Indiana football fans entered Memorial Stadium on Saturday night for the first time in nearly two years to watch the Hoosiers face off against Idaho in their home opener. Unlike week one, IU controlled in all facets of the game to earn its first win of the 2021 season, 56-14.
Idaho won the toss before the game started and elected to receive, looking to strike first like Iowa did the week before. However, the IU defense forced a 3-and-out, halting Idaho’s offense immediately.
IU received the ball with 13 minutes left in the first quarter and steadily marched down the field. Running back Stephen Carr's 17-yard run and wide receiver D.J. Matthew's 10-yard reception were among two plays in the drive that capped off with a 2-yard running touchdown from Carr, giving IU a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Carr would finish with only one touchdown but led the offense with 118 rushing yards on 22 carries.
IU's defense continued the pressure during Idaho's next drive. Linebacker Micah McFadden sacked Idaho quarterback Mike Beaudry, forcing a fumble which was recovered by defensive lineman Weston Kramer in the red zone.
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. passed to wide receiver Javon Swinton on the second play of the drive for a 9-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0. The touchdown was Penix's first of the season and first career touchdown for Swinton.
Swinton then doubled that number while playing defense, recovering a blocked punt for a touchdown on Idaho's ensuing drive to extend the lead to 21-0 in IU's favor. It was IU's first blocked punt returned for a touchdown since 2003.
It was then the offense's turn to continue adding points on the scoreboard. A third of the way through the second quarter, Penix passed for another 9-yard touchdown, this time to wide receiver Ty Fryfogle to extend the lead to 28-0.
The Hoosiers extended their lead to 35-0 with under two minutes left in the half after D.J. Matthews returned a punt for an 81-yard touchdown, marking his second of the game. The punt return for a touchdown was the first for IU since September 2018.
But Idaho wasn't completely deflated heading into halftime; the Vandals achieved their first first down of the game with around one minute and a half left in the half, continuing to drive downfield with a 20-yard run and 14-yard pass. The drive finished with a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Beaudry to FCS preseason All-American wide receiver Hayden Hatten, cutting the deficit to 35-7 before halftime.
When play resumed, IU kept its foot on the gas pedal, starting with a 72-yard kickoff return from Jacolby Hewitt. A 26-yard run from Carr moved IU within the 2-yard line and a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Penix extended the lead to 42-7.
Hatten continued to impress for Idaho, catching a 23-yard pass to make it 42-14 with roughly nine minutes left in the third quarter.
From then on, both offenses stalled, providing a pause in scoring. Penix left the game after his final drive with five minutes left in the third quarter. He finished with two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, zero interceptions and completed 11 of 16 passes (68%) for 68 yards.
IU's Jack Tuttle entered the game in place of Penix with around two minutes left in the third quarter, when IU’s offense got the ball back.
IU's offense picked back up close to the start of the fourth quarter. Tuttle threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to tight end A.J. Barner, extending the lead to 49-14. That was Barner's first career touchdown and Tuttle’s first of the season, where he earned more passing yards than Penix with one throw.
Tuttle and the offense kept tacking on points as the time wound down, driving down the field and finishing with a 4-yard rushing touchdown from running back Davion Ervin-Poindexter, extending the lead to 56-14.
The game slowly came to a close, giving IU its first win of the season, a commanding 56-14 victory. It was the first time IU scored 56 points in a game since 2013.
With the win, the Hoosiers improve to 1-1 on the season and look to move to 2-1 next week against the University of Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 18th at 12:00 p.m. ET in Bloomington.
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