Ground game leads No. 12 Indiana past Maryland
Freshman running back Tim Baldwin rushed for 106 yards and junior running back Stevie Scott added 80 yards rushing and 3 rushing touchdowns, lifting No. 12 Indiana to a 27-11 win over Maryland at Memorial Stadium.
The Hoosiers (5-1) shook off some early offensive doldrums to bounce back from their first loss of the season at Ohio State. Indiana led just 7-3 at halftime before pulling away in the second half for the win.
Indiana linebacker D.K. Bonhomme sacked Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa in the end zone for a safety to put Indiana up 9-3 in the third quarter. Then, on IU's following offensive drive, Scott plunged in for a 1-yard TD run, with a subsequent two-point conversion putting IU up 17-3.
The drive came at as a cost, though, as Indiana lost starting quarterback Michael Penix to an apparent leg injury on a 21-yard designed run play when he pulled up awkwardly as he went out of bounds. Penix had struggled throwing the ball up to that point, finishing the game 6 of 19 for 84 yards.
A 33-yard field goal from Charles Campbell extended Indiana's lead to 20-3 with 13:37 remaining.
Scott's third TD run, on 4th-and-goal from the 2, put Indiana up 27-3 with 8:22 left.
Maryland (2-2) was unable to find the end zone until a 43-yard TD pass from Tagovailoa to receiver Dontay Deemus cut Indiana's lead to 27-11 with 1:32 remaining.
The Terrapins played without freshman standout wide receiver Rakim Jarrett, one of a handful of inactives following a team-wide COVID-19 outbreak. Maryland was playing its first game since Nov. 7 against Penn State after having back-to-back games against Ohio State and Michigan State canceled.
Tagovailoa finished the game 17 of 36 for 241 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Indiana sputtered offensively throughout the first half, going three-and-out on four of eight offensive drives. Penix was off target throughout the first half, completing just 2 of 15 passes for 37 yards.
The Hoosiers put together an 11-play, 74-yard TD drive in the first quarter, going up 7-0 on a 3-yard TD run by Scott. Maryland cut Indiana's lead to 7-3 with 4:06 left in the second quarter on a Joseph Petrino 37-yard field goal.
Maryland missed more chances to put points on the board in the first half, coming away with no points in two trips inside the red zone. Petrino missed a 29-yard field goal attempt after Maryland started the game with a 13-play, 63-yard drive. Then, late in the first quarter, Tagovailoa had a pass picked off at the Indiana 2-yard by sophomore Indiana cornerback Tiawan Mullen, one of two first-half takeaways by the Hoosiers.
Indiana finished the game with three takeaways to extend its Big Ten lead to 18 takeaways on the season.
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