Report Card: ‘Same Old Indiana?’ Not anymore after critical win over Maryland

The Hoosiers beat the Terrapins 34-28 Saturday in a game they would have almost certainly lost in years gone by.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — We have seen this movie before. Indiana’s football team leading an important game late, only to let it slip away. And how many times have we seen it? Dozens? Hundreds, if you’re old enough. (I am.) 

But Saturday was different at Maryland Stadium. Indiana needed to win a game, and it did it with clutch performances, timely plays and an unmitigated desire to give their all on every play.

Indiana beat Maryland 34-28 thanks to a backup quarterback and some timely fourth-quarter turnovers by the defense. The Hoosiers are now 5-2 on the season and 2-2 in the Big Ten, moving another step closer to bowl eligibility and — even far more important — relevency in the conference.

Here’s how the Hoosiers graded out in my seventh Report Card of the season:

Rushing offense: A

Any time you can rush for 186 yards in a Big Ten road game, that’s a good day. What made this really special was that it came from a variety of sources behind an offensive line that played great again despite missing another important piece.

Stevie Scott led the way with 108 yards on 18 carries, and he scored two touchdowns as well, running very hard, especially around the goal linel He’s in a nice groove now. Both quarterbacks contributed nicely, too, with Michael Penix Jr. gaining 35 yards before getting hurt and Peyton Ramsey getting 46, many to convert critical third downs. Considering that center Hunter Littlejohn couldn’t play, it was an exceptional performance.

RELATED: Stevie Scott video on running game success

Passing offense: A-minus

Michael Penix Jr. led the Hoosiers on two touchdown drives before getting hurt, and he was precise in picking apart Maryland’s struggling secondary. So was Ramsey, who was 20-for-27 passing for 193 yards and a score in nearly three quarters of work.

The receivers made a lot of great catches, none better than Nick Westbrook’s grab in the end zone right before halftime to put Indiana back ahead for good. Tight end Peyton Hendershot also had a nice day, catching six balls for 95 yards. The 334-yard total through the air was wonderful.

Rush defense: B-minus

The bad news is that Indiana gave up 173 yards on the ground, which included a 60-yard run by the speed Javon Leake, who went practically untouched to the end zone.

The good news, though, is that the Hoosiers did a very good job of containing speedy Maryland quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome most of the day. In his nine carries, his longest run was for only 9 yards. The Hoosiers also made several key stops on third down, and one on fourth-and-short that helped swin momentum. They big plays can’t happen, hence the lower grade, but the rest of the day was pretty decent. My grade might be a tough harsh.

Pass defense: B-plus

Pigrome is known more as a runner than a passer, but he sure made some nice throws against Indiana. He had 52-yard and 40-yards completions and threw for 210 yards. The big plays really hurt, and the total yardage was higher than expected.

What makes the grade better, though, were the two HUGE turnovers the secondary created in the fourth quarter to close this game out. Cornerback Juwan Burgess forced a fumble after a catch and recovered it, leading to an IU field goal. And Reese Taylor intercepted an overthrown ball in the final minute for the exclamation point We’ve been waiting for some turnovers from this group, and they came in a big way in the fourth quarter.

The interception that sealed the win for @IndianaFootball!

You could say @CoachAllenIU and the team were pretty fired up! pic.twitter.com/UH7ZAwPpfU

— Indiana On BTN (@IndianaOnBTN) October 19, 2019

Special teams: B-minus

Kicker Logan Justus just might be the best kicker in the country. He remains perfect on the season, and he’s now 9-for-9 on field goals and 27-for-27 on extra points. Hayden Whitehead averaged 39 yards on his five punts, which was so-so. That’s the good news.

The bad news — again — is that Indiana had another huge mishap on special teams that could have burned them but didn’t. This time it was true freshman Davis Ellis, who fumbled a kickoff return. Indiana recovered, but was buried at the 4-yard line. With both the punt and kickoff units, these things are still happening too often.

Coaching: A

I feel like this game was won during the week more than it was on Saturday. Backup quarterback Peyton Ramsey credited his coaches for helping him be “locked in’’ on the game plan, and he was superb after replacing the injured Michael Penix Jr. Indiana’s offense under Kalen DeBoer hummed to the tune of 520 yards and six scoring drives. Well done.

And defensively, Kane Wommack’s until gave up too many big plays, but they were great in the second half, allowing only seven points in closing this game out. Wommack did a great job of sending pressure at the right time, and all the constant preaching about creating turnovers paid off in the fourth quarter.

And head coach Tom Allen? Well, we’ll leave the final section all for him

Intangibles: A-plus PLUS!

Under Tom Allen, Indiana has talked often about changing the culture of Hoosiers football and working hard and makingp plays more for the guy next to you that for yourself. Saturday, maybe for the first time, that really came through on the field. This was a game that Indiana ALWAYS loses in the past, but not now because everyone dug in and found a way to help their team win a game.

The Hoosiers are coming. They ARE indeed turning the corner. Saturday was a great example of that. 

LEO? Damn right.