For the eighth time this season, Indiana won a football game without trailing for a single second of game time. College Gameday was in town, an undefeated record was on the line, and Indiana controlled Washington all afternoon en route to a 31-17 victory. The Huskies outgained Indiana by six yards, averaging 5.5 yards per play compared to Indiana’s 4.4 yards per play. Washington has now outgained its opponent in each of its four losses this season. Offensively, Washington combined the essential drive elements of big plays, passing rhythm, and red zone capitalization just once against the Hoosiers. It came in the form of a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Otherwise, Indiana’s defense stepped up and held the Huskies to just two plays of 25-plus yards. The Hoosiers were able to create turnovers, turn those into points, and take time off the clock with long drives.
Points off of Turnovers
Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds came away with two interceptions in the first half. The first interception was off a broken-up pass at the line of scrimmage. Tyrique Tucker forced contact on Will Rogers III and the pass fell into the hands of Ponds. He took it 65 yards for a pick-six and the first points of the day. The sold-out Memorial Stadium erupted.
Three drives later, Washington began its possession deep in its own territory. Rogers took a downfield shot to Denzel Boston, who was forced to play defense on the 50/50 ball that Ponds defended really well. The cornerback made a concentration catch on the tipped ball as he fell to the turf, earning his second interception of the day. Two plays later, Indiana was in the end zone with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. It was suddenly a 14-0 Hoosier lead just minutes into the second quarter, and the Hoosiers had just 92 yards of offense.
But Washington had its turn of points off of turnovers to begin the second half. On the first play of the third quarter, Tayven Jackson’s dart of a pass was batted into the air on tight coverage by Thaddeus Dixon. Jacob Bandes reached into the air with one hand to snatch the football. Washington took over at the Indiana 24-yard line. Four plays later, Demond Williams Jr. punched it in for his first collegiate rushing touchdown.
Punt Return Seals It
Down 10 points early in the fourth quarter, Washington punted the football for the fourth time of the day. Jack McCallister punted well against Indiana, averaging 53.8 yards per boot. He had a long of 62 on the day. This punt went 52 yards but did not have significant hang time. Myles Price fielded the kick and returned it 65 yards to the Washington 14-yard line. Adam Mohammed made a touchdown-saving tackle after running the width of the field on a great effort play. But it four plays later, Jackson put the football in the end zone anyway. The score put the Hoosiers up 31-14 to virtually ice the game. With the Hoosier defense creating points, the special teams unit piled on creating its own difference-making play.
Washington Defense
Despite the loss, the Washington defense played a quality game. The Hoosiers have been a fast-starting team this season, but Steve Belichick’s group changed that on Saturday. Washington’s first three defensive drives ended with a three-and-out, a turnover on downs, and another three-and-out. They were down 7-0, but not to the fault of the defense. At that point in the game, the Hoosiers had just 46 yards of offense on 12 plays. Washington forced three three-and-outs on Saturday. Indiana had gone three-and-out just three times in its last three games.
In the second quarter, Indiana began putting together what would become its longest drive (in terms of plays) of the season. The Hoosiers moved the ball 62 yards on 19 plays (3.2 yards per play), taking over seven minutes off the clock. The drive reached inside the Husky 10 yard line on the 13th play. A touchdown here would have made it a 21-7 lead into the half, with Indiana to receive in the third quarter. Indiana ran five plays, failing to reach the end zone on each. The Hoosiers ran three plays at the Washington one-yard line, each stopped by the defense. Alphonzo Tuputala made the first two stops. On third and goal, Carson Bruener and Makell Esteen combined to stone-wall Ty Son Lawton for no gain. Indiana was forced to settle for three points.
The interception to begin the third quarter felt like the momentum shift Washington needed. Bandes’ pick set up a touchdown to cut their deficit to just three points. But Indiana kept scoring, and Washington couldn’t keep up. However, the defense held Indiana to its fewest yards of the season. The Hoosiers averaged 512 yards per game and 7.7 yards per play entering this contest. Against Washington, Indiana tallied 312 yards of offense and 4.4 yards per play.
Individual Standouts
But the biggest difference on Saturday was Indiana’s defense. The group was able to shut down Washington’s run game for the majority of the afternoon. Jonah Coleman finished with 104 yards on a season-high 19 carries. He had a 46-yard burst that helped set up a Washington touchdown. If you remove that run he averaged 3.2 yards per carry, and the rest of the team averaged just 2.25 yards per rush. Indiana tallied three sacks and six tackles for loss on the day.
On the other side, Indiana found that it didn’t need to throw the football to win. The Hoosier offense had just 24 passing yards in the second half on five attempts. Outside of Jackson’s 42-yard touchdown pass, Indiana had just 82 passing yards and 4.5 yards per passing attempt. Justice Ellison carried the football 29 times against Washington for 123 yards with one touchdown.
