Bloomington Leader

Hoosiers Drop Tight Contest at Rutgers

The bye couldn't have come at a better time.

Indiana gets two weeks to regroup.

It's much needed, head coach Tom Allen said, in the aftermath of Saturday's 24-17 loss at Rutgers.

"We have a lot of work to be done in a lot of areas," Allen told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer in his post-game radio show. "We have to get guys rested and healthy, and get their minds and bodies back together. Physically, we have to be able to have a strong last four games."

Those games are against No. 16 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State, Michigan State, and Purdue.

For a while on Saturday, IU (3-5) seemed on the verge of a big victory to restore its bowl hopes. Its quick 14-0 lead suggested a dominating day.

Instead, Rutgers (4-3) stormed back.

"I'm very disappointed," Allen told Fischer. "We got off to a good start like we wanted to. We moved the ball down the field twice (in the first quarter). We should have gotten points the second time, but did not.

"Still, we wanted to start strong and we did that. But we could not sustain anything on offense. It put a lot of pressure on our defense. They played hard, but they were out there too much."

That early lead became a 17-14 deficit by the end of the third quarter.

In two third-quarter possessions totaling 75 seconds, IU had minus-2 yards and zero points. In two third-quarter possessions in 13-plus minutes, Rutgers had 94 yards and 10 points.

Still, win the fourth quarter by at least four points and fuel momentum for a strong finish.

Instead, Rutgers won it 7-3.

"Offensively, it was not what you want to do," Allen told Fischer. "Our guys battled on defense. (Rutgers) nickel and dimed us a little bit. That third quarter was tough."

IU couldn't have asked for a better start. True freshman Jaylin Lucas took the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. The offense dominated its first possession for a second TD, the final seven yards coming on a quarterback Connor Bazelak run. It was his first rushing Hoosier touchdown.

That drive reflected offensive coordinator Walt Bell's warp-speed approach at its best. Bazelak completed all seven passes for 77 yards. Short passes on the perimeter. A screen and another short pass to get Shaun Shivers and Josh Henderson in space. A couple of runs to keep the defense off balance.

Then, Rutgers adjusted.

Five Indiana drives were three-and-out. Another ended after two plays with an interception. The Scarlet Knights had the ball almost twice as long as the Hoosiers.

"We were not able to get anything generated on offense," Allen told Fischer. "It put pressure on our D."

Losing receiver Cam Camper to injury hurt. He had five catches for 43 yards before leaving the game in the second quarter.

"He's a special player," Allen told Fischer. "We don't know the extent of the injury. We lost him for the rest of this game.

"He makes us go. He comes up with a lot of good catches to give us first downs and keep up the momentum. There's a noticeable difference when he's not in there."

Bazelak, who completed his first 10 passes for 97 yards, finished 23-for-41 for 210 yards.

"He did a lot of good things," Allen told Fischer. "He threw the interception, but pressure created that one. We got beat off the edge.

"We were not able to score points. We have to go back and see what the reason is, but a tough day, for sure. He's a tough kid. He keeps battling."

Lucas rocked Rutgers with his touchdown kickoff return. The Hoosiers followed that by forcing a Scarlet Knights' punt, and then unleashed their uptempo attack. In just over four minutes, they drove 91 yards for a TD.

In seven minutes, IU had that 14-0 lead and all the momentum.

Rutgers came back with an early second quarter touchdown. It added a field goal and then a touchdown in the third quarter for a 17-14 lead.

Hoosier kicker Charles Campbell missed a 51-yard field goal that would have tied the score midway through the fourth quarter.

Under pressure and on the verge of being sacked for a safety, Bazelak threw a pick-6 to make it 24-14 in the closing minutes.

The Hoosiers came back by getting Lucas the ball to set up a Campbell 39-yard field goal for a 24-17 score with 78 seconds left.

The Scarlet Knights recovered the onside kick to clinch the victory.

Original source can be found here.