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Instant recap: Indiana 55, Maryland 10

  • 5h ago
 

Devan Boykin dives for a touchdown.

Quick thoughts on IU football’s 55-10 win against Maryland at SECU Stadium:

Key plays in IU’s win

Mendoza’s seven-yard touchdown run stabilizes IU after a slow start

After IU’s first two drives ended in an interception and a punt, the IU offense got going on its third drive of the opening quarter.

Fernando Mendoza’s 7-yard run finished off a 13-play, 93-yard drive to put the Hoosiers ahead 7-3 with 2:18 left in the opening quarter.

Out of a five-wideout set, the Maryland defense wasn’t expecting Mendoza’s run. The Heisman contender walked right into the endzone untouched behind center Pat Coogan.

Interception stops Maryland drive and leads to IU field goal

With Maryland threatening on a drive deep in IU territory, Mikail Kamara put pressure on freshman quarterback Malik Washington, which led to an interception by Kaiden Turner on the first play of the second quarter.

The Hoosiers were able to capitalize with a 20-yard field goal by Nicolas Radicic with 10:30 left before halftime. The Maryland defense stopped IU in the red zone on a third-and-short play and Curt Cignetti opted for the field goal and the points rather than going for it on fourth down.

On the drive to set up the field goal, Charlie Becker’s 52-yard catch and run was instrumental in getting the Hoosiers deep into Maryland territory.

Another interception sets up 84-yard touchdown drive and gives IU a two-score lead

Louis Moore’s fifth interception of the season gave the Hoosiers possession on their own 16-yard line with 9:33 to play in the second quarter.

Nine plays later, Mendoza found Omar Cooper Jr. for a 22-yard touchdown pass, putting the Hoosiers up 17-3.

It was Mendoza’s 25th touchdown pass of the season and the eighth touchdown reception for Cooper.

Run game fuels third touchdown drive

Maryland kept things interesting early in the second half with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Washington to DeJuan Williams to make it 20-10.

But IU’s running game had an answer on its ensuing drive. Kaelon Black finished a 63-yard drive for the Hoosiers with a 31-yard touchdown run to push the lead back to three scores at 27-10.

Roman Hemby had two carries for 11 yards on the drive and Black had three carries for 44 yards.

Boykin’s strip and score puts the Terps away in the third quarter

The Hoosiers quickly put the game away on Maryland’s next drive.

On third-and-one, Devan Boykin stripped Washington, picked up the ball and took it 32 yards to the end zone.

That play put the Hoosiers up 34-10 and the game out of reach, sealing IU’s sixth Big Ten win.

Offensive standouts and statistics that stand out

Fernando Mendoza threw for 201 yards and a touchdown to go along with a rushing touchdown.

Kaelon Black carried the ball 14 times for 110 yards and a touchdown and Roman Hemby carried 18 times for 88 yards and a touchdown. Khobie Martin had 11 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Omar Cooper Jr. had seven catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.

The Hoosiers dominated the game on the ground, rushing for 367 yards and an average of 7.1 yards per carry.

Defensive standouts and statistics that stand out

Devan Boykin finished with four tackles and also had the strip and score. Byron Baldwin Jr. also had a forced fumble and recovery.

Louis Moore and Kaiden Turner each had an interception. Rolijah Hardy led the Hoosiers with six tackles.

IU stifled Maryland’s running game as the Terps managed only 37 yards on 17 carries.

What’s next for the Hoosiers

Indiana will be back in action next Saturday at Beaver Stadium against Penn State. The Nittany Lions are 3-5 overall, 0-5 in the Big Ten and lost 38-14 at Ohio State on Saturday. Kickoff time and a TV designation will be announced on Sunday.

(Photo credit: Hoosiers Connect)

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