Report Card: Hoosiers Win the Bucket, but it Wasn’t Pretty
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Saturday's Old Oaken Bucket game had it all. Big plays, big hits, great comebacks and a wild double-overtime finish, where Indiana got the Bucket back with a 44-41 win over Purdue.
With the win, the Hoosiers finish the regular season with an 8-4 record, it's first eight-win season in 26 years. A bowl game awaits, with the destination determined next Sunday.
Here’s how the Hoosiers graded out in my 12th and final regular season Report Card:
Rushing offense: B-plus
Stevie Scott couldn’t go against Purdue because of a lower leg injury, so true freshman Sampson James got his first career start. He didn’t disappoint, rushing for 118 yards on 22 carries before leaving with an ankle injury himself early in the fourth quarter.
James has a very bright future, but he did a great job in the present, too. He’s learned a lot behind Scott this year, and has really improved his all-around game. He played a huge role early in setting the tone for Indiana’s offense, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Peyton Ramsey had two rushing touchdowns, further proof that Indiana’s offensive line very good at gettting a push on QB keepers.
Passing offense: A-minus
Peyton Ramsey threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns, and it was nice having his favorite receiver, Whop Philyor, back on the field. After missing a game and a half with a concussion, Philyor had a huge day. Making eight catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns, pushing over 1,000 yards for the season.
The only ding on the mark is that the offensive line gave up five sacks, their worst performance of the year.
Rush defense: D-plus
Indiana was awful defensively, in every way possible. Stopping the run was difficult for two reasons, and they are the two things Indiana’s coaches always talk about — run fits, and secure tackling.
Both were awful, which is why Zander Horvath, who had only rushed for 213 yards all year, torched the Hoosiers for 164 yards on 23 carries. That’s 7.1 yards per carry, and a lot of that came after first contact. Indiana’s tackling was terrible, and Horvath broke several tackles. This wasn’t good.
Pass defense: D-plus
Indiana’s secondary had its share of problems for the second straight week, allowing third-string walk-on quarterback Aidan O’Connell to throw for 408 yards. That’s ridiculous. This defense has clearly been regressing the past month or so.
My complaints aren’t solely with the secondary, of course, because Indiana is getting zero pressure on the quarterback. This defensive line, which showed some promise earlier in the season, has been devoid of big plays later.
Special teams: D-plus
What can you say about Logan Justus. The fifth-year senior has been a Groza Award nominee two years in a row and he hadn’t missed a field goal year. That was until Saturday, when he missed THREE makeable field goal attempts, which was so bad that he was replaced by Charles Campbell, who made his only kick, a huge one.
It really put a dampter on his great season, especially when it looked like all his misses were going to allow Purdue to come back and steal this game. Otherwise, punter Haydon Whitehead was great, as were return guys David Ellis and Reese Taylor. They saved the F.
Coaching: B-plus
This is a hard grade. The Hoosiers won the Old Oaken Bucket, so I started with an A. Then I thought about the 589 yards the defense allowed and the 18-point lead they gave way, and changed it to a C.
But then I looked at the overtime, and both sides of the ball made plays to secure the win. And what was best about the OT? They were all well-prepared and they never panicked. They were cool and collected, whch is a sign of a well-coached team. So I moved it to B, and then added a plus, just for being able to hold that Bucket.
Intangibles: A
It’s really hard to win a rivalry game on the road, but the Hoosiers did just that. Sure, they did it the hard way, blowing an 18-point lead and needing overtime heroics to pull it out, but as I said above, they also never panicked.
This team believes in one another, and they care so much about each other. It was a real thrill watching them celebrate on the field and in the locker room.
