Indiana Loses 21-14 to Louisville, Comeback Falls Short

Coach Tom Allen and the Indiana Hoosiers lost 21-14 to coach Jeff Brohm and the Louisville Cardinals inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Indiana started down 21-0, and its second half comeback was too little, too late.

Daniel Olinger | Sep 16, 2023

Indiana Loses 21-14 to Louisville, Comeback Falls Short /

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Indiana Hoosiers

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Tale of two halves is an overused cliché, but there's no better way to describe what happened on Saturday between Indiana and Louisville.

After entering the half down 21-0 against Jeff Brohm's Cardinals, coach Tom Allen and the Hoosiers stormed back in the second half, but ultimately fell short and lost 21-14. What originally looked like it would be a rout in Indianapolis turned into a down-to-the-wire thriller.

The game started deceptively well for the Hoosiers, with three straight plays to Jaylin Lucas resulting in 25 quick yards for the Indiana offense. IU eventually pushed ball into opposing territory, but punted it away from the Louisville 43-yard line.

In a sign of what was to come, the Cardinals moved down the field quickly thanks to a 43-yard Jack Plummer pass to wide receiver Jamari Thrash. Indiana's defense would stiffen from there, however, and force a field goal attempt from Louisville kicker Brock Travelstead that sailed wide.

Indiana quarterback Tayven Jackson again moved the Hoosiers down the field successfully, but unfortunately threw the first interception of his collegiate career when he missed high on a deep shot over the middle that was deflected. Indiana's score remained at zero for quite some time, but the Cardinals' offense began firing on all cylinders.

Plummer got it rolling with an 85-yard bomb to his favorite man, Thrash, putting Louisville up 7-0 early.

85-YARDS TO THE HOUSE 💨

Jamari Thrash, ya'll.

📺: BTN#GoCards pic.twitter.com/tmTLoqgbYS
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) September 16, 2023

It was a Thrash-led avalanche from there. The Georgia State transfer nearly broke Louisville's single game receiving record in the first half alone, and finished with four catches for 159 yards and a touchdown.

With Louisville consistently breaking explosive plays against the usually stout Indiana defense, and the Hoosiers' offense stuck in the mud, IU entered the half trailing the Cardinals by three scores.

Just about everyone inside Lucas Oil considered the game finished, and was ready for Louisville to add to its 21-0 advantage to start the second half. But Allen and Co. weren't ready to quit just yet.

Thanks to a perfectly placed boot from Chris Freeman, Indiana recovered the surprise onside kick and retained possession to begin the second half.

Just three plays later, Jackson found a streaking Lucas over the middle of the field for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 21-7 Cardinals.

From there, the Indiana defense that fans saw dominate through the first two weeks of the season returned. After racking up a whopping 302 yards of offense in the first half, Louisville was held to just 120 yards total in the second by the Hoosier defense.

The best chance the Cardinals had at putting points on the board in the second half was ended abruptly when sophomore safety Phillip Dunnam hauled in his second interception of the season.

Buoyed by the their reinvigorated defense, the IU offense put together its best drive of the game. A 97-yard, 13-play march down the field, that included some wonderful throws from the ever-improving Jackson, and ended with a touchdown run from Josh Henderson.

After Indiana looked dead in the water for the first 30 minutes of action in Indianapolis, it was suddenly just a one-score game.

The fourth quarter began with a bit of a staring match, as the two offenses traded punts to begin the fourth quarter. Indiana got the ball back with 8:28 remaining, trailing 21-14 and needing a score to keep its hopes alive.

What followed was the best throw of Jackson's career to date — a 41-yard throw to Cam Camper that was perfectly placed, immediately putting the Hoosiers within striking distance.

Update:@Tayvenjacksonn2 ➡️ @Camp1k

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/zxIVu5GUzK
— Indiana On BTN (@IndianaOnBTN) September 16, 2023

A pass interference on Louisville later moved Indiana's offense inside the 10-yard line, but Jackson and the offense encountered speed bumps from there.

On a third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Jackson rolled right, but found none of his receivers open in the end zone. Thus, the redshirt freshman made a break for the goal line, and attempted his best Michael Penix Jr. impersonation, diving for the pylon with the ball in his outstretched hand.

After reviewing the play, officials determined that Jackson was out of bound at the one-and-one-half foot line, just 18 inches away from a tie game.

Indiana called a timeout – leaving it with just one remaining – in preparation for the fourth-and-goal play that would likely decide the game.

With the game on the line, the Hoosiers' lined up in a goal line formation, but opted not to sneak it with Jackson, and instead hand it to Henderson, who was standing well behind his quarterback.

The play did not work, and it was not close.

The Indiana defense was a major disadvantage from there. With just one timeout remaining for IU, Louisville's offense only needed a couple of first downs to salt the game away for a 21-14 win.

There were a lot of positives to take away for Indiana. Jackson completed 24-of-34 passes for 299 yards, Lucas recorded a career-best 10 receptions for 98 yards and receivers Camper and Donaven McCulley finished with 74 and 39 yards, respectively.

But ultimately, the bookends of this game ruined all the good that Indiana did in the third quarter and in most of the fourth. A 21-0 halftime deficit and a brutal fourth down call with the game on the line was just too much to overcome for the Hoosiers.

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