Indiana football shrugs off key injuries, steamrolls Maryland
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
It’s always spooky season for teams that line up against Indiana football.
The No. 2 Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) had a 55-10 win over Maryland (4-4, 1-4) locked up by the time the fourth quarter rolled around Saturday in College Park, Maryland. Their latest lopsided victory came with key starters sidelined on both sides of the ball.
They forced four turnovers — Maryland freshman quarterback Malik Washington threw interceptions on back-to-back possessions in the first half then fumbled on consecutive drives after halftime — and IU scored a defensive touchdown for a second straight game.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza had a quiet day at the office with 201 yards passing and two touchdowns (one passing), but he gladly let the run game take the spotlight.
The Hoosiers up put a season-high 367 yards rushing (7.1 per carry) and they had three running backs put up 80 yards or more and a score. It was the program’s most rushing yards since its 414 yards in a 42-36 win over Maryland in 2016.
Here’s our instant analysis from IU’s win:
Indiana football swats away the injury bug against Maryland
Indiana football’s depth was tested in a big way Saturday.
The Hoosiers opened the game with multiple starters sidelined — left guard Drew Evans, middle linebacker Aiden Fisher and kickoff specialist Brendan Franke — and lost leading wide receiver Elijah Sarratt on the first drive to an apparent hamstring injury.
Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones replaced Fisher in the starting lineup and his backup at outside linebacker, Kaiden Turner, headed to the locker room early in the second quarter with a lower body injury.
Cignetti’s team lived up to the next-man-up philosophy he preaches on a weekly basis
Indiana receivers Omar Cooper Jr. and Charlie Becker kept the passing game on track. Becker had a career-long 52-yard catch-and-run to set up a score early in the second quarter while Cooper had seven catches for 86 yards with a touchdown.
He bullied Maryland’s defensive backs throughout the game — he threw one to the ground with a nasty stiff arm in the first quarter and got open for a score with a fake to the inside that nearly knocked a defender onto his backside.
With Evans out, Ohio State transfer Zen Michalski stepped into the starting lineup. He recovered from a rough start — he allowed an early sack — to keep Mendoza upright for the rest of the game and help the rushing offense dominate.
Indiana’s defense didn’t miss a beat either with Jones wearing the green dot just as he did for most of the UCLA game.
The Hoosiers created the same kind of havoc they have all season long and passed an early test by holding the Terps to a field goal after Fernando Mendoza had an interception on the opening possession that was returned down to IU’s 5-yard line.
Indiana football’s running game goes beast mode against the Terps
After Maryland seemed to find a pulse coming out of halftime with a quick scoring drive, Indiana turned to its run game for a quick response. The Hoosiers handed it off five times on a six-play drive that ended with Kaelon Black taking it 31 yards to the house to put his team up 27-10.
Former Terps running back Roman Hemby and Black were trucking through defenders throughout the game and consistently moving the chains. Indiana outgained Maryland on the ground 367-37 while averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
The blocking was on point with IU’s offensive line consistently opening up wide lines, but It looked like Maryland simply had no interest in stepping in front of Black after he lowered his shoulder and buried defensive back Gavin Edwards into the turf on a 20-yard run in the first half.
Black had 14 carries for a team-high 110 yards and the touchdown, it was his most yards in a single game for the Hoosiers and second-career 100-yard rushing performance, while Hemby had 18 carries for 88 yards against his former team.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Instant analysis of Indiana football’s win over Maryland
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos