Indiana reached seven wins for the first time since 2007 with a 34-3 blowout win against Northwestern, as the Hoosiers head into their second bye week.
Mike Penix back and out again
What has now become the weekly question of whether redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Penix will play for Indiana or not was answered after an active warmup. Penix started the game and led Indiana to a 24-3 lead late in the second quarter.
The last time Penix had seen the field was early in the game at Maryland, and the game against Northwestern was his fifth start of the season.
Before halftime, Penix went 10-for-15 with 162 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. Against a Northwestern defense that is rated No. 13 in the country by ESPN SP+, Penix was moving the defense at will, save for a drive that ended with three straight deep balls. Indiana scored on four of the five drives that Penix played.
But after the score that put Indiana up 24-3, the freshman headed to the locker room and was replaced by redshirt junior Peyton Ramsey. Penix didn’t return to the game.
Early takeaways
After struggling to force turnovers early in the season, Indiana had forced at least one in its three games before Northwestern, including two in each of its last two games. But by halftime against th eWildcats, Indiana had forced three turnovers, and two of them resulted in touchdowns.
True freshman Tiawan Mullen was involved in two turnovers, as he stonewalled a ball carrier on Northwestern's first drive of the game before eventually stripping the ball out for defensive end Michael Ziemba to recover near midfield. Then, Mullen recovered a fumble forced by linebacker Cam Jones on the Northwestern 18-yard line.
The Hoosiers also caught a lateral pass during a pitch-around by Northwestern before the end of the half near midfield.
Strong defense
Northwestern owns one of the worst defenses in the country, thanks to injuries and its former five-star transfer quarterback missing time due to his mother’s fight against cancer, but the Indiana defense and all of its inexperience pinned the Wildcats down and didn’t let them up.
From the first drive, when Tiawan Mullen forced a fumble, and after allowing Northwestern to drive deep enough into Indiana territory to kick a field goal, the Hoosiers were as stout as they proved to be against non-conference opponents, perhaps even more so.
As Indiana took a 34-3 lead early in the fourth quarter, Northwestern had only entered Indiana territory twice, turned it over three times and gained just 178 total yards.
Another solid performance by Stevie Scott
Sophomore running back Stevie Scott came into the game having recorded three straight games of more than 100 scrimmage yards. He reached that mark again against Northwestern.
On the ground, Scott started strong with a 27-yard carry that eventually led to an Indiana field goal, and two of Northwestern's defensive pass interference penalties all but handed him two short touchdown carries. Scott was also the beneficiary of a play-call that left him wide open in the flats for a 20-yard touchdown reception.
Scott eventually eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground as well, giving him his ninth 100-yard rushing game, which ties him for the 10th-most such games in program history.
Northwestern penalties
Northwestern was called on seven penalties in the first half, and four of them assisted Indiana in scoring their three touchdowns. Four of the seven penalties were defensive pass interference calls in the endzone, which puts the ball on the two-yard line.
Two pass interference calls led to two rushing touchdowns by Stevie Scott and one by Mike Penix. Northwestern committed two defensive pass interference calls before the second touchdown by Scott.
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