Indiana Defense Falls Apart in 48-45 Overtime Loss At Illinois

Indiana quarterback Brendan Sorsby and wide receiver Donaven McCulley continued to show growth, but the Hoosiers' defense gave up record-setting numbers in a 48-45 loss, dropping their record to 3-7.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Indiana spent most of the season searching for a quarterback. And right when it found one, the defense disappeared.

In a game with multiple momentum swings, Indiana led by 15 and trailed Illinois by as much as 12 before making a last-minute remarkable comeback to tie it at 42. The roller coaster evened out, requiring an overtime period to decide a game with major bowl-eligibility implications for both sides. But like it did all afternoon, Indiana’s defense fell apart in overtime and the Hoosiers left Champaign with a 48-45 loss, broken hearts and a 3-7 record, while Illinois improved to 5-5.

“Call it what it is,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said. “Defense let this team down today. That’s the bottom line, period.”

Illinois starting quarterback Luke Altmyer was ruled inactive before the game, forcing Ball State transfer and sixth-year senior John Paddock to start. Paddock threw 24 passes across the first four years of his college career before becoming the Cardinals’ starter in 2022 and leading the Mid-American Conference with 14 interceptions.

Allen said he expected Altmyer to play but planned for both quarterbacks, watching film and making phone calls to learn as much as possible about Paddock. Indiana safety Louis Moore said everything Illinois ran Saturday was what Indiana practiced, and linebacker Jacob Mangum Farrar said the main difference was that they expected more quarterback runs with Altmyer and more passing with Paddock. Allen felt good about their preparation.

But Saturday, Paddock shredded the Hoosiers. He completed 24-of-36 passes for 507 yards, four touchdowns and one interception – good for the second-most passing yards in Illinois history and most since 1980. It’s the third-most passing yards allowed by Indiana in program history, and the most since Kyle Orton torched the Hoosiers for 522 yards in 2004.

Indiana’s pass defense improved in a close loss at Penn State two weeks ago and in a win over Wisconsin last week. Allen said he thought Indiana had fixed its defensive issues from early in the season. So was he surprised when nothing worked against Paddock?

“Shocked,” Allen said. “In the first half, especially. There were a couple just blown coverages. Yeah, just really shocked to be honest with you. Very, very, very, very, very, very frustrating. No excuse for it.”

Indiana’s defensive collapse started right after it played perhaps its best 25 or so minutes of the season. The Hoosiers jumped out to a 27-12 lead after an 18-yard touchdown run that showed why Indiana recruited Brendan Sorsby for his physical, gritty running style. Sorsby broke multiple tackles on the play, but he was also finding success through the air.

Quarterback-turned-receiver Donaven McCulley looked like a bonafide No. 1 option for the first time since his position change before the 2022 season, and Sorsby fed him the ball. McCulley posted career-high numbers in the first half, and he finished the game with 11 receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

But immediately after Indiana took a 15-point lead, it had one of its worst 20-minute stretches of the season. Paddock hit Casey Washington for a 20-yard touchdown, as Indiana safety Josh Sanguinetti was too late getting over after cornerback Jamari Sharpe showed blitz. Then with 18 seconds left before halftime, Illinois made it a one-point game with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Pat Bryant, who ran an out-cutting route to beat Nic Toomer.

Going into the game, Indiana knew it had a tough matchup against the Big Ten’s second-leading receiver Isaiah Williams. They tried doubling him, which limited his production in the first half but allowed Washington and Bryant to succeed.

Allen said Illinois’ offensive line played max protection to protect Paddock, which led to a clean pocket and just one sack and one quarterback hurry from the Indiana defense. Indiana blitzed at times, but was wary to do so against the max protection, because that would leave the defensive backs in one-on-one coverage. They tried different coverages, but that didn’t work, either.

“We tried everything that we have in our arsenal,” Allen said.

Allen and Mangum-Farrar attributed some of these breakdowns to miscommunication where certain players got the wrong signal and played the wrong coverage. On one touchdown, Allen said, Indiana didn’t get the signal called in quick enough. They agreed that these issues should have been ironed out well before Week 10, perhaps even during fall camp.

“It was a lot of Indiana beating Indiana, honestly,” Mangum-Farrar said. “Just breakdowns and busted coverages or somebody didn’t get the call. It was rarely like, ‘Oh, he just beat me.’ I feel like we gave them a lot of stuff.”

Indiana’s 27-12 lead turned into a 39-27 deficit one play into the fourth quarter, a 37-yard touchdown run by Reggie Love III. Though Indiana allowed 23 plays of 10-plus yards, it miraculously stayed in the game because of the continued growth of Sorsby and McCulley.

Indiana’s last chance started on its own 15-yard line with 1:37 on the clock and no timeouts. But looking wise beyond his years, Sorsby picked up gains of 17 and 13 yards with his legs, along with a 25-yard completion to DeQuece Carter. Then with the clock ticking below 30 seconds, he delivered a calm strike to Carter for a 26-yard touchdown.

Needing a two-point conversion to tie the game, Sorsby’s first option wasn’t there, so he reset his feet and directed traffic. Pointing to the end zone, he floated a touch-pass to E.J. Williams Jr. in the back of the end zone, forcing overtime.

“I feel like he’s just stepped up as a leader and a dog, really,” McCulley said of Sorsby. “You can see him just taking those steps forward every single week, and I think it’s great for Sorsby.”

Sorsby completed 22-of-33 passes for 289 yards, three touchdowns and one interception Saturday, but he didn’t attempt a pass in the overtime period.

“Brendan Sorsby showed what kind of special player he can be,” Allen said.

Indiana ran the ball with Josh Henderson on first down in overtime, followed by two quarterback draws. Chris Freeman gave Indiana a narrow advantage with a 41-yard field goal, but asking Indiana’s defense to keep Illinois out of the end zone was too tall a task.

As he did all game, Isaiah Williams burnt the Indiana secondary, and Paddock’s 21-yard completion gave Illinois the overtime victory. Ironically, it was one of very few plays where Indiana pressured Paddock, but he was able to evade the rush and find a wide-open Williams, who racked up nine receptions for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

“We got pressure on that last play, then didn’t contain him,” Allen said. “So just a fundamental mistake there by one of our ends, then didn’t cover the receiver.”

With this loss, Indiana’s bowl-eligibility hopes are dashed, barring Indiana being selected by among a rare number of five-win teams. Allen has two trophy games – the Old Brass Spittoon against Michigan State and the Old Oaken Bucket against Purdue – to motivate his team for the end of an otherwise disappointing season and now 3-22 stretch in Big Ten games.