Indiana and Towson tangle at The Rock tonight. Live commentary of the proceedings here.
The Hoosiers stopped Towson on 4th and 1 from the 38 on a great tackled by Adam Replogle on Hart, who ran a quarterback keeper.
IU took over and went to work, driving to Towson’s 18-yard line before being stopped and forced to settle for a 36-yard field goal from Nick Freeland. That stretched the lead to 41-14.
On the ensuing possession, Towson was moving the ball when Matt Ernest stepped in front of a receiver to intercept another pass from Hart and take it 56 yards for a touchdown. That would be 48-14 Indiana. Great play from Ernest
Dusty Kiel then entered the game at quarterback for the Hoosiers along with the second-string offensive line. With 6:47 remaining in the third quarter Indiana put in the backups. That might be an IU record.
Kiel’s opening drive left a little to be desired, an incomplete pass, a run for a four-yard loss and a scramble for a few yards.
The second-string defense (for the most part) forced a three-and-out from Towson.
True freshman Antonio Banks entered the game and immediately grabbed a four yard gain. Banks looked fantastic as an early enrollee during the spring game, so it’s nice to see him get some reps.
On his second drive, Kiel missed on two passes and IU had another three-and-out.
Hoosiers lead 48-14 after three quarters.
Thanks to my cable being out and thus my internet as well, I've been forced to listen to the venerable Don Fischer for most of the first two quarters of this game. I've got the video and internet back up now and hey folks, looks like we could have a shootout on our hands.
Here's a quick recap of what we've seen so far:
In the opening quarter IU dominated, running up a 17-0 lead thanks to an incredibly balanced attack. During the first 15 minutes, running back Darius Willis had seven carries for 80 yards and a 49-yard touchdown. And what a sweet touchdown run it was.
Quarterback Ben Chappell was 9-of-11 for 72 yards and a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ted Bolser. Defensively the Hoosiers did a great job, picking off Towson quarterback Chris Hart two times to help set up scores.
Hart rebounded in the second quarter though as he led the Tigers on a 64-yard touchdown drive that culminated in a five-yard touchdown pass to Tom Ryan with 12:21 left in the first half.
The Hoosiers answered quickly, as Chappell hooked up with Damarlo Belcher for a 41-yard touchdown pass less than a minute later.
Again, Hart got Towson off the mat and hit Hakeem Moore for a 64-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 24-14 with 10:16 left in the half.
After a missed Towson field goal, Chappell took the Hoosiers driving again, as they marched 70 yards on nine plays for a score, as Trea Burgess capped off the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. That made things 31-14.
Then, as Towson was trying to make something happen late, a bad snap on a punt led to a blocked punt by Kevin Bush. IU then started the drive on Towson's 21-yard line. On the opening play, Chappell hit Belcher for a 19-yard gain, and Willis finished off the drive with a two-yard run.
So Indiana, thanks to some Towson miscues, leads 38-14 at the half.
Nice little opening half for the offense so far. The Hoosiers have looked great thus far moving the ball. Yes, I'm aware the opponent is Towson, but Chappell and co. haven't played down to the competition.
Some first half numbers for you:
Ben Chappell: 14-of-19, 165 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions.
Darius Willis: 13 carries for 101 yards, 2 touchdowns.
Damarlo Belcher: 8 catches for 96 yards, touchdown.
Ted Bolser: 3 catches, for 46 yards, touchdown.
Terrance Turner: 2 catches, 12 yards.
Tyler Replogle leads IU with 7 tackles, Mitchell Evans has 6. Both players also have interceptions.
Indiana offense: 286 yards, 16 first downs on 35 plays (8.2 average per play).
Towson offense: 208 yards, 7 first downs on 36 plays (5.8 average per play).
Fourth Quarter and Final Numbers
Dusty Kiel managed to lead the troops to a field goal in his third drive, as Mitch Ewald nailed a 32-yarder. Zach Davis-Walker did most of the damage on the drive though, rushing three times for 30 yards, including a 24-yarder. That extended the Hoosiers lead to 51-17.
Edward Wright-Baker took the first snaps of his IU career with roughly five minutes remaining in the game. Wright-Baker completed a pass to Jamonne Chester but couldn’t take the offense to a first down on his only series.
As for the individual offensive stats, they finished like this:
Ben Chappell: 16-of-23, 176 yards, 2 touchdowns, 120.9 rating
Dusty Kiel: 1-of-5, 21 yards, 44.6 rating
Edward Wright-Baker: 1-of-2, 2 yards, 56.3 rating
Darius Willis: 14 carries, 102 yards, 2 touchdowns
Zach Davis-Walker: 3 carries, 28 yards
Trea Burgess: 2 carries, 17 yards, 1 touchdown
Antonio Banks: 1 carry, 4 yards
Nick Turner: 3 carries, -3 yards
Damarlo Belcher: 8 catches, 96 yards, 1 touchdown
Ted Bolser: 4 catches, 68 yards, 1 touchdown
Terrance Turner: 3 catches, 14 yards
Trea Burgess: 1 catch, 13 yards
Jamonne Chester: 2 catch, 13 yards
John Connelly: 1 catch, 11 yards
Jarrell Drane: 1 catch, 9 yards
Duwyce Wilson: 1 catch, 5 yards
Defensively, the Hoosiers surrendered 391 yards, which was more than they gained (354). But the Hoosiers emptied their bench midway through the third quarter.
Bill Lynch improves to 4-0 in openers as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers.
Overall it was a good night for Indiana. I’ll have more reaction tomorrow. As it is, the Hoosiers are undefeated heading into a meeting with Western Kentucky at September 18.
Sep 02 10:48p by Ryan Phillips - 0 comments