When a college football underdog manages to defeat a traditional powerhouse, that team is often referred to as spooky. Therefore, it only makes sense that Halloween saw a meeting between two of the Big Ten’s spookiest schools in IU and Rutgers.
Last week, IU made program history by upsetting then-No. 8 Penn State. It was the first time the Hoosiers beat a top 10 squad since 1987. It was also probably the first time a team mustered more than 30 points against an elite defense while playing approximately three and a half minutes of good offense.
If anything could have sobered the elation rippling throughout Bloomington, it would have been a loss to perennial Big Ten punching bag Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have struggled mightily since joining the conference, ranking dead last in just about every statistical category in 2019 besides punting yards.
That being said, Rutgers got the jump on a sloppy Michigan State in week one and eked out its first Big Ten victory in nearly three years. When I watched that same Michigan State crew go on to embarrass No. 13 Michigan, the slightest concern that Rutgers wasn’t a complete tire fire crept into my mind.
The first quarter did nothing to ease my fears, as the Hoosiers defense allowed quarterback Noah Vedral to scramble at will. If IU’s front seven looked lost chasing Vedral and Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, it’s going to need a satellite-guided GPS to keep track of Ohio State’s Justin Fields.
Offensively, little appeared to have improved in the past seven days. Sophomore quarterback Michael Penix Jr. went trick-or-treating with each throw, but his receivers only offered him Butterfingers. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers’ run game felt like offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan was trying to squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste from its tube to no avail.
However, the eeriness of All Hallows' Eve soon began weighing on the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers’ defensive linemen flinched before two consecutive snaps, which I can only assume was because they were seeing ghosts. The Hoosier offensive line had been letting pass rushers blow by all afternoon, so I’m not sure why the Scarlet Knights felt the need to get a premature jump.
Slow offensive starts in each half gave way to dominant performances by Penix, who finished the afternoon with 238 yards and three scores through the air as well as one on foot.
Although drops plagued IU’s early possessions, star receivers such as seniors Whop Philyor and Ty Fryfogle transformed their hands from bricks to bear traps in time to contribute a combined 192 yards and six points.
Not to mention, the Hoosiers seem to be establishing a trend of sealing victory by the most absurd means possible.
Saturday’s bout concluded with a fourth-and-32 circus act involving a blind heave by Rutgers offensive lineman Raiqwon O’Neal that I’m fairly certain breached the stratosphere before careening down to earth and leading to a touchdown.
Then, in a truly Rutgers moment, official review found one its seven pitches was in fact a forward pass, erasing the score and sealing victory for IU. How poignant that the ball itself should encapsulate the Scarlet Knight experience so well — constantly moving backwards until stumbling upon success, only to be struck down after daring to progress forward.
As strange as it sounds to say IU took a big step forward handling Rutgers after toppling No. 8 Penn State, that’s exactly what this game was. The Hoosier offense was relatively consistent drive to drive and managed to put away a less talented group.
It’s unclear whether IU is the genuinely formidable monster its ranking suggests, but Rutgers was not the gang of meddling kids to peel away the mask.
