ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was the smallest of crevasses.
Barely wide enough to slide a piece of paper through.
When IU sophomore quarterback Peyton Ramsey was seemingly sacked by Michigan sophomore defensive lineman Kwity Paye in the first quarter of Saturday's game, the amount of space between Ramsey’s hindquarters and the turf at Michigan Stadium was so small, it was indistinguishable to the naked eye.
But unlike the officials, Ramsey didn’t need instant replay to know he wasn’t down by contact. While basically kneeling on Paye’s chest, Ramsey had the wherewithal to contort his body enough to get back on his feet and take off running for 15 yards and an IU first down.
“I didn’t think I was down,” Ramsey said. “I fought to stay up, so I didn’t think I was down. That’s why I kept running.”
While Ramsey’s early play was by far his most outlandish, there were a number of similar plays throughout the Hoosiers’ 31-20 defeat.
Although his efforts weren’t enough to help IU from falling to a 5-6 overall record, Ramsey’s resilience remained what kept the Hoosiers nipping at the Wolverines’ heels all night.
Volatile plays like his seven-yard scramble on third down, that ended with him flailing in mid-air with his outstretched arm reaching for a first down late in the second quarter, were also what helped IU give the number four-ranked Wolverines a genuine scare.
“That’s just the heads-up savviness he has,” IU Coach Tom Allen said. “He was just determined to get that first down.”
Two plays after that first down scamper, Ramsey threw a perfect deep pass 41 yards down the field to junior wide receiver Nick Westbrook to set IU up at the Michigan eight-yard line. He then dropped a seven-yard dime pass to sophomore wide receiver Ty Fryfogle in the end zone to cap the drive.
It would give his team its last lead of the game, 17-15, entering halftime.
While Ramsey still managed to pass for 195 yards and a touchdown, he was just as effective on the ground, having one of his best rushing performances of the year, finishing with 51 yards on just seven carries.
“He was big time with that today,” Allen said. “That was something we needed to be willing to do against a team like this.”
Ramsey was able to find success despite things constantly collapsing around him.
The passing pocket often disintegrated to the pressure of Michigan’s stout defense, forcing him to either run or throw the ball away. It led to one impossible situation after another for Ramsey and the offense, proving to be their undoing by the end of the contest.
But Allen said the kind of awareness Ramsey showed on many of his most timely plays of the game are exactly why he is confident in him leading his team moving forward to their final game of the year, which is also IU's last chance to qualify for that elusive bowl game appearance.
“That’s why he’s our quarterback,” Allen said. “That’s why he’s a special kid.”
