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Indiana played their fourth conference game of the year as the Maryland Terrapins rolled into town Saturday afternoon. The Hoosiers started off slow in the first quarter but then took the lead into halftime with a score of 17-14. A late fourth-quarter injury to Maryland’s starting quarterback, Taulia Tagovailoa, put Indiana in a position to win the game, but the Hoosiers fell through and were unable to capitalize, losing 38-33. The Hoosiers fall to 3-4 on the season and are now on a four-game losing streak.
Bad starts have been a common theme for this Indiana squad and this game was no expectation. The game started with an interception by Connor Bazelak which found the hands of Maryland defensive back Tarheeb Still. Four plays later, Maryland found the end zone for the game's first touchdown. The Hoosiers got three points on the next possession with a 38-yard field goal but for the rest of the first quarter, both teams went quiet.
Indiana only had one other possession in the first quarter that saw just three total plays. The Hoosiers earned 57 yards in the first quarter and finished with zero total rushing yards. Neither team in the first quarter was able to establish the run game after Maryland finished with just five rushing yards.
The second quarter saw a switch flipped by the Hoosiers as Indiana was able to score 14 points to take the lead. Maryland opened up the quarter with an 18-yard passing touchdown but after that Indiana was the one in control. The Hoosiers scored on a failed coverage by the Terrapin's defense allowing running back Josh Henderson to find the end zone. The 44-yard passing touchdown to Henderson brought the Hoosiers within one and made it a 14-10 game. Penalty flags played a huge role in the quarter after a total of 4 penalties were called against Maryland pushing them back 44 yards. The Terrapins finished the game with a total of 9 penalties for 94 yards.
A holding call at the end of a Maryland fair catch allowed Indiana to get the ball back and the Hoosiers stormed down the field taking a 17-14 lead with just 1:47 left in the first half. Indiana caused Maryland to punt the ball with under a minute left but the score stayed the same and both teams went into the locker room with a score of 17-14.
Indiana only lead for just under two minutes to start the second half. Maryland opened up the quarter with a 17-yard passing touchdown to Dontay Demus. On the very next possession, Bazelak threw his second interception of the game and set up the Terrapins at the 46 yard line. Maryland marched down the field all the way to the 18 yard line and punched in their first field goal of the game to make it 24-20. Both teams got the ball back once before the end of the quarter but neither team was able to score so the Hoosiers went into the fourth quarter down 24-20.
Through the first three quarters, Indiana was getting outplayed by Maryland in every offensive stat. Maryland had more passing, rushing, and total yards than Indiana but was down by four points entering the final quarter of play.
The fourth quarter started off with a scare for the Hoosiers. A fumble inside the five put everyone on notice but Indiana was able to recover after the play. On the very next play, Indiana found the end zone with Henderson to put the Hoosiers up 27-24. The quarter quickly took a turn for Maryland as their starting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa went down with a right leg injury and was carted off the field. Maryland was forced to go to their backup quarterback Billy Edwards with 12:01 left to go in the fourth but even with the injury to Tagovailoa, the Hoosiers were unable to pull through.
Two rushing touchdowns in the final five minutes of play boosted Maryland to victory after scoring a total of 14 points in the final quarter. Maryland outran Indiana by a significant margin rushing for 127 yards while Indiana rushed for negative three yards. Indiana themselves scored in the final 54 seconds of play but the Hoosiers fell short loosing their fourth game of the year 38-33.
Indiana now falls a game under five hundred and has lost four consecutive games. Indiana will now travel to Rutgers for their first road game since Sept.24 and look to earn their second victory against a Big Ten opponents. Indiana and Rutgers is set for a noon kickoff on Oct.22.
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