Field Level Media
Oct 12, 2019
Redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. passed for 282 yards and three touchdowns and sophomore running back Stevie Scott Jr. added 164 yards rushing, lifting Indiana to a 35-0 win over Rutgers in Bloomington, Ind.
Indiana junior receiver Whop Philyor had 10 catches for 182 yards as the Hoosiers (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) picked up their first conference win of the season and sent reeling Rutgers (1-5, 0-4) to their 16th straight Big Ten loss.
The Scarlet Knights, playing their second game under interim coach Nunzio Campanile, could get little going offensively against a swarming Indiana defense. The Hoosiers finished with six sacks and 14 tackles for loss, limiting Rutgers to just one yard passing and 75 total yards. Indiana posted its second shutout of the season.
Indiana struck quickly, scoring on the first play of the game when defensive tackle Demarcus Elliott sacked Rutgers quarterback Johnny Langan and forced a fumble, which linebacker Reakwon Jones scooped up and ran 17 yards for a touchdown to give Indiana a 7-0 lead.
The Hoosiers extended their lead to 14-0 on a two-play, 70-yard drive. Penix found Philyor on a 56-yard pass, then connected with Peyton Hendershot on a 14-yard TD pass.
After IU's defense forced a second straight three-and-out, the Hoosiers scored on a 59-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Penix to senior receiver Nick Westbrook to put IU up 21-0 with 8:08 left in the first quarter.
The Hoosiers took a 21-0 lead into halftime and went up 28-0 on their first drive of the third quarter. Scott had runs of 5 and 57 yards to start the second half, and Penix connected with junior receiver Ty Fryfogle on a 19-yard TD.
Freshman running back Sampson James capped IU's scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to extend IU's lead to 35-0.
--Field Level Media