Rapid Reaction: Indiana wins 35-0 over Rutgers for first Big Ten win
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana wasn’t expected to have any problem with struggling Rutgers on Saturday, and it didn’t. Right from the first play, Indiana was in total control and won 35-0.
It was the first Big Ten win for the Hoosiers and they are now 4-2 overall. Rutgers, which has all sorts of problems and has already fired its head coach, had no answer all day and gained only 75 yards. Indiana had 557,
The rout was on from the very first play, where Indiana defensive tackle Demarcus Elliott stripped Rutgers quarterback Johnny Langan and linebacker Raekwon Jones picked it and scampered in for a 17-yard score on the fastest score in IU history.
Rutgers never threatened and struggled to move the ball all day. They completed only 5 passes and for a total of just 1 yard. They were 0-for-11 on third down — and 0-for-1 on fourth down. They got as close as the Indiana 24-yard line once in the second quarter, but then lost yardage on three straight plays.
Indiana's offense was spectacular, especially in the running game. The Hoosiers had a season-high 260 yards rushing, led by sophomore Stevie Scott, who had 164 yards. Michael Penix Jr. was 20 of 29 passing for 282 yards and three touchdowns.
Whop Philyor had 10 catches for 182 yards and became the first Indiana player to ever have double-digit receptions in back-to-back games. He now has four such games in his career, which is also a school record.
Indiana next travels to Maryland for a 3:30 p.m. ET game next Saturday.
Indiana Hoosiers running back Stevie Scott III (8) is tackled by Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Malik Dixon (15) during the second half of the game at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
EARLIER: Live blog and commentary
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The setup: Indiana vs. Rutgers
INDIANA: The Hoosiers are 3-2 on the season, but 0-2 in the Big Ten, having lost to Ohio State and Michigan State.
RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights are 1-4 and 0-2 in the league as well, and has really been struggling. Rutgers coach Chris Ash already has been fired in midseason, and Nunzio Campanile is the interim coach. He lost his debut 48-7 to Maryland last week.
WEATHER: The gametime temperature is 46 degrees with sunny skies
The game: FIRST QUARTER
15:00: Rutgers won the toss and elected to receive, which is rare these days. Presuming they didn't want Indiana's offense to score first.
14:50. Well, that didn't take long. On the very first play of the game, Demarcus Elliott drills Rutgers quarterback Johnny Langan and IU linebacker Raekwon Jones goes 17 yards for a scoop-and-score. That's the FIFTH defensive touchdown in the Tom Allen era since 2016. SCORE: Indiana 7, Rutgers 0.
13:01: And just like that, Indiana's quick-strike offense does exactly that. Redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. found junior wide receiver Whop Philyor open in the right flat. He escaped a defender and scampered down the right sideline for a 56-yard gain, getting caught from behind at the 14. But on the next play, Penix hit tight end Peyton Hendershot for a 14-yard touchdown. SCORE: Indiana 14, Rutgers 0.
Here's the highlight on Whop's long catch, courtesy of the Big Ten Network:
Here's the highlight of the Hendershot touchdown, courtesy of the Big Ten Network:
8:08: Nick Westbrook has found the end zone for Indiana and it's now 21-0. Penix found him open on the right side, and Westbrook split two defenders on his way into the end zone. It was a 19-yard score, and it was Westbrook's 15th career touchdown reception, which is good for NINTH all-time for Indiana. SCORE: Indiana 21, Rutgers 0.
Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Nick Westbrook (15) celebrates a touchdown during the first quarter of the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
4:53: Just when it looked like Rutgers might get some points, the Indiana defense stepped up to deny them any points. A long run of 28 yards by Isaih Pacheco — plus a stupid late hit penalty by Juwan Burgess — got them into Indiana territory. They got to the IU 24-yard line, but then lost yards on three straight plays to turn the ball over. SCORE: Indiana 21, Rutgers 0.
MY TWO CENTS: One thing Indiana's defense has to avoid in big games go forward are dumb penalties. Burgess had no business hitting Pacheco late in a game that's already out of control. That needs to be addressed with him. Does sitting him for a series or two send a message?
2:43: Michael Penix has been very good with the football since throwing two interceptions in the season opener, but he had a bad pick late in the first quarter when he stared down receiver David Ellis and got picked off. He's been good about not forcing the ball, but this was a bad decision. SCORE, Indiana 21, Rutgers 0.
0:00: The quarter ends with Penix completing 7 of 9 passes for 124 yards and two scores. Indiana outgunned Rutgers 154 yards to 21.
NOTE: That early touchdown by Reakwon Jones was the fastest score in Memorial Stadium history, coming just 10 seconds into the game. It was also the first time Indiana had scored on the first play of the game since the Illinois game in 2004.
The game: SECOND QUARTER
14:37: Indiana was forced to punt. I wonder if that's the only time that will happen today.
13:25: Marcelino Ball is having a big game on defense for Indiana, which is good to see. He's been surprisingly quiet so far this year, but he's been very disruptive on several blitzes so far today. This defense really needs him to step up.
13:13 Indiana has turned the ball over for the second time in the game. This time it's on a fumble by true freshman Sampson James on the first play of the drive. Indiana's defense has stopped Rutgers again after a turnover, so the Hoosiers have been fortunate that these turnovers haven't cost them more.
MY TWO CENTS: Even in a rout, you still don't want to see all these turnovers. That's something that can really come back to haunt them down the road. Clean it up.
10:13: A good Rutgers punt has Indiana buried at the 3-yard line to start this drive. The Hoosiers did get one first down to give them a little breathing room, but were forced to punt when the drive ended on a deflected pass on third down. Good field position for Rutgers, though, after a 33-yard punt by Haydon Whitehead.
6:11: No worries for Indiana. Rutgers loses yardage on all three plays, with a sack by Cam Jones on third down ending the drive. Indiana's pressure on Langan has been very good all day.
5:26: Stevie Scott had a nice 26-yard run, which we've been waiting to see all year. Indiana's running game hasn't been very good this year so far, and what's been missing are the big plays in the running game.
2:12: We've been waiting for Indiana to hit a few deep bombs in the passing game and it's finally happened. Penix and Philyor connected on a 54-yard pass deep down the right side. That's 122 yards for Philyor already, and it's back-to-back 100-yard games for him. That's the first time an IU receiver has done that since 2016.
1:59: Penix and Philyor connected again on a deep ball, but this one was ugly and took a replay review to make it count. Philyor was wide open running down the middle of the field, but Penix under threw him badly. Philyor had to come back for the ball and made a catch, but it was ruled incomplete on the field. The review overturned it. That's a WHOPping 154 yards receiving now.
0:43: Indiana's long drive ends with no points when they are stopped on fourth down on a Ronnie Walker run.
MY TWO CENTS: Why don't you just add on with points and kick a few goal there? Didn't make sense, especially since IU still had a timeout to use to think it over. Oh, well.
0:00: The half ends with Indiana leading 21-0. The Hoosiers went scoreless in the second quarter and didn't get anything out of six straight possession.
The game: THIRD QUARTER
15:00: Indiana to receive the second-half kickoff. The Hoosiers' offense has gone silent the last quarter and change, so it will be nice to see something happen right out of the box.
14:22 Stevie Scott is having himself a day — finally. The running back just broke a 57-yard run, his longest of the season. On the second play of the drive, Scott went over 100 yards for the eighth time in his career.
12:55: Michael Penix has found another wide receiver in the end zone, and this time its Ty Fryfogle. The pair connect on a 10-yard score. The play was reviewed, and the call stood. SCORE: Indiana 28, Rutgers 0.
11:05: I'm starting to wonder if Whop Philyor needs to be on the punt return team anymore. He's too important in the passing game, and he keeps making a ton of bad decisions. This time he tried to field a weird bouncing ball and should have been tackled in the end zone for a safety. Instead, they marked the ball at the 2-yard line. Could have been a mess.
4:22: This impressive 98-yard drive concludes with a 1-yard touchdown run by freshman Sampson James. The big plays on the drive came from Scott with another long run, this time from 31 yards. Penix and Philyor hooked up again, too, connecting for an 18-yard gain to the Rutgers' 8-yard line. What an impressive drive, which took 13 plays and ate up 7 minutes and 7 seconds. SCORE: Indiana 35, Rutgers 0.
MY TWO CENTS: Here's a fun little back story. On Thursday as I was leaving Memorial Stadium, I rode down the elevator with Indiana running backs coach Mike Hart. I said to him, "So, about 155 yards for Stevie (Scott) on Saturday?'' He looked at me and said. "Could be. That would be nice.'' It has been nice. After that drive, he had 164 yards on just 12 carries. It's his best performance of the year, by far.
2:18: Michael Penix's day is done, getting replaced by Peyton Ramsey at quarterback. Penix finishes the day 20 of 29 passing for 282 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is now 3-1 as a starting quarterback.
Michael Penix threw three touchdown passes on Saturday.
0:00: The third quarter ends with Indiana still in total control. I'm assuming we're done with all the starters for the rest of the day.
The game: FOURTH QUARTER
MY TWO CENTS: Whop Philyor's 10 catches helped him break his own IU receiving record for double-digit catches in a game. He's done it two weeks in a row now, and has four for his career. No one else has more than two.
Junior wide receiver is in the record books with four double-digit reception games.
11:02: Rutgers punts for the 10th time in the game and it has failed to score a single point on its 12 drives. The Scarlet Knights also have gained 85 yards total on the game, with only 1 yard passing.
MY TWO CENTS: Indiana has done a great job with tackling today, something that's been a point of emphasis. The perfect stat to reflect that is that Rutgers has completed 5 passes in the game, but has only 1 yard total. Their longest pass reception was for 4 yards.
10:04: True freshman David Ellis is getting some carries at running back here in garbage time. That probably wouldn't have happened if Cole Gest was still around. Gest entered the transfer portal this week after sliding down the depth chart. It's a crowded running back room at Indiana.
5:58: Indiana has gone over 500 yards on this drive. An impressive performance, both on the ground and in the air.
