Have you ever sat through a painfully boring class in school, staring at the clock and wondering how every second could last that long?
I’ve been there before. If you’re somehow reading this column, I’m sorry, Mr. Hart, but your AP Economics class had me questioning whether time moved during my senior year of high school.
For Rutgers on Saturday, that feeling probably came from watching the game clock inside SHI Stadium in Piscataway slowly tick down, wondering why it had signed up for such a thing.
A homecoming blackout game against the defending national champions? Yikes.
To nobody’s surprise, Indiana dismantled the Scarlet Knights. It wasn’t close. After all, Rutgers lost to the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Week 1, snapping the Minutemen’s 16-game losing streak.
I can empathize with Scarlet Knights fans. At least the few who stayed to watch the full game.
Anyways.
Let’s get into some grades, shall we?
Quarterbacks: A
Redshirt senior Josh Hoover clicked from the start of the contest. He completed his first 10 passes of the game, with all of them coming on read-option throws to the soft spots in Rutgers’ zone defense. Over the first two drives, the Heath, Texas, native went 10 for 11 with 142 yards and a touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Charlie Becker. Hoover stayed in rhythm throughout the game, finishing 20 for 27 with 251 yards and four touchdowns. It’s hard to not give this anything other than a near-perfect grade — which is Hoover's highest of the season.
Running Backs: A++
Heading into the contest, the outlook looked bleak for Indiana’s running backs. Redshirt senior Lee Beebe Jr. picked up an injury in practice last week. Junior Turbo Richard was listed as probable but exited early in last week’s game against Northwestern with an ankle injury after a hard tackle along the sideline.
Both played through their respective injuries. And dominated.
One week after Beebe rushed for a career-high 203 yards against Northwestern, Richard one-upped his backfield mate. Richard ran wild Saturday, tallying 204 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries — an average of 15.7 yards per carry. To his credit, Beebe also held his own as he collected 122 yards on 18 carries.
The Hoosiers finished with 329 total rushing yards, the third-most in head coach Curt Cignetti’s tenure. Technically it’s impossible to top the A+ grade I gave the running backs last week but because it’s my column I will give this week’s grade an A++.
Receivers: A
Rutgers was missing three defensive backs heading into the affair, and with Indiana’s top-end receiving talent, that was a formula for the Hoosiers to have a big night through the air.
Junior Nick Marsh and Becker both dominated early. In Indiana's first 15 offensive plays, Marsh and Becker combined for nine catches, 140 yards and a touchdown. The Hoosiers had other contributions from sophomore Davion Chandler — who scored a touchdown in the second quarter — and redshirt senior Shazz Preston.
The passing game slowed down as the Hoosiers controlled the game script in the second half, opting to run the ball more. Still, the first quarter outburst is enough to give this unit an A.
Offensive Line: A+
Indiana’s offensive line dominated in the trenches in its best performance of the season. The Hoosiers gave Hoover time to throw to open wide receivers and created plenty of big holes with key blocks for the running game to thrive. It was a clean, penalty-free night in Indiana’s first road game.
Defensive Line: A+
Having fifth-year Stephen Daley and redshirt senior Tobi Osunsanmi on opposite sides of the defensive line seems unfair. Rutgers learned that the hard way Saturday. The Scarlet Knights couldn’t find an answer to either player's stunts, twists or moves up front.
Both Daley and Onsunsanmi led the team with two tackles for loss. Daley also recorded a team-high two sacks while Osunsanmi ended tied for the most Indiana tackles with seven. The Hoosiers’ front four stifled Rutgers’ running game as well, as the Scarlet Knights finished with only 59 total rushing yards on 35 carries.
Linebackers: A
Indiana’s linebackers were impressive all night, closing space and forcing hurried, incomplete throws. With three different Rutgers quarterbacks coming into the game, none found any success against Indiana’s defense in the middle level of the zone. Redshirt senior Isaiah Jones and junior Rolijah Hardy each had a quarterback hurry. Jones finished with seven tackles.
Secondary: B
The key player to watch heading into the contest was Rutgers junior wide receiver KJ Duff. In the first four games of the year, Duff had 29 receptions for 550 yards and seven touchdowns. Despite Duff’s 6-foot-6, 225-pound frame — giving him an advantage over Indiana’s undersized secondary — he was held to three catches for 63 yards in the first half. Aside from Duff, the rest of the Scarlet Knights had 19 total receiving yards at halftime.
Although the game was firmly in control, Indiana’s secondary began to crumble in the second half. During the third quarter, sophomore Jaylen Bell got beat and mossed on a 53-yard touchdown pass. Despite the positives, it’s fair to say the Hoosiers’ secondary had an average performance. If they had played at the level they did in the first half throughout the full game, this grade would’ve likely been elevated to an A.
Special Teams: D+
This is the worst grade I’ve handed out for any position group all year, and for good reason. Senior kicker Nico Radicic struggled mightily, hooking both an extra-point attempt and a 22-yard field goal wide left. Radicic held a streak of 168 consecutive PATs made before it ended with the miss Saturday.
Once again, Becker handled punt returning duties over redshirt senior wide receiver Tyler Morris and performed well. But in the first quarter, he made a fair catch inside the 10-yard line that likely would’ve resulted in a touchback. The special teams have plenty to work on, as the Hoosiers’ schedule gets much tougher in the next few weeks.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season
