Don’t be surprised if Indiana defensive coordinator Kane Wommack receives interest about head coaching vacancies around the college football landscape once this unprecedented season comes to an end.
That’s because his defense came up big yet again, forcing four turnovers from the Michigan State Spartans (1-3, 1-3 B1G), as the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers (4-0, 4-0 B1G) cruised to a 24-0 win on the road in East Lansing on Saturday to win the Old Brass Spittoon. Indiana scored all of their points in the first half.
Tiawan Mullen recorded his first two interceptions of the season courtesy of Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi, who was benched at halftime after completing just 3-of-7 passes for 21 yards. Freshman Payton Thorne replaced Lombardi in the second half.
Thorne was slightly better than Lombardi, completing 10-of-20 passes for 110 passing yards, while running for an additional 25 yards on the ground. However, Thorne too was picked off by the Indiana secondary, with Reese Taylor intercepting a pass with a 53-yard return.
The Hoosiers entered the game leading the Big Ten in turnover margin (+4), and have increased it yet again (+6) following their victory over the Spartans.
The shutout of the Spartans is the first for the Indiana defense this season, and the third in the past two seasons dating back to the start of the 2019 campaign. As for Michigan State, it is the first time they have been held scoreless since Oct. 12 against Wisconsin of last season.
The offense did not need to do much throughout the game, with all the damage being done in the first half. Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. finished by completing 25-of-38 passes for 320 passing yards, while throwing for two touchdowns. Exactly 200 of Penix’s passing yards went to wide receiver Ty Fryfogle, who caught 11 passes and scored two touchdowns— including a 65-yard catch and score. It was a career game for Fryfogle, who provided an encore to his performance against Michigan last week.
Perhaps the offense’s main struggle in the afternoon was their inability to score in the red zone as accustomed to in the previous three games of the season. After starting the season 18-of-18 inside their opponent’s 20-yard-line, Indiana failed to score from inside that distance four times— a missed field goal, an interception, and two turnover on downs.
Indiana running back Stevie Scott III finished with 23 carries for 84 rush yards and a touchdown. Like most of the offense, much of his production came in the first half.
The Hoosiers will stay on the road to face No. 3 Ohio State (3-0, 3-0 B1G) in Columbus next weekend. Indiana currently leads the Big Ten East division by 0.5 games, following the Buckeyes’ cancellation of their game against Maryland due to COVID-19 concerns this weekend.
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