11/18/2017 football Edit

IU Running Backs Explode In Blowout Win Against Rutgers

Taylor Lehman • TheHoosier

Staff

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It’s safe to say the Hoosiers have struggled on the game all season, as the IU rushing attack was ranked 113th in the country coming into its matchup against Rutgers on Saturday.

That wasn’t the case when the game kicked off though, and it wasn’t the case after the game was delayed due to lightning and a thunderstorm prevented IU from wanting to pass the ball.

Freshmen running backs Morgan Ellison and Cole Gest shouldered the load for the offense for the majority of the second half and exploited weaknesses revealed in the Rutgers defense by the early success in the pas game in the first half.

With a combined effort of 38 carries, 253 yards and three touchdowns, Gest and Ellison proved that IU could run the ball consistently against a Big Ten opponent and muscled IU to its biggest conference win since 1990, beating Rutgers 41-0.

“I think it meant a lot to the team, mostly for the seniors since it’s their last game here,” Ellison said. “It was doing whatever I can to send the seniors out with a bang.”

The Hoosiers did end their Memorial Stadium careers with a bang, as they outgained Ruttgers, 507-190. Ellison and Gest accounted for 40 of IU’s 76 plays and earned 51 percent of its yards.

The Ellison-Gest combination in the backfield had slowly been manifesting itself in the IU backfield all season, but when they were both healthy enough to bully enough carries into opposing defenses, the two exploded.

Ellison had his best performance of the season against Georgia Souther nearly in the season with 25 carries and 186 yards, while Gest was coming off his best performance against Illinois — 17 carries for 82 yards. They hadn’t concentrated those types of performances into one game though, until Rutgers.

Ellison started, and Gest took the reigns until the fourth quarter. Ellison broke off the biggest chunk yardage of the two with runs of 25, 39 and 45 yards throughout the game, including a near-touchdown when he pulled several Rutgers defenders into the endzone but let his knee hit the ground. Gest bullied the Scarlet Knights, carrying the ball 23 times to Ellison’s 15 and earning 104 yards on 4.5 yards per carry.

At one point, before the 107-minute rain delay and then shortly after, IU ran the ball 26 consecutive times and scored two offensive touchdowns using that method.

“The O-line just continued to get better, kept getting stronger and have maintained that strength through the season,” Gest said. “Now we’re finally getting some ball movement and getting some nice holes open and finally being able to produce a little bit.”

Rutgers’ run defense wasn’t terrible coming into the game, averaging just 14 more yards per game allowed than IU’s run defense, and the Scarlet Knights had just limited Penn State running back Saquon Barkley to 36 yards per carry in last week’s loss.

But the IU running backs are comfortable now, Gest said. They’ve amassed some carries late in the season after combining to average just 16 carries per game before last week’s matchup against Illinois. They can find a rhythm now, Gest said. They can get a feel for the game.

When the running backs can get to that point, it changes many parts of the offense, IU head caoch Tom Allen said. And for the running backs to get to that point, as Gest also said, it takes a strong offensive line.

“We talk all the time about running the football on offense, and I know we struggle at times,” Allen said. “But when you can do that, you see what happens. It changes everything. It allows you to close games out and it, allows you to enhance your passing game. I thought running the ball was going to be a challenge, so for our O-line to do what they did today is a tremendous compliment to (offensive line coach Darren) Hiller and the O-linemen up front.”