Indiana junior punter James Evans caught the snap, took two steps forward and vaulted the football off his right foot.
But rather than soaring through the air and into the waiting arms of Rutgers redshirt junior returner Christian Dremel, Evans’ punt was blocked, recovered by the Scarlet Knights and returned for a touchdown, giving the visitors a 14-7 lead at the start of the second quarter.
On the sideline, Indiana head coach Tom Allen stood in disarray, hands on head, watching his team’s game – and season – take a major wound.
That’s the lasting image from Saturday inside Memorial Stadium, where the Scarlet Knights (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) took a convincing 31-14 victory over the Hoosiers (2-5, 0-4), who have now lost three consecutive games by at least 17 points.
Evans proceeded to have a strong game, booming punts of 61, 66 and 70 yards. In this case, he’s merely a microcosm of Indiana’s defeat – solid but marred by a disastrous moment.
Later in the second quarter, sophomore running back Jaylin Lucas failed to secure a Rutgers punt, and the Scarlet Knights once again capitalized, taking 3 free points as time expired to close the first half.
Between the two miscues on punts, Indiana lost 10 points and gave Rutgers all it needed to seize momentum.
“Just too many mistakes,” Allen said postgame. “Special teams just hurt us, sadly.”
Indiana’s blunders extended far beyond special teams. Sixth-year senior linebacker Aaron Casey had a horse collar tackle on 3rd and 7 that gave Rutgers a fresh set of downs with nine minutes left in the second quarter. Redshirt freshman quarterback Brendan Sorsby said after the game that he missed several throws.
If Allen’s reaction after the blocked punt is a visual representation of this game, the collection of little individual mistakes that netted big team consequences summarizes the root of Indiana’s difficulties this season.
Rutgers didn’t statistically dominate Indiana. The Scarlet Knights had 316 total yards of offense and averaged 4.7 yards per play to the Hoosiers’ 279 and 4.6. Neither team was successful on third down, with Rutgers converting four-of-11 tries and Indiana going two-of-11.
But when the Hoosiers faltered, the Scarlet Knights were there to cash in – and didn’t make many of their own mistakes along the way.
Indiana’s mistakes added up over the course of 60 minutes, resulting in a 17-point loss on Homecoming that simply continues the program’s challenging campaign.
“Those little miscues, (if) we fix those, drives keep going, points keep going on the board,” Sorsby said. “It's just small things that end up being big things. So, we’ve just got to fix those small things … Just got to keep hashing on that.”
Redshirt junior cornerback Nic Toomer echoed similar sentiments for the defense, which held Rutgers junior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt to just 39 passing yards but allowed 276 total rushing yards.
“We just have to lock in on the details,” Toomer said. “Everybody just has to do their job.”
Allen said Monday that throughout much of the season, Indiana has watched as games have spiraled out of control in the second half, in large part because of key mistakes in critical situations – and the same troubles arose once again Saturday.
The Hoosiers have been outscored in the second half in 16 of their last 17 Big Ten games. They’re 2-15 in those games, with wins coming over Illinois and Michigan State last season. Those are Indiana’s only two victories in its last 22 tries against Big Ten foes.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s contest, players and coaches alike spoke of how crucial this game was to the Hoosiers’ hopes of making a bowl game and turning their season around. To become bowl eligible, Indiana will now have to win four of its last five games, a tall task considering its recent struggles within the conference.
The road doesn’t get any easier, with top-10 foe Penn State set to host Indiana for a noon kickoff Oct. 28 in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions have outscored the Hoosiers 69-14 in their last two meetings and will likely be projected to continue their dominating ways.
Just like that, Indiana’s season is staring into another dark abyss. Allen accepted blame for the struggles, but the consistent self-inflicted wounds still showing up in Week 8 – and Allen’s seventh season as head coach – require more action than apologies.
After the game, Allen admitted this year is slipping away, and the Hoosiers’ frequent inability to do the small things right has prompted big questions about the program’s future that stretch well past Saturday’s loss.
“That's a tough reality. That's where you don't hide from it. You've got to address it head on, and you've got to really work hard together to help your guys.”
The Hoosiers remain alive for bowl contention, but they haven’t proven capable of putting full games together – and it’s looking increasingly probable that this team’s dreams and aspirations will fall short as a result.
