The Big Ten’s best offense from 2015 had a tough time finding its way Thursday night as IU defeated Florida International, 34-13, in Miami, Florida.
The defense scored nine of IU’s first 12 points before the offense could muster a touchdown, and that touchdown came in the fourth quarter.
But in the fourth quarter, the Hoosiers scored 15 points, putting the lead far out of FIU’s reach and cementing the team’s first victory of the season.
Less than half an hour before the start of the game, IU announced that six of its players were suspended for the opening game, including junior wide receiver Simmie Cobbs, a 1,000-yard receiver in 2015.
With a new quarterback in junior transfer Richard Lagow on a road game, it came as no surprise that IU Coach Kevin Wilson decided to run the ball 51 times.
[Richard Lagow plays the role of game manager in season opener]
What did come as a surprise against a Conference-USA opponent in FIU is that IU punted the ball five times and turned it over on downs once, while the defense scored 16 of its 34 points.
Wilson said he wanted the running backs to carry a lot of the load throughout the season, and the group got plenty of opportunities to do that Thursday night.
Junior running back Devine Redding carried the ball 22 times for 136 yards, while freshman running back Devonte Williams and sophomore Mike Majette split the majority of the carries behind the junior. The two backups combined for 78 yards on 17 carries, while Majette caught two passes for 54 yards out of the backfield.
Lagow didn’t take many dropbacks, not as many as former Hoosier Nate Sudfeld, which was to be expected, Wilson said earlier in the week. Lagow went 18-for-27, passing for 240 yards and a touchdown, the first of his career. The junior also ran for a touchdown on a 6-yard zone-read.
The quarterback spread the wealth to several receivers, as nine receivers caught passes, sophomore Nick Westbrook catching the most with six for 70 yards. Junior tight end Danny Friend caught the only passing touchdown, the first of his career.
No other receiver outside of Westbrook caught more than two passes.
Junior defensive back Rashard Fant and junior linebacker Tegray Scales both returned interceptions for touchdowns — the first time the Hoosiers have returned two interceptions for touchdowns since 1966.
Freshman defensive back Marcelino Ball started his first game at the husky position and was second on the team with five tackles. Sophomore linebacker Nile Sykes recorded his first career sack, and freshman linebacker Omari Stringer forced a safety when an FIU offensive lineman held him in the endzone.
Senior defensive lineman Ralph Green III, junior defensive backs Chase Dutra and Noel Padmore and freshman defensive back Jake Attar were suspended for the game. Sophomore defensive back Wesley Green was suspended indefinitely.
The Hoosiers will play in Memorial Stadium on Sept. 10 against Ball State at 4 p.m. to attempt to push their record to 2-0.
