It is unknown when Peyton Ramsey was named Indiana's starting quarterback and has been purposely left unsaid, but when the redshirt junior trotted onto the field as the Hoosiers' starting quarterback, he brought plenty of experience and an impressive 2018 performance against Ohio State.
But ultimately, Ramsey proved to be ineffective against the Buckeyes, as the Hoosiers lost, 51-10.
Indiana wide receiver Donavan Hale has been involved in the passing game for Indiana over the course of the last four seasons. His tenure stretches back to the days of Nate Sudfeld in 2015, and injuries have stretched his career longer than optics can explain.
So when he and the other receivers entered Saturday’s game against Ohio State – the last game against the Buckeyes of Hale’s career – he had already worked next to Peyton Ramsey, through Ramsey’s rise in 2017 and his culminating season as the primary quarterback in 2018.
When redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Penix, who had won the hearts of Indiana fans after two good performances against Ball State and Eastern Illinois along, was labeled questionable and then ultimately replaced by Ramsey this week in practice before the eventual 51-10 loss, Hale knew what to expect as a wide receiver led by Ramsey.
“Peyton’s been our starting quarterback before, so we didn’t have to do too much stuff different,” Hale said after the game. “We knew what it was like.”
Little during his preparation was different and little about the offense changed from the previous two seasons. The limitations were obvious. There were no 75-yard touchdown passes and only a few shots down the field early in the game that Ramsey underthrew – one when head coach Tom Allen had hoped for an interference call and one that could have been brought in if not for contact with two Ohio State defenders while backtracking. And once again, the game ended with Ramsey having carried the ball more than IU’s lead running back.
Coming off his 2018 performance – 322 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions – Ramsey said he and the team came into the game confident and feeling prepared, but the heights of the offense that played Saturday and the heights of the offense that challenged Ohio State last season looked different.
The Hoosiers took more shots downfield in 2018 and relied on receivers like Nick Westbrook (five catches, 109 yards, one touchdown) and J-Shun Harris (eight catches, 104 yards) to make plays. But those receivers were fairly non-existent. Tight end Peyton Hendershot led all receivers with four catches and 70 yards. Subtract his trick-play touchdown, the most successful offensive play of the game, on a pass from Hale, and Hendershot would finish with 21 yards and the Hoosiers would total 162 yards passing.
“They did a good job of knocking us out of our rhythm,” Ramsey said. “We came out with a lot of confidence especially in pregame. They came out and punched us in the mouth. I do think it caught us off guard and knocked us out of our rhythm a little bit.”
The only occasion Indiana appeared to be in any sort of rhythm was in the first quarter, when Ramsey hit Whop Philyor, Hale and Hendershot on four consecutive completions and then took off for a 20-yard run to reach the 15-yard line. Indiana went hunting for chunk yardage and was finding it. Then the drive stalled after a couple incompletions, and IU settled for a field goal, and the hunting for chunk yardage stopped.
Another occurrence Indiana spectators are familiar with.
To Allen, many of the issues stemmed from the lack of protection Ramsey had from his offensive line against one of the better defensive lines in the nation.
“We've got to get him enough time to get the ball down the field,” Allen said.
But Ramsey was content with his protection. He said when a quarterback goes into a game against a defensive line like Ohio State, he should expect to be under plenty of pressure.
But many of the problems that influenced Ramsey’s performance were rooted in the performance by the offensive line, primarily in the way Indiana was unable to establish a running game presence.
Whatever the case, it was clear that Indiana, specifically the Kalen DeBoer system, missed Mike Penix against Ohio State.
“I don't think it's going to be long-term, so we'd like to get him back as soon as possible,” Allen said when he was asked about Penix again Saturday. “He'll be rehabbing and getting himself squared away the rest of the today and tomorrow and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, and we'll see what next week, how that unfolds. But I think it's kind of a week-to-week thing at this point. That's my expectation for him in that regard.”
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