Marred by costly special teams blunders, Indiana football fell 31-14 to Rutgers on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in the Hoosiers’ Homecoming game.
Redshirt freshman Brendan Sorsby made the start at quarterback, clearing up the uncertainty that surrounded the position throughout this past week. Despite an impressive first-quarter performance from Sorsby, the Hoosiers couldn’t muster quite enough on offense throughout the game to outlast the Scarlet Knights.
FIRST QUARTER
Sorsby got off to a hot start, engineering a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to kick off the game. After methodically picking apart Rutgers down the field, the Hoosiers stalled at the Scarlet Knights’ 35-yard line and were faced with a 4th and 8.
With pressure barreling toward him, Sorsby scrambled to his left and uncorked a 35-yard pass to redshirt freshman receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who stood all by himself in the end zone. Rutgers quickly responded, though.
Of the Scarlet Knights’ 75 yards on their first offensive possession, 67 came on the ground. Junior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt punched in a score from the goal line, capping off a 15-play drive that spanned over eight minutes.
SECOND QUARTER
Indiana was forced to punt from its own 32-yard line to start the second quarter, but Rutgers junior defensive back Shaquan Loyal, who bursted through the Hoosiers’ offensive line unblocked, blocked junior James Evans’ attempt.
The ball fell into the hands of junior defensive back Eric Rogers, who easily took it into the end zone for a Scarlet Knight touchdown. Indiana and Rutgers proceeded to trade a couple three-and-out possessions, but the Hoosiers found a rhythm with a little over five minutes left in the half.
Aided by a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty, Indiana was able to complete a 4-play, 59-yard touchdown drive to knot the score at 14. Sorsby capped it off with a 4-yard rushing score, going untouched on a quarterback keeper.
With just 28 seconds left in the half, Rutgers recovered a muffed punt from sophomore running back Jaylin Lucas. Sophomore kicker Jai Patel converted a 21-yard chip shot as the half expired, giving Rutgers a 17-14 lead at the break.
THIRD QUARTER
Rutgers received the second half kickoff and proceeded to walk down the field with ease. The Scarlet Knights’ ground game continued to overwhelm the Hoosiers, and their 12-play, 75-yard drive was completed with another one-yard score for Wimsatt.
Indiana and Rutgers traded possessions for the remainder of the quarter with neither side able to find much on offense. Heading into the fourth, the Scarlet Knights maintained a 24-14 advantage.
FOURTH QUARTER
Rutgers took over on their own 15-yard line a little less than a minute into the quarter. On the second play of the drive, Wimsatt took a quarterback keeper up the middle and outran the entire Hoosiers’ secondary en route to an 80-yard touchdown.
Both offenses grew stagnant following the Scarlet Knights’ score. Indiana reached the red zone for the first time of the quarter on its final drive, but a failed 4th and 7 on Rutgers’ 16-yard line would seal the game.
The Hoosiers fell to 2-5, and 0-4 in the conference, with the loss, and Rutgers moved to 6-2 overall and 3-2 within the Big Ten.
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
