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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports football

IU allows 42 unanswered points in loss

Michigan State running back Delton Williams stiff arms IU sophomore safety Antonio Allen in the Hoosiers' homecoming game against Michigan State on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

With 5:25 remaining in the second quarter, freshman quarterback Zander Diamont ran into the end zone from 9 yards out for his first career touchdown.

It put the Hoosiers up 17-14 against the No. 8 team in the ?nation.

It was also the last time IU would score in the game.

The Spartans scored twice in the remaining 5:25 and went on to score 42 unanswered points.

The stands were nearly empty at Memorial Stadium when the clock hit 0:00 in a 56-17 IU loss Saturday.

IU Coach Kevin Wilson said a strong defensive start couldn’t be sustained.

“I think for the first quarter, quarter and a half we played good, aggressive football,” he said. “As the offense didn’t execute, our defense got tired. Our defense kind of wore out in the fourth quarter.”

The IU defense allowed 662 yards of total offense to a team that came into the game averaging 45.5 points per game. That ranks fourth in the nation.

Spartan quarterback Connor Cook was 24-of-32 passing for 332 yards and three touchdowns.

Once the Hoosiers took the lead, they had a chance to get a stop and another score before halftime.

Instead, Cook completed a 68-yard pass to tight end Josiah Price down to the IU 8-yard line. Jeremy Langford, who rushed for 109 yards on 21 carries, scored on the next play.

Freshman cornerback Donovan Clark gambled on the big gain, going for an interception.

Wilson said that led to a change in momentum that IU couldn’t get back.

“That hurt because we were still fighting,” sophomore linebacker T.J. Simmons said. “We were trying to fight until the end. That hurt us pretty bad, but you just have to fight through it.”

The IU offense was also held scoreless in the second half. Five of its six second-half possessions ended in punts.

The sixth was a ?turnover.

Because of IU’s lack of offensive productivity, the defense couldn’t get off the field. Wilson said they just got worn down.

“Just got worked a little bit in the second half by an outstanding team,” he said. “Disappointed we didn’t get a couple stops by the defense at the end.”

Simmons led the team with nine tackles, including his first sack of the season. Senior linebacker David Cooper added seven tackles.

In the second quarter, Scales intercepted Cook for his second pick of the year.

But an experienced Spartan offense was too much for the Hoosiers.

Senior Tony Lippett had 123 yards receiving on seven catches. Senior running backs Langford and Nick Hill combined for 287 yards rushing on 37 carries.

“We knew what they were going to do,” Scales said.

“We attacked our game plan. In the second half, things just didn’t go our way like we thought it would. We had pressure on the quarterback. They just made big plays. We just have to look at film and get it corrected.”

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