The Hoosiers have never knocked off an Associated Press Top 25 opponent under IU head coach Tom Allen, but they’ve certainly had their chances.
IU football has fallen short in a number of major upset opportunities since 2017, including Saturday’s 40-31 loss at No. 25 Michigan State.
“I’m proud of our team and how our kids fought,” Allen said. “It’s hard to face them in the locker room knowing how hard they played. I love that football team in that locker room, period.”
After missing IU’s last two games with an undisclosed injury, redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made his return to the field. It was a game-time decision for the Hoosiers at quarterback for the third consecutive game.
“Our most important thing is the welfare of our players,” Allen said in regard to rushing Penix back from his injury. “I’m not going to put a guy out there that’s not ready to play.”
Junior quarterback Peyton Ramsey played in his place the last two games and was available to play Saturday. There was the possibility that both quarterback’s efforts would be needed to beat the Spartans, but there was never a need for Penix to come out of the game.
In his first true road contest in his collegiate career, the freshman shrugged off any doubt that his recent injury affected his arm strength or confidence. Penix threw for three touchdowns on 33-of-42 passing and had a long stretch where he completed 20 consecutive passes, a program record.
Even a record-setting performance out of your starting quarterback isn’t enough sometimes.
Before the Spartans tacked on a touchdown as time expired, the Hoosiers never trailed by more than seven points the entire game and held a fourth-quarter lead for a few minutes. Ultimately, it was discipline that held IU back from being in a position to win.
The Hoosiers were set to receive the ball to start the second half and wanted to keep the Spartans off the board, but they couldn’t. With the game tied at 14 and time winding down in the second quarter, IU’s defense collapsed and let up a quick Michigan State scoring drive before the break.
In the fourth quarter, junior receiver Whop Philyor broke loose for a promising punt return deep into Michigan State territory but it was negated by a pair of IU penalties. Instead, the Hoosiers started the drive backed up to their own end zone and punted the ball after a 3-and-out.
A series of defensive pass interference calls on Michigan State bought IU some time on its game-tying drive, which ended with Philyor’s second receiving score of the day.
The Hoosiers’ prayers were answered on the six-play, 78-yard touchdown drive, but they left two minutes on the clock for the Spartans, more than enough time to execute a game-winning drive.
On the drive’s first play, senior quarterback Brian Lewerke threw for 44 yards. The very next play, Lewerke busted through IU’s defense himself and was tackled at the one-yard line with just over a minute left in regulation.
The Hoosiers could have let Lewerke score to allow time for Penix and the offense to force overtime, but they put a ton of trust in the defense to make a stop instead. IU burned its final timeout and MSU ran the clock down to five seconds before its go-ahead field goal.
The Hoosiers move to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play, but Allen remains confident in the big-picture outlook for this team.
“We’re for real we ain’t going nowhere,” Allen said. “We didn’t show up just to compete, we came to win. And we were one play away from winning. I’m proud of what we’re building and the way we’re building it.”
