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Indiana Football: Strong first quarter not enough in loss to Michigan

By Adam Childs

BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 23: Peyton Hendershot #86 of the Indiana Hoosiers runs the ball after a reception as Daxton Hill #30 of the Michigan Wolverines and Josh Metellus #14 of the Michigan Wolverines make the stop during the first half at Memorial Stadium on November 23, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 23: Peyton Hendershot #86 of the Indiana Hoosiers runs the ball after a reception as Daxton Hill #30 of the Michigan Wolverines and Josh Metellus #14 of the Michigan Wolverines make the stop during the first half at Memorial Stadium on November 23, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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The Indiana football team used a good first quarter to get the lead against Michigan, but couldn’t keep it up in a tough loss to the Wolverines.

Indiana did about whatever it wanted early against a tough Michigan defense, jumping out to a 7-0 and 14-7 lead, but injuries and defensive adjustments slowed the Hoosiers the rest of the way as they lost 39-14.

Peyton Ramsey came out on fire early and Stevie Scott III scored in the first quarter as Indiana looked primed to pull off a huge upset over the Wolverines. Michigan would recover, though, as Shea Patterson carved up the Indiana secondary and the bigger receivers of the Wolverines were too much for the Hoosiers to handle.

The loss drops Indiana to 7-4 on the year as they head to Purdue next week looking for its first eight-win season since 1993. Injuries to Scott and receiver Ty Fryfogle derailed the offense even with Ramsey playing well. Already without leading receiver Whop Philyor, the Hoosiers couldn’t afford any more injuries and even though they aren’t serious injuries they were enough to slow the Indiana offense.

Michigan’s Patterson had his second great game of the year as he became the first Wolverines quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in consecutive games. The combination of Patterson to Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones was just too much for the Hoosiers secondary to handle. Patterson ended up with 366 yards through the air and five touchdowns, even though Indiana did a good job limiting the run.

Indiana needed to pressure Patterson to win the game and they just couldn’t do it. He had all day to throw the ball and it was too much. The one time they really got pressure on him they forced him into an interception in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late.

Ramsey played well in the loss, throwing for 217 yards, but did have an interception early in the game that didn’t hurt the Hoosiers. After throwing quick passes early, the Wolverines took that away and was able to get pressure on Ramsey and disrupt his timing and had him on the run for a lot of the game.

A week after coming up just short against Penn State, the Hoosiers looked overmatched for most of the game as they lost their 24 straight games against the Wolverines.

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The Hoosiers still can put a bow on this great season but they still have a little bit to go to catch the big boys. It is a step in the right direction for the Hoosiers and they still have a lot to play for this year.

Next up is the Boilermakers and then a bowl game in which they try and win for the first time in 28 years.

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