Freshman quarterback Chris Covington was recruited by IU as an athlete.
The 6-foot-2, 221-pound Chicago native was listed as a linebacker when he came to IU, but impressed the Hoosier coaching staff with his arm strength.
IU Coach Kevin Wilson has spent weeks talking highly of Covington’s ability, but Saturday Covington was tested for the first time.
Covington was called upon in the second quarter against Iowa in the midst of a shootout when junior quarterback Nate Sudfeld was forced to leave the game with what Wilson called “some degree of separation” in his non-throwing shoulder.
Covington’s first drive was nearly perfect. On his first play, he handed the ball off to junior running back Tevin Coleman who ran 45 yards for a touchdown to cut the Iowa lead to 28-21.
That would be the closest to a comeback the Hoosiers would get.
IU lost 45-29 to Iowa with Covington completing just 3-for-12 passes for 31 yards and two interceptions.
He finished with a quarterback rating of just 13.4.
“Seeing (Sudfeld) go down is always not a great thing to see, but I mean, Chris came in and did a great job trying to manage the game,” IU senior center Collin Rahrig said. “He came in a bad ?situation.”
Sudfeld was sacked by Iowa senior defensive lineman Carl Davis about three minutes into the second quarter.
As Sudfeld was being tackled, his arm tucked inward and was forced awkwardly into the ground on his left, non-throwing shoulder.
Sudfeld was in noticeable pain as he walked off the field with a pair of team medical personnel. After being evaluated on the sidelines, he headed straight for the locker room.
Wilson said X-rays showed no bone breaks, and there is no timetable for ?Sudfeld’s return.
“It’s some degree of separation, and we’ll evaluate it when we get back,” Wilson said. “I don’t know if it’s short or long term ... you know, one, two, three, four, five, six weeks.”
During the second half, Sudfeld was spotted in the tunnel wearing a sling on his left arm. Wilson said Sudfeld was upbeat in the locker room talking to Covington after the game.
Without Sudfeld, the Hoosier offense never really got into rhythm.
At times, Covington looked confused, which Wilson partially blamed on playing on the road in Iowa City.
With about five minutes left in the third quarter, Coleman lined up to Covington’s right out of shotgun.
After gathering the snap, Covington went to his left, looking to hand the ball off to a teammate who wasn’t there.
“(There were a) couple calls he messed up a little and didn’t call it properly,” Wilson said. “We didn’t communicate our assignments properly. It looked bad, but as the game went along it was a good ?experience.”
The Hoosiers outgained the Hawkeyes 432-426, but too many of those yards didn’t end with scores.
Coleman rushed for 219 yards on 15 carries and scored three times.
His rushing performance put him at 1,060 yards, making him the first Hoosier since Levron Williams in 2001 to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season with six games yet to play.
Coleman couldn’t hold back a smile after it was mentioned he was on pace for more than 2,000 yards.
“I can, but it’s not something I think about,” Coleman said. “I’m just going to keep on working hard in practice and keep on fighting and it appears, it appears.”
After an explosive first half, IU outscored Iowa 8-7 in what proved to be a bland second half.
Without Sudfeld, IU wasn’t able to overcome a 38-21 halftime deficit or make up for a 21-point opening quarter ?difference.
Just before Sudfeld got hurt, he nearly brought IU back within seven points with a potential touchdown pass to an open senior receiver Shane Wynn.
But the pass bounced off Wynn's hands in the endzone. Two plays later, Sudfeld was sacked and injured.
“We had our chances, but we didn’t execute,” Wilson said. “They made more big plays than us, and that’s the difference in the final score.”
