Rapid Reaction: Indiana Hangs On To Beat Maryland For Fifth Win
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Peyton Ramsey isn't the starting quarterback at Indiana anymore, but you would never know it during the week. He prepares for every game as if he is the starter, just in case.
Well, that case came again on Saturday against Maryland, and Ramsey delivered in a big way when redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. went down with an injury early in the second quarter. Ramsey was terrific, completing 20 of 27 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown and getting critical yardage with his feet as well.
All that was the difference in Indiana's 34-28 win, the Hoosiers' fifth win on the season and their second straight Big Ten win. At 5-2, they can now go to Nebraska next week and chase a bowl-clinching sixth win.
Indiana had 520 yards of total offense, passing for 334 total and running for another 186. Sophomore running back Stevie Scott had a big day, rushing for 109 yards on 18 carries. Ramsey (47) and Penix (35) both had several big runs, too.
Indiana bumped its lead up to 10 points late in the third quarter on a 9-yard Stevie Scott run, going ahead 31-21.
It was up to the defense to finish it off, and they did that with two huge fourth-quarter turnovers. Cornerback Juwan Burgess forced a fumble and recovered it and then Reese Taylor picked off an overthrown deep ball in the final minute to close out the game.
Indiana running back Stevie Scott had 109 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns. (USA TODAY)
FROM EARLIER DURING OUR LIVE BLOG:
The setup: Indiana vs. Maryland
INDIANA: The Hoosiers are 4-2 on the season, and 1-2 in the Big Ten, having lost to Ohio State and Michigan State.
MARYLAND: The Terrapins are 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the league as well. Their lone Big Ten win is also over Rutgers, which doesn't tell us much about either team. The Terrapins are banged up, especially at the skill positions. Backup quarterback Tyrell Pigrome is expected to get the start with Josh Jackson still recovering from a high ankle sprain.
WEATHER: The gametime temperature is 63 degrees with partly sunny skies.
UNIFORMS: The Hoosiers are going all white today, with the red helmets.
BREAKING NEWS: Center Hunter Littlejohn is dressed and warming up with the starting offensive linemen. He was a game-time decision after getting hurt last week against Rutgers.
The game: FIRST QUARTER
COIN FLIP: Senior offensive lineman Coy Cronk was a captain again for the Hoosiers. He went out to midfield using his scooter. He's still recovering from season-ending surgery. Maryland won the toss and deferred. So Indiana will get the ball first.
15:00: Well, that was easy. Indiana scored in just five plays. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. broke a big run on the first play on a read option, gaining 17 yards. Harry Crider did move over from guard though to play center for Littlejohn. Simon Stepaniak flipped over from right guard to take Crider's spot at left guard.
13:03: Indiana jumps ahead 7-0 when senior wide receiver Donovan Hale won a jump ball in the corner of the end zone for a 28-yard score. Logan Justus with the PAT to remain perfect on the season. Score: Indiana 7, Maryland 0.
11:18: Maryland is gashing Indiana pretty well on the ground during this first drive. Jason Leake has had a pair of 7-yard runs, with much of the yardage coming after contact. It's third-and-1 at the Indiana 25 and IU was forced to call a timeout when Maryland went tempo.
11:02: Indiana got a huge break on that third-down play. The spot was terrible, forcing Maryland into a fourth-down situation. A quarterback sneak for a yard made it moot, thought. First down Maryland.
9:41: Maryland backup quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome is known more as a runner than a thrower, but his pass to tight end Chicoziem Okonkwo (yeah, I had to look it up to spell it right) was very impressive. They struck from 11 yards out to tie the game just that quickly. Indiana had three penalties for 40 yards on that drive, which just can't happen. Score: Indiana 7, Maryland 7.
MY TWO CENTS: One the things I really like about Michael Penix Jr. is that he doesn't get flustered in the pocket. Maryland put some heat on him, but he just re-set his feet and ripped a pass over the middle to Nick Westbrook for 15 yards. He's got such a strong arm, and a very quick release.
6:31: Stevie Scott bangs it home from the 3-yard line, powering over the left side for a touchdown. It was a nice 8-play, 75-yard drive for the Hoosiers. Penix has been really good so far. He's 7-for-8 passing for 106 yards and has the three runs for 33 yards. Score: Indiana 14, Maryland 7.
5:34: Indiana gets a three-and-out, which seems like breaking serve in tennis right there . Seems like the two offenses have a big edge today.
4:06: And Maryland breaks right back ... (Note to self: No more tennis analogies.) Maryland takes over on its own 26 after the punt by Haydon Whitehead.
1:13: Maryland went for it on fourth-and-1 again, but Indiana was ready for the QB sneak this time. That's a huge swing with Indiana taking over on the Maryland 48. Hoosiers need to capitalize on that.
0:00: The quarter ends on a scramble by Penix, but he got clobbered by a Maryland defender and looked a little wobbly when he got up. Uh, oh. END OF QUARTER. Score: Indiana 14, Maryland 7.
The game: SECOND QUARTER
15:00: Penix is back out there, and he rips a pass to Whop Philyor. A huge sigh of relief there.
14:22: Indiana goes for it on fourth-and-1 and makes it with Stevie Scott. Stevie does get the tough yards.
13:38 Penix finds Hendershot wide open on the right side but on the next play, his throw goes off the hands of Hendershot in the end zone and pops up in the air and turns into a Maryland interception. That's a dagger right there. Maryland has a turnover in 19 straight games now, the third-longest streak in the country. Indiana had a similar streak end earlier this year.
12:05: And just a minute later, a REAL dagger as Javon Leake goes 60 yards on a run right up the middle. Bad run fits up front, and no one there at the next level to do anything. That was a fast four-play, 80-yard drive. Score: Indiana 14, Maryland 14.
MY TWO CENTS: We had to worry about Maryland's explosiveness coming into this game and Leake just showed us why. That was Maryland's fifth play of 50 yards or more this season, which is No. 1 in the country. The was a huge turnaround, from what looked like 21-7, but instead is 14-all.
12:00: Bad news, the tent is up behind Indiana's bench and Penix is nowhere to be seen. Peyton Ramsey is in at quarterback.
10:55: Ramsey goes deep and connects with Ty Fryfogle for a gain of 29 yards down the left sideline. The game plan was to look for things like that, so it's good to see Ramsey make it happen. He didn't do that against Ohio State when he had to fill in for Penix the first time this season.
8:44: Ramsey converts a critical third-and-5, hitting Stevie Scott in the flat. First-and-goal at the 4-yard line. Meanwhile, Penix is out of the tent but heading right to the locker room. This is not good.
7:36: Drive ends on a rollout by Ramsey, where his pass intended for Hendershot was batted away. Ramsey should have run. Logan Justus makes the field goal to remain perfect. That's 8 field goals and 25 extra points now without a miss. Score: Indiana 17, Maryland 14.
5:46. Pigrome goes deep again and connects for 40 yards. That's been something of a surprise, his accurate passing. He hadn't shown that before. He's 6-for-8 for 82 yards already.
4:09: And then Pigrome throws a perfect pass to the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown. The 15-yard touchdown pass was completed to Dontay Demus Jr., and Maryland takes the lead. The momentum has completely flipped. Score: Maryland 21, Indiana 17.
MY TWO CENTS: In 10 quarters against quality Big Ten teams — which excludes Rutgers — Indiana's defensive unit has given up 106 points this season. That's just totally unacceptable.
0:24: This might be overstating it, but that just might be a SEASON-DEFINING drive by Peyton Ramsey. He ran the 2-minute drill to perfection and then hit Nick Westbrook in the end zone for a touchdown. It was a tremendous catch by Westbrook. Indiana needs a touchdown so bad there, and they got it. Momentum swings back to Indiana. Score: Indiana 24, Maryland 21.
HALFTIME. Score: Indiana 24, Maryland 21.
College Park, MD, USA; Indiana Hoosiers defensive back Jaylin Williams (23) reacts after breaking up a pass intended for Maryland Terrapins tight end Tyler Mabry (81) during the second half at Capital One Field.
The game: THIRD QUARTER
15:00: OK, we're back, but Michael Penix is not. Indiana's media relations staff has called his return "questionable. '' Ramsey was at QB on Indiana's first drive of the half, but it ended with a punt after a conversion on third down was called back on a holding penalty.
NOTE: I have started a separate story on the Penix injury, but I'll keep you updated here as well. It's updated through halftime, and I'll have much more after the game, of course.
10:24: Maryland takes over and the two teams have swapped punts. Indiana's defense has a lead to protect. It needs to get done. Indiana stops them on third-and-7 when Jaylin Williams broke up a pass and forced a punt. That's two straight three-and-outs for the Hoosiers.
6:25: Another punt/punt situation. That's four straight drives this half, two each, that have ended in punts. Defenses are taking over after allowing 45 points combined in the first half.
5:28: Marcelino Ball has really upped his game the last couple of weeks. He gets a huge sack there, catching Pigrome from behind to force another punt. I'm not sure we've had five punts in a quarter in an IU game all year. Punts 5, Points 0 this quarter.
4:41: Huge run there by Stevie Scott, breaking free for 27 yards. We're starting to see more chunk plays out of the running game the past few weeks, and that's huge, especially now with Penix out. Huge drive here for Indiana, Need 7, not 3. Or, even worse, zero.
2:32. And SEVEN it is! A huge run there by Scott again, breaking tackles on his way into the end zone on a 9-yard run. That was a Stevie Scott drive there, and that's really good to see. It's big to be able to grind out yards in the second half of games. Scott ran four times for 50 yards on that drive, and Ramsey scrambled for 12 more. Score: Indiana 31, Maryland 21.
1:25: Indiana's pass rush is really starting to make a difference in this game. On second down, cornerback Jamar Johnson blitzed and sacked Pigrome. But on third-and-17 Pigrome connected with Demus for a 21-yard play. First down.
0:16: On the next play, Pigrome hit a wide-open Tyler Mabry and he went 51 yards. It was originally ruled a touchdown but was reversed on review. There's another play of more than 50 yards, best in the nation for Maryland.
0:01: Javon Leake, who's having a career day, went around the left side and reached the ball across the goal line for a touchdown. Score: Indiana 31, Maryland 28.
MY TWO CENTS: That third-and-17 play just might come back to haunt Indiana. You've got to get off the field there in that situation. Maryland punts and you have a 10-point lead and the ball.
0:00: This is all falling apart quickly for the Hoosiers. David Ellis fumbles on the kick return and the ball goes all the way back to the 4-yard line, The Hoosiers will start the fourth quarter buried deep in their own territory.
END OF THREE: Score: Indiana 31, Maryland 28.
The game: FOURTH QUARTER
15:00: OK, we're back. Going to be a season-defining quarter for sure.
14:19: Ramsey gets Indiana out of its hole in a hurry. First he scrambled for 3yards and then hits a wide-open Hendershot over the middle for 22 yards. Deep breath allowed.
11:35: Nick Westbrook just jumped offside, making it second-and-11 now. Too many penalties today.
11:35: IU uses its second timeout too. That might be one they need later.
10:39: On third-and-11, Ramsey took off running and knocked over a tackler to get the first down. That was huge — and courageous. First down, Hoosiers.
8:39: It's third-and-3 and Indiana chooses to run the ball. It doesn't work, and Indiana is forced to punt. Probably got a little too conservative there, especially with the ball on the Maryland 40. Maryland's ball now, and it's still a 3-point game.
7:56: Welcome to Indiana football. We've seen this over and over for years. Now it's time for this defense to make a stand. Maryland converts on third-and-2. That's one.
5:22: Indiana's pressure once again comes through. It forced a quick pass on second down and a check-down on third. Maryland forced to punt. Wow. Great defensive stand by Indiana when it really needed it.
MY TWO CENTS: The defense did its job, now it's on the offense to get a couple of first downs and ice this thing. Maryland does have all three timeouts left, so it's going to take at least three first downs to seal the deal. Points would be nice too. First-and-10 at the IU 28.
4:30: Two Stevie Scott runs to start the drive. Again, WAY TOO conservative. Third-and-5 play. Bad pass into the flat, and the possession ends with a three-and-out. Punt, and a great one by Whitehead, a 48-yarder with no return.
3:50: Maryland takes over down 3 points, starts at its own 18-yard line. On the first play, a pass to Leake out in the flat turned into Indiana's biggest forced turnover of the season when Juwan Burgess knocked the ball loose and recovered the fumble. The play was reviewed, and the call was confirmed.
2:53: Indiana went nowhere and had another three-and-out. They ran on first down with Scott, threw a pass with no success on second, and then Ramsey kept it on third for no gain. Didn't like that play-calling at all either. Logan Justus kicks a 34-yard field goal, and now the lead is 6. Score: Indiana 34, Maryland 28.
MY TWO CENTS: And welcome BACK to Indiana football. Once again, the defense will need to come through. Being up 6 beats being up 3, but there's still a lot of work to do.
2:49: First-and-10 for Maryland at the 25. Screen pass on first down was snuffed out, but Maryland was called for an illegal block, moving the ball back to the 12. Pigrome went for all of it on the next play, going deep down the middle but it was overthrown.
2:39: Second-and-24 was completed in the left flat for a short gain, but Marcelino Ball was called for defensive holding, giving Maryland a first down.
1:42: A pass and short run gets another first down for Maryland. The Terps use their second timeout to regroup. First-and-10 at the Maryland 37.
MY TWO CENTS: So worried about a Maryland chunk play. As we've mentioned, they lead the country in plays of 50 yards or more.
1:31: More pressure for Indiana makes it third-and-10. Huge play. Pigrome's pass is complete over the middle, but only for 7 yards. It's fourth-and-3 and the clock was running, so Maryland took its final timeout. Pigrome scrambles for 4, and gets the first down.
1:00: Pigrome throws long and its intercepted by Reese Taylor. And Indiana is going to win.
It's a final! Story to be updated soon
