Indiana moves to within one win of bowl eligibility

[IndyHutch 1,718]

Indiana has five victories with one game to play following Saturday's 47-28 victory at Maryland. Here's my report from College Park, Md. on IU's first Big Ten road win since 2012.

Nate Sudfeld paused for a moment in his postgame interview Saturday when asked what it will be like next week to play Purdue with more than just the Old Oaken Bucket on the line.

 

“It’s awesome,’’ Sudfeld said. “This is where we want to be right now coming into this week. We had to take care of business and we did. Obviously the Bucket week, in and of itself is really big for this program, for this school and this state. So obviously we were going to play our tails off this week any way but knowing we’re playing for a little bit more should bring a little extra motivation.

 

“We’re excited. We know they’re going to be tough and they always play us tough. The rivalry is an honor to play in and we’re just going to have to bring our ‘A’ game.’’

 

Sudfeld came up big Saturday when his team needed him the most. After Jordan Howard was sidelined with an injury on IU’s first drive, Sudfeld took over through the air. He completed 23 of 35 passes for 385 yards and a career-high tying four touchdown passes to help lead Indiana to a 47-28 victory over Maryland at Byrd Stadium.

 

The win was significant in many ways for Indiana (5-6, 1-6 Big Ten). It snapped a six-game losing streak and marked IU’s first Big Ten road victory since October of 2012.

 

Most importantly it moved the Hoosiers to within one game of bowl eligibility with one to play. Beat Purdue next Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind. and the Hoosiers will be bowl eligible for the first time since 2007.

 

There were plenty of solid performances for Indiana in Saturday’s victory. Consider:

 

*** Sudfeld came within 15 yards of becoming the first quarterback in IU history to have multiple 400-yard passing games.

 

*** Devine Redding ran for 130 yards on 24 carries including a 45-yard scamper late in the game.

 

*** Simmie Cobbs caught nine passes for 192 yards and had the majority of those yards after the catch.

 

*** Mitchell Paige, who had two touchdown receptions for the season coming into the game, had two more against Maryland. Paige finished with five catches for 64 yards.

 

*** Griffin Oakes, the reigning Big Ten special teams player of the week, made a case for a second consecutive honor as he made all four of his field goal attempts. He is now 20 for 22 on the year. His field goals were from 21, 19, 48 and 36 yards.

 

Probably the most impressive statistic for the Hoosiers in this one was that IU refused to quit after falling behind by 18 points in the first quarter. Maryland used a couple of big early plays, including a 79 yard touchdown run, to lead 21-3 with 5:32 to play in the first quarter.

 

From that point on, Indiana outscored Maryland 44-7.

 

There were a couple of plays in particular that really seemed to spark the Hoosiers in their comeback. Trailing 21-10 after the first quarter, IU got the ball back at its own 24 yard line. A few plays later, Sudfeld went over the top and hit Andre Booker for 59 yards and a touchdown to close the game to 21-17.

 

On the ensuing kickoff, Oakes perfectly executed an onsides kick with Rashard Fant recovering at the IU 49. The play completely baffled Maryland and Oakes kicked it perfectly. Eight plays later, Sudfeld scored on a 1 yard quarterback sneak to put IU on top for good, 24-21.

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[HoosierReb01 7,511]

Good game! Love seeing Redding starting to be a back who watches his blockers and waits for his hole to open! On to Purdouche!