My Two Cents: Hoosiers Were Horrible in Ugly Loss to Iowa, But It's Just One Game
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Every once in a while, you get stuck in one of those "boulder rolling down the hill'' games, and that's exactly what happened to the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday. They couldn't ever get out of their own way, couldn't ever find a spark to turn things around and couldn't figure out an answer to all the things that were going wrong.
And so much went wrong. Too much.
Because of that, No. 17-ranked Indiana got spanked 34-6 by No 18 Iowa at loud and raucous Kinnick Stadium. It was over before it started – Iowa had two scores in the first two minutes – and it was an incredibly deflating defeat.
There have been a lot of blowout losses in Indiana football history, and a lot of them to Iowa, for that matter. But this was different. Very different.
The difference, of course, was that the result didn't match up to the hype. Not even close. This is an Indiana team that's ranked in the preseason for the first time since 1969. So much more was expected, from fans, from players, from Tom Allen and, of course, from me.
Sure, I picked them to win, and I genuinely thought they would. But they buried themselves in a huge hole early and never recovered. There is really nothing good to say about this game except this:
It's just one game.
Knocking off the rust isn't easy
You can say all you want about football being the ultimate team game, but the spotlight shines brightest on the quarterback, and that's no different at Indiana. And for Michael Penix Jr., playing his first game after ACL surgery last November was a struggle.
Lots of people just look at the numbers, but those people don't play close attention to what's actually happening in the game. The numbers weren't good. Penix was 14-of-31 passing for 156 yards with a career-high three interceptions.
The picks were very much out of character. He had thrown only eight interceptions in his entire career, spanning 414 pass attempts over three fractured seasons.
Out of character, and not all his fault, either. Penix is a stand-up guy, and he takes responsibility for the entire offense.
That early dagger, a pick-six by Riley Moss that put Iowa ahead 14-0 just 2:15 into the game, was an accident. Indiana wide receiver D.J. Matthews slipped out of his break, and then the ball bounced up in the air off of his hands. Moss grabbed it and took it to the house.
That's not a Penix error. That's his receiver slipping, and then not catching the ball. The second interception, that was miscommunication with another receiver, Camron Buckley, another transfer playing his first game at Indiana. A busted play led to another Moss pick-six, this one for 55 yards.
And the third interception, off of a scramble, should have just been thrown away. But he didn't get much help there, either.
Throughout the game, Penix looked a little rushed all the time. That in itself is not surprising. Give credit to Iowa's defensive line, which put some heat on him. They had just one sack, but six quarterback hurries.
The game was moving a little too fast for Penix, and he ''looked out of sync,'' Allen said. You can practice all you want – especially in a blue jersey where no defender is allowed to even get close to you – but playing live with real bullets is completely different.
He was rusty, and there were communication errors. Should they happen? Of course not, but they do. They all need to be better. That's on the offensive line too, which had far too many penalties and killed drives singlehandedly with untimely calls. That Indiana had seven penalties and Iowa had only two was a huge difference in this game.
Maybe it doesn't change the result, but they were killers. Penix and the Hoosiers did move the ball several times. Penalties killed several of those drives. And there were bad breaks, too. Indiana's best receiver, Ty Fryfogle, made a nice catch over the middle and broke free, but then tripped over his own two feet at the 14-yard line and didn't score.
it was not a good start for Penix, but it's also just a start. I still feel like he'll get better every week. And for all of you already jumping off the bandwagon, that's on you. Don't give up so easily.
Defense falters early, doesn't pick up the slack
There is simply no excuse for allowing a running back to go 56 yards untouched for a touchdown, and it really hurts when it happens just four plays into the game. Tyler Goodson, who's one of the top three or four backs in the Big Ten, went around the right side and there were no Indiana defenders there. It was an ugly combination of bad run fits and good Iowa blocking, and the game started with a bang.
What got lost in the blowout, though, was that Indiana's defense pretty much kept him in check the rest of the day. After the score, he had just 39 yards on 17 carries, an average of just 2.3 yards per carry. That's really good against a top-flight back.
And Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras was sort of kept in check, too. He was just 13-of-27 passing for 145 yards, similar numbers to Penix, minus the three picks, of course.
It's not like Indiana's defense got torched, in other words, and they are still a solid unit that will be fine going forward. For as disappointed as they were in the loss, their faith in each other hasn't wavered.
Defensive end Ryder Anderson, the transfer from Ole Miss, was emphatic in saying so after the game.
"I am surprised (with the result) because I just expected to come out and execute better and we didn't,'' Anderson said. "I'm surprised, because every time we go out on the field, I expect us to execute and get the win.
His opinion of the 2021 Hoosiers hasn't changed one bit.
"Definitely not. I've played a lot of football and I've seen a lot of teams and I know that this team right here is good,'' he said. "I know the scoreboard doesn't show it today. We didn't execute and we didn't get it done today, but we are a good team and I know that for sure. I know for a fact that we are a good team.''
It really is just one game
You have to remember that Iowa is pretty darn good, too. This is seven Big Ten wins in a row for the Hawkeyes, and it's their fourth straight win over Indiana. They also are 4-0 in their last four games against ranked teams.
They're playing at a high level, too.
The score is real, and it happened, and I'm not about to dismiss this loss, either. It was a bad one, mostly because of the expectations that traveled with the Hoosiers to Iowa City, but it's still just one game.
The Hoosiers will surely drop out of the top-25 after that performance, but they'll get well next week against Idaho, and they have plenty of opportunities for signature wins all season long. Beat No. 8-ranked Cincinnati in a sold-out home game on Sept. 18, and the Hoosiers are right back to being ranked about where they are right now.
This is still, in my opinion, a good team. It's a good team that had a bad day, too, and that happens. It really is just one loss, and there are still going to be plenty of chances to prove that.
Indiana will likely be an underdog in at least five games this season. They were against Iowa (3.5 points at the end), and will be the dogs against Cincinnati, Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan, too. Those five games are all critical to Indiana's growth, and if all five of those turn into 28-point routs like this one, then I would be concerned.
But Indiana didn't lose five games on Saturday. They lost ONE! That's all it is, one loss.
Put this one in the rear-view mirror and drive away quickly. Sure it was ugly, but it's also over, too.
Let's move forward.
Related stories on Indiana football
- GAME STORY: Indiana falls behind by two scores in the first two minutes and never recovers in a 34-6 loss to Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Follow along in real time all the news, nuggets and comments during Indiana's game with Iowa. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA SCHEDULE: Here is Indiana's complete football schedule, with game times and TV information where applicable, and links to related stories. CLICK HERE
