EAST LANSING -- Over the years, Spartan Stadium has been more like the House of Horrors than anything else for the Indiana Hoosiers.
There have been plenty of close calls, near falls and heartbreak and each time, the Hoosiers would return to Bloomington without the Old Brass Spittoon.
In a season where the Hoosiers have knocked off a top ten opponent for the first time in 33 years and Michigan for the first time in 33 years, the Hoosiers claimed the Old Brass Spittoon for the first time at Michigan State since 2001 with a 24-0 win at Michigan State. The win is the first over Michigan State under Tom Allen and puts an end to the Hoosiers losing to the likes of Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State in the same season. Furthermore, it is the first shutout victory for the Hoosiers since 2019 when they defeated Rutgers 35-0.
The win erased all memory of last year's 40-31 setback at Michigan State, where the two teams went toe to toe with each other before Michigan State got a field goal and a touchdown on the final play of the game to secure the win.
After that loss, Allen took to the podium to tell the media there were a lot of tears in the Indiana locker room.
There would be none of that this season, as Indiana has defeated Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State all in the same season.
With an offense that featured Ty Fryfogle reeling in 11 passes for 200 yards and a defense that featured Micah McFadden getting three sacks, Tiawan Mullen with two interceptions and chasing Michigan State starter Rocky Lombardi out early, Indiana dominated from start to finish en route to moving to 4-0 ahead of next week's showdown against Ohio State.
For the game, Indiana amassed 433 yards of total offense, as quarterback Michael Penix was 25-of-38 for 320 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Running back Stevie Scott picked up 84 yards.
Penix got redemption against the Spartans, who were the only team he had lost to as a starter. And, as happy as he was with the win, Penix said there is plenty of room left to get better.
"It is great. We stressed all week to finish. We definitely didn't execute at a high level. Left a lot of points on the board. Need to finish in the red zone," Penix said.
Defensively, Indiana held Michigan State to 191 yards of total offense, as Payton Thorne was 10-of-20 for 110 yards through the air after he replaced starter Rocky Lombardi. The Indiana defense held the Spartans to nine first downs and accounted for four turnovers, which led to 20 points.
Allen said he was proud of his team coming on the road and getting a win, but also noted there is plenty of room to improve.
"Tough place for us to get a win. Proud of our team coming on the road and getting a win with a lot of distractions this week. I thought it was sloppy at times and we didn't execute well, but our defense held them to under 200 yards and had four takeaways," Allen said.
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