MI quarterback Jack Rudock kept finding ways to get things done when IN couldn’t. The Hoosiers, double digit underdogs, were looking to pull off an upset for the ages. There’s really good players over there, and we went toe-to-toe with them like we do every week.
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Howard demolished a defense that came into the game allowing just 80.6 yards rushing per game, while Sudfeld went 20 of 34 for 220 yards and one touchdown in his final college home game. This was just a small way the Wolverines were tested in this matchup.
Rudock finished 33 of 46 with 440 yards and six scores, breaking the previous school record of four.
The Hoosiers on the other hand kicked three consecutive field goals.
Saturday demonstrated that #CHAOSTEAM is a fun moniker, but ultimately a failed one that always seems to end in a series of heartbreaks and what-ifs.
No. 14 MI STATE 24, MARYLAND 7 (at East Lansing, Mich.) – Quarterback Connor Cook left the game at halftime with an apparent shoulder injury in the Spartans’ victory over the Terrapins (2-8, 0-6).
Blough completed 26 of 45 passes for 287 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
In overtime, the two teams traded scores in the first period.
All MI needed then was a stop and when Paige bobbled the pass, safety Delano Hill knocked it away. MI then mounted an eight-play, 66-yard drive, capped by a five-yard touchdown pass from Jake Rudock to Jehu Chesson on fourth-and-goal as time expired to send the game to overtime.
ABOUT INDIANA (4-5, 0-5 Big Ten): Nate Sudfeld set a new program record when he threw the 49th touchdown pass of his career in the loss to Iowa and he will be one of the players honored on Senior Day at Memorial Stadium. But Rudock carried over from a strong performance a week ago against Rutgers and carried the team to huge Big Ten victory. Huge, in the same way that in is trying to find a way to now become bowl eligible. The Hoosiers have faced three top-10 teams in the past six weeks and had a chance to win all of those games. But they have made this a lot harder than it had to be.
“That’s our strength, that’s where we’re most consistent”, Meyer said, “but we also know, to win the big one, you need to be balanced”. Just finding a way to win is what weve been trying to do.. “They were making plays the whole game”.
It’s widely believed that his problems with the 49ers management led to the sides separating after last season, opening Harbaugh as an available candidate at MI.
Granted, IN has one of the Big Ten’s more complex offenses – a no-huddle, high-tempo scheme that counts on wearing down opposing defenses.
Jim Harbaugh destroyed the notion of ever leaving MI for the Indianapolis Colts should that job open up.
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Of course, Harbaugh is no stranger to the Colts organization, having been the team’s starting quarterback from 1994-97.
