One week following another annual victory over Ball State in last week’s opener, Indiana came home to take on another should-be-easy opponent in Eastern Illinois and things got started early for Indiana as Freshman QB Michael Penix Jr. hit fellow Freshman WR Miles Marshall for a 10-yard TD to give the Hoosiers a quick 7-0 lead.
The Hoosier defense stood strong on the following EIU drive to get the ball back and Penix connected yet again- this time on a diving, 30-yard pass to WR Whop Philyor, setting up a Stevie Scott TD run to put Indiana up 14-0. The Hoosier defense came out strong yet again, forcing a 4th Down and blocking a punt, leading to a 28-yard Philyor run, which set up a Cole Gest TD run, to put the home team up 21-0 with 1 minute to go in the 1st quarter.
At the end of the 1st Quarter, Indiana had dominated the Panthers- IU finishing with 193 total yards compared to EIU’s -5 (150 passing yards compared to 0, 43 rushing yards to 0), they also led 8-0 in first downs and completely shut down the Panthers on 3rd down.
The 2nd quarter saw Indiana trying to run down the clock to halftime but the Panthers defense just couldn’t stop anything, with Penix connecting with TE Peyton Hendershot for an 8 yarder and backup QB Peyton Ramsey hitting Ronnie Walker Jr. for a long 64-yard pass, giving Indiana a 35-0 lead at halftime.
This continued through the 2nd half as EIU just couldn’t seem to get any offense going and couldn’t stop the Hoosiers either, who steamrolled to a decisive 52-0 victory. The undefeated Indiana squad faces their first true challenge of the season when the return home next week to face a tough Ohio State team, who also stand undefeated and won a shut out today against Cincinnati.
-Reggie Edwards; Photo by Tony Vasquez
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