Indiana Beats Akron 29-27 in 4-Overtime Thriller
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Unbelievable.
That's the only way to describe what happened in Bloomington on Saturday. Facing coach Joe Moorhead and the Akron Zips (0-4), coach Tom Allen and the Indiana Hoosiers (2-2, 0-1 B1G) were expected to cruise to an easy nonconference win.
Instead, IU was caught in a dogfight with Akron for 60 minutes and then some. The game almost completely fell out of the Hoosiers' hands late, but they somehow recovered to win 29-27 in four overtimes.
Perhaps the game's kickoff time getting delayed 20 minutes due to a weather delay in the Nebraska-Louisiana Tech game caused Indiana's player to come out sleepy.
The IU offense received the ball first and immediately sent it back to Akron following a three-and-out. The Zips then proceeded to move the ball down the field with ease, gaining 48 yards on seven plays on their way to the Indiana 31-yard line. That's when Phillip Dunnam — Indiana's takeaway specialist — picked off his third different quarterback of the season, stepping in front of an errant pass from D.J. Irons.
Unfortunately for Indiana, that takeaway would not kickstart its lacking offense. Neither the Hoosiers nor Akron scored any points during the entire first quarter, and instead traded punts and turnovers on downs.
It wasn't until early in the second quarter when Tayven Jackson connected with Cam Camper on a gorgeous deep ball toward the sideline that the IU offense finally breathed to life. Camper gained 40 yards on that play and was the best offensive player for the Hoosiers on Saturday, finishing with four catches for 103 yards and a touchdown. The long ball from Jackson eventually set up a Christian Turner touchdown to put Indiana up 7-0.
It looked like Indiana might start pouring it on against their MAC opponents, as the first touchdown of the game was immediately followed by another Irons' interception, this time picked off by Louis Moore. That takeaway set the IU offense up inside the Akron 5-yard line with an easy opportunity to go up 14-0 in hand.
They did not do that.
Instead, Indiana failed on four consecutive plays to punch it into the end zone. The final two were wildcat draws to former high school quarterback Donaven McCulley, both of which failed. Immediately, haunting memories of the previous week, when Indiana fell short on a fourth-and-goal with the game on the line vs Louisville, were brought back.
Akron's offense couldn't do much after the goal line stand, but it would soon get help from Indiana, as Jackson gunned a terrible interception on the next possession. The Hoosier defense once again held strong and kept Akron to a field goal, making it 7-3 IU entering the half.
Things only got more bleak for Allen and Co. at the start of the third quarter. Irons and the Akron offense came out of the gates firing and put together their best drive of the game. The Zips moved 74 yards in nine plays, and the quarterback punched it in on the ground to make it 10-7 Akron.
Moorhead and his team then took a play from Allen's book, and went for an onside kick immediately after taking their first lead of the game. It was a complete curveball that caught Indiana totally off-guard, and resulted in a recovery and extra possession for the Zips.
Again, defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri and his unit came through, forcing a turnover on downs to limit the damage. Yet, Jackson and the Indiana offense was dormant once more, and punted it straight back to Akron after three plays.
That's when Moore came through with second interception of the night, this one off a throw from backup quarterback Jeff Undercuffler Jr., who came in for the injured Irons. Moore returned the errant pass 12 yards to the end zone, handing Indiana a 14-10 lead late in the third period.
The Akron offense couldn't get anything going to make a dent in Indiana's lead for a long time, while the Hoosiers were at least able to tack on a field goal to go up 17-10. Still, Jackson and the offense were mired in a dismal offensive outing, and could never pull away as much as they wanted to.
Eventually, the Zips finally broke through with a 71-yard touchdown run from Lorenzo Lingard with just over three minutes remaining. They opted to tie the game rather than to go for two and the lead, which made it 17-17 inside Memorial Stadium.
With a horrific upset now in sight, everything began crumbling for Indiana. Jaylin Lucas made a poor choice on his kick return and lost yardage. The offense again could not sustain a drive for the full length of the field. And, having given the ball back to Akron after a punt, the defense surrendered another big run to Irons, who rumbled deep into IU territory with less than two minutes remaining.
Easily within field goal range, the Zips drained the clock until there were just five seconds left, setting up kicker Dante Jackson with a 32-yard field goal attempt to win the game as time expired. Jackson instead pushed the kick wide left, sending the 17-17 game to overtime.
Akron got the ball first in the extra period, and it appeared that the Zips had been stopped on a third down, only for Irons to make an insane scramble to the end zone. With that, Indiana trailed 24-17, needing a touchdown and an extra point to keep its hopes alive.
Just three plays later, Camper mossed a helpless Akron cornerback in the end zone, hauling in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jackson. That tied the game at 24-24 entering the second overtime period.
Indiana's offense couldn't get much going on its second overtime possession, but kicker Chris Freeman came up clutch in a big way. He nailed a 39-yard field goal to put Indiana up 27-24, giving the Hoosiers' defense a chance to game, but also leaving the door open for Akron one more time.
Irons moved the Zips within the 10-yard line, but the Akron offense just couldn't punch it in. Facing a 4th and 2 and having a chance to win the game right there, Moorhead instead opted for a chip shot field goal, which this time went through the uprights. That tied the game at 27-27 on its way to a third overtime.
Akron had the first shot at a two-point conversion to win the game, but pressure from Lanell Carr Jr. forced a pass out the back of the end zone from Irons. Indiana had a great opportunity to win the game, but Jackson didn't see a wide open Lucas on the Hoosiers' two-point attempt. Instead, the Indiana quarterback threw the ball into heavy coverage in the middle of the field, and it was knocked away
That sent the game to a fourth overtime with both teams tied at 27. This time, though, the Hoosiers cashed in on their chance. Bell went to a trick play, having Jackson motion out to a wide receiver spot, only to receive the ball back from McCulley on a lateral, and throw to Dequece Carter for the two-point conversion.
Irons then finally missed on a crucial play, having his pass batted down while trying to throw to a covered receiver in the end zone. The ball hit the turf, giving Indiana a crazy, heart-stopping 29-27 victory in four overtimes.
Related Stories on Indiana Football:
- DUNNAM INTERCEPTION: Indiana's sophomore safety picked off his third pass of the year early in the first quarter against Akron on Saturday. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Follow the coverage of Indiana vs Akron here with us at HoosiersNow.com by reading Jack Ankony's live blog. CLICK HERE
- HOW TO WATCH: Indiana football continues the 2023 season against the Akron Zips on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, the latest on the point spread, series history, coaching information and more. CLICK HERE
