds at the 8-yard line. Ramsey scores the touchdown with his feet, running in for 8 yards on a perfectly-executed read-option. Logan Justus missed the PAT , his first miss of the season on any kick. Through two drives, he is 11-for-13 passing for 126 yards. Nebraska 14, Indiana 9, with 3:23 to go in the first quarter.
MY TWO CENTS: When Ramsey had to come in for Penix last week, everyone was so impressed with how well prepared he was, making every check and choosing every option perfectly He did a lot of that on this drive, too. The touchdown run was wide open for him after a great fake to running back Stevie Scott.
SECOND QUARTER
THIRD DRIVE: Thanks to a forced turnover by Indiana, the Hoosiers took over first-and-goal at the 8-yard line. Ramsey threw a perfect fade pass in the left corner to Ty Fryfogle. That's a great drive — one play! Ramsey not 12-for-14 passing for 134 yards, with a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. Indiana 16, Nebraska 14, with 12:19 to go in the second quarter.
FOURTH DRIVE: Indiana tried a flea-flicker for the first time all season, but it didn't work. Ramsey's pass was out of bounds slightly, probably out of safety because the receiver was covered.. He was 1-for-2 on he drive and took a sack. He made a nice run on third-and-17 but came up a little short. This was the first drive that didn't result in points. Through four drives, Ramsey is 13-for-16 for 141 yards. Indiana 16, Nebraska 14 with 8:44 to go in the second quarter.
MY TWO CENTS: Ramsey is just so accurate. Of his three incompletions, two were thrown away intentionally. The only bad throw was his very first one, which was too low. And what a tough runner he is. He almost converted a third-and-17 with his legs two weeks in a row.
FIFTH DRIVE: Ramsey and the Hoosiers started the drive with great field position at their own 47-yard line. He threw a beautiful back shoulder pass to Philyor on the first play, picking up 20 yards. The drive ends with an interception though, on a weird play. Ramsey got flushed out of the pocket, and it looked like he was going to run. He decided to throw a short pass to Philyor, but it was behind him slightly and the ball bounced into the air for the interception. Through five drives, Ramsey was 15 of 19 passing for 165 yards. Indiana 16, Nebraska 14 with 1:52 to go in the second quarter.
MY TWO CENTS: It's a shame that Indiana's defense didn't pick him up. They let Nebraska go right down the field and score in a minute with a third-string quarterback in the game. It's halftime in Lincoln. Nebraska 21, Indiana 16.
Lincoln, NE, USA; Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Whop Philyor (1) catches the pass against Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker Collin Miller (31) and cornerback DiCaprio Bootle (23) in the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports
THIRD QUARTER
SIXTH DRIVE: Ramsey had an impressive drive, especially since he took a huge hit to the chest by a Nebraska defender. He was 4-for-7 for 45 yards on the drive, which stalled after a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Philyor. After six drives, Ramsey is 19-for-26 passing. Nebraska 21, Indiana 16.
SEVENTH DRIVE: Indiana got a huge break after a 19-yard punt by Nebraska, and had great field position to start the drive at the Nebraska 25. The big play was a pass to Philyor down to the 1 and then David Ellis scored his first touchdown of the season. IU went for two and Ramsey hit tight end Peyton Hendershot on the conversion Through seven drives, Ramsey is 21 of 28 passing for 236 yards. Indiana 24, Nebraska 21 with 7:30 to go in the third quarter.
EIGHTH DRIVE: This might have been Ramsey's best drive of the day, partly because of its importance after Nebraska had just tied the game at 24-all, but mostly because he made some great throws. He hit Hendershot right in stride on a seam route that went for 40 yards and then at the goal line out of a three tight end set, he hit Matt Bjorson on a quite out route for a score right at the end of the quarter. Through eight drives and three quarters, Ramsey is 23-for-31 passing for 278 yards and two touchdowns through the air, plus his rushing touchdown That's five scores in eight drives now. Indiana 31, Nebraska 24 at the end of three quarters.
FOURTH QUARTER
NINTH DRIVE: An early holding penalty could have messed up this possession from the start, but Ramsey went deep to Ty Fryfogle for a 30-yard reception, which was huge. Ramsey hasn't been as accurate on long balls this year, but this one was perfect. He also took a shot into the end zone for Nick Westbrook and had the ball on his hands, but Westbrook couldn't come up with it. Indiana had a fourth-and-7 situation and went for it, converting when Ramsey found Philyor on a crossing route. Stevie Scott scored from 10 yards out for a huge touchdown. Ramsey finished the drive at 25-for-36 passing for 323 yards. That fourth-down conversion might have been season-defining. Indiana 38, Nebraska 24 with 12:08 to go in the fourth quarter.
TENTH DRIVE: After a Nebraska touchdown, the pressure was back on again. On third-and-3, he found Scott open on the left side, and with busted coverage, he took it up the sideline for 23 yards. They couldn't convert on the next third down, though, forcing a punt. That's a tough one in a one-score game. But they buried Nebraska at the 4, so now it's on the defense. He's now 27 of 39 passing for 351 yards. Indiana 38, Nebraska 31 with 6:36 to go in the fourth quarter.
ELEVENTH DRIVE: Ramsey used his legs once again to save the day for Indiana. On huge third-and-7 play with 3:10 to go, he ran after he got flushed out the pocket and got the first down. That basically closed it out for Indiana.
Background on status of quarterbacks
Penix, who won the job in fall camp over junior incumbent Peyton Ramsey, left last week's game with Maryland early in the second quarter after he came up wobbly from a big hit. Ramsey finished the game and played well, leading the Hoosiers to a 34-28 victory.
Penix, who practiced later in the week, according to Allen, was on the field for pregame workouts and seemed to through most warmup drills.
Indiana has been overly cautious with Penix all season. During the second week of the season against Eastern Illinois, he suffered a shoulder injury and wound up missing two-plus games. He returned to play well on Sept. 28 against Michigan State, but then left last week's game. He has played in only 15 of 28 quarters this season.
Penix is 100-for-145 passing for 1,232 yards so far this season. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes and four interceptions.
Ramsey, the junior from Cincinnati who was making his 19th career start, is 79 of 107 for 843 yards with six touchdown passes and two interceptions. He started all 12 games a year ago, so he is used to playing in hostile environments. This is Indiana's first trip to Lincoln since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2010.
This story will be updated throughout the day.
