Indiana Football: Hoosiers Slowed At Northwestern
EVANSTON, Ill. – Indiana’s valiant second half effort couldn’t overcome an early deficit in Saturday’s 24-14 defeat at Northwestern. The Wildcats (4-3, 3-1 Big Ten West) secured an early 21-3 lead, enough to keep the Hoosiers (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten East) from mounting a comeback.
“We started poorly on defense, but they did a nice job with a couple adjustments and working some things in the blocking game,” said Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson. “We didn’t create that energy; I think we had two dropped interceptions, one right before the half in the end zone and another that took 10 points off of the board. But we go in 24-3 with Northwestern at 371 yards, so coach Allen and the players did a great job making the adjustments.”
The defense kept the Hoosiers within striking distance late in the game. After conceding 371 yards in the first half, Indiana dialed in to hold the Wildcats offense scoreless with just 37 yards in the final 30 minutes. Nile Sykes led the effort with two sacks and three tackles for loss followed by Marcelino Ball with 10 tackles, 1.5 for loss, and a pass breakup. Tegray Scales added 10 tackles, his fifth consecutive game in double digits, including 2.5 for negative yardage.
“We didn’t really have any adjustments, we came here with a game plan,” said Sykes. “There were some minor adjustments to our schemes, but the main thing was to play hard, to get everybody out there with their cleats dug into the ground and attacking. If everybody does their job, good things happen for us.”
Rashard Fant and Jonathan Crawford tallied three pass breakups apiece to hold Northwestern’s aerial attack to 33 yards in the second half. Tony Fields provided a pass breakup, and Ralph Green III and Robert McCray swatted pass attempts at the line to account for the team’s 10 PBUs.
Nick Westbrook posted his third game of the season with triple-digit yardage, making 10 catches for 126 yards with his first career rushing touchdown. Devine Redding compiled 95 all-purpose yards, including a career-high six catches out of the backfield, and Devonte Williams added a career-best 42 yards with a 10.5 average.
The Wildcats dealt the Hoosiers an early two-score setback on their first two drives of the game. On their first possession, Clayton Thorson found Solomon Vault for a 17-yard touchdown pass. After cutting short Indiana’s first possession, Thorson again connected for a 34-yard touchdown pass to Austin Carr.
IU made an excellent stop for a three-and-out to earn a scoring drive at midfield. Richard Lagow linked with Ricky Jones, Westbrook, and Mitchell Page, all for first downs on his first three attempts of the drive. Lagow found Redding to put Indiana in the red zone, giving Griffin Oakes a clinical 21-yard field goal conversion.
Indiana closed the first half on a quest to shift the momentum, and they found it when the defense dug deep. After giving up 21 points in the first 16 minutes, they held the Wildcats to a last-second field goal at the end of the second quarter. That effort required a stop on a fourth down trick play from IU’s 33-yard line, and another diving pass breakup from Fant on the goal line. Fant’s three swats in the first half vaulted the senior to 13 on the season, the highest mark in the Big Ten.
The Hoosiers turned up the aggression on offense to earn a scoring drive on their first possession after the halftime break. Redding scampered for eight yards for a first down, setting up a 33-yard snag by Westbrook down the sideline. Jones extended the drive with eight of his 73 yards on a crossing route to put Indiana in the red zone, and Oakes finished it with a 30-yard field goal.
Jones flexed his diversity on special teams, blocking Northwestern’s punt on its next possession. The fifth-year senior flew untouched into the backfield for the deflection, and Alex Rodriguez covered the errant punt on Indiana’s 48-yard line.
A solid defensive sequence followed. Ball sniffed out a bubble screen for a 2-yard drop, and Green swatted a pass at the line on second down. After yielding a first down on pass interference, the Hoosiers stood tall with McCray’s swat on the line and Barwick’s third down sack. The defense held the Wildcats to just 25 yards in the third quarter.
The defensive stand led to Indiana’s first touchdown of the afternoon. Williams found the open field for a 15-yard run followed by another big catch from Westbrook for an 18-yard gain. Williams and Redding advanced IU with a pair of receptions in the backfield for first downs, but Westbrook finished the drive with a reverse sweep into the left corner of the end zone.
The defense continued to stifle Northwestern’s offense down the stretch. Sykes earned his pair of sacks—both on third down—and big stops by Fant and Ball forced fourth downs.
Lagow led the Hoosiers down the field for a final chance to stay in the game, connecting on back-to-back passes to Jones and Westbrook before finding Jones again for 17 yards. Redding took the rock for 15 yards over two plays to get into the red zone, but Lagow’s throw to Jones on fourth-and-three missed in the end zone.
“The offense has got to figure things out, we have to be sharper,” Wilson said. “We need to keep the defense coming and play well in the kicking game. There are tough challenges moving forward: we have five to go and we have to get one this week and keep moving forward to see how many we can stack up.”
Indiana returns home next weekend for a game against Maryland (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten East) on Saturday, Oct. 22. The game against the Terrapins is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff and will air on ESPNU.