NCAAF Game Recap - Indiana at Ball State
Sat Aug 31, 2019 12:00 PM EDT

GATec
14
Clem
52
F
Duke
3
Bama
42
F
UGA
30
Vand
6
F
Hou
31
Okla
49
F
FlAtl
21
OSU
45
F
GaSo
3
LSU
55
F
MidTN
21
Mich
40
F
ND
35
Lou
17
F
LT
14
Tex
45
F
Oreg
21
Aub
27
F
TxSt
7
TxAM
41
F
EWa
14
Wash
47
F
Utah
30
BYU
12
F
Idaho
7
PSU
79
F
FlaAM
0
UCF
62
F
Tuls
7
MSU
28
F
Wisc
49
SoFL
0
F
MiaOH
14
Iowa
38
F
NoIa
26
IASt
29
F(2OT)
Syr
24
Lib
0
F
NMS
7
WaSt
58
F
SoAl
21
Neb
35
F
NW
7
Stan
17
F
Alb
21
C Mi
38
F
UCLA
14
Cin
24
F
RMor
10
Buff
38
F
Wagn
21
UConn
24
F
Mor
3
BGSU
46
F
C Ark
35
W Ky
28
F
GWebb
28
UNCC
49
F
JacSt
14
SouLA
35
F
AlaSt
19
UAB
24
F
FLInt
14
Tul
42
F
SDSU
21
MIN
28
F
NoCol
18
SJSU
35
F
Kent
7
AzSt
30
F
Rice
7
Army
14
F
UMass
21
Rut
48
F
UtSt
35
Wake
38
F
Purd
31
NEV
34
F
ColSt
31
Colo
52
F
OkSt
52
OreSt
36
F
Miss
10
Mem
15
F
MissSt
38
ULLaf
28
F
InSt
17
Kans
24
F
Akr
3
Ill
42
F
ECU
6
NCSt
34
F
How
0
MD
79
F
Toled
24
KY
38
F
Ind
34
Ball
24
F
Boise
36
FlaSt
31
F
JMU
13
WVU
20
F
URI
20
Ohio
41
F
Buck
12
Temp
56
F
HolyC
7
Navy
45
F
Colg
7
AF
48
F
GASt
38
Tenn
30
F
SCar
20
UNC
24
F
E Mi
30
CoCar
23
F
ETenn
7
App
42
F
MonSt
10
TxTch
45
F
PorSt
13
Ark
20
F
VaTec
28
BC
35
F
SamHu
31
NM
39
F
(N/A)
7
UTSA
35
F
Camp
14
Troy
43
F
UCDav
13
Cal
27
F
VMI
17
Marsh
56
F
IllSt
10
NIU
24
F
Monm
13
WestMI
48
F
AlcSt
10
SMiss
38
F
Nich
14
K St
49
F
SFA
17
Bayl
56
F
SMU
37
ArkSt
30
F
Norf
21
OD
24
F
MIZ
31
Wyo
37
F
Abil
31
NorTx
51
F
UVA
30
Pitt
14
F
Gram
9
ULMon
31
F
HBU
34
UTEP
36
F
ArkPB
7
TCU
39
F
Web
0
SDSU
6
F
SoUt
23
UNLV
56
F
Fres
23
USC
31
F

Aug 31, 2019, 12:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Indiana (1-0)

10

6

7

11

34

Ball State (0-1)

3

7

7

7

24

Penix helps Hoosiers hold on for 34-24 victory over Ball St.
Sat Aug 31, 2019 5:40 PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. demonstrated his playmaking potential Saturday.

He started fast. He ran well. And he found a way to close out a 34-24 victory over Ball State.

Even Penix knows, though, there's plenty of room for improvement following an up-and-down starting debut.

"He missed some reads, but that didn't surprise me," Indiana coach Tom Allen said. "You're going to have some growing pains and they did a good job disguising things. But he was able to make something out of nothing sometimes."

It's one reason Allen named Penix the starter over Peyton Ramsey.

Yes, Penix put up solid numbers Saturday.

After going 8 of 11 with 144 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the first quarter, he finished 26 of 40 with 326 yards, one TD and two interceptions and seven carries for 67 yards. He became the fourth freshman in school history to throw for 300 yards in a game and produced the school's second-highest passing total in his first start - trailing only Antwaan Randle El (385) in 1998.

But this week's film sessions might be tough to grade.

At times, the redshirt freshman's fastballs bounced off the hands of receivers. At others, he made bad decisions or poor throws. A few drops didn't help, either.

But the bottom line: Penix was effective enough to win.

He set up Justus for a career-long 48-yard field goal on the Hoosiers' opening possession and broke a 3-3 tie with a perfect strike to Nick Westbrook for a 75-yard touchdown on the second possession.

"It just felt great," Penix said. "That was a great play, great protection, great catch by Nick but you've got to keep playing."

Penix was intercepted on each of the next two possessions, one of which Ball State (0-1) turned into a tying touchdown.

Two more field goals from Justus made it 16-10 at halftime.

Then Penix reverted to his early form, setting up Stevie Scott III for a 4-yard TD run to open the third quarter and a 2-yard TD run early in the fourth after Walter Fletcher cut the deficit to 23-17 by breaking a tackle on a 45-yard TD catch from Drew Plitt.

The Cardinals made it 31-24 on Yo'Heinz Tyler's 36-yard touchdown catch with 6:28 left.

Justus sealed the victory with his third career-long field goal of the game, a 50-yarder with 2:15 to go.

"We're capable if we play our best football," Ball State coach Mike Neu said. "It was there for us to go out and get, but we didn't get it done.

THE TAKEAWAY

Indiana: The Hoosiers (1-0) got what they needed - a win - but know they must clean up a lot of mistakes before welcoming facing No. 5 Ohio State to Bloomington in two weeks.

Ball State: Plitt played well and the Cardinals exceeded expectations after winning only 10 games in Neu's first three seasons. It was a promising start for this season.

STREAKING

Indiana: The Hoosiers intercepted Plitt with 1:14 to go, extending their streak of consecutive games with a turnover to 19 and their streak of consecutive games with an interception to 11. Indiana started Saturday with the nation's second-longest streak of games with a turnover.

Ball State: Receiver Riley Miller had his six-game streak with a touchdown catch end and the Cardinals have now lost six straight against Big Ten foes and three in a row to the in-state Hoosiers.

STAT SHEET

Indiana: Scott carried 19 times for 48 yards. Westbrook had three receptions for 103 yards, Whop Philyor caught six passes for 66 yards and Peyton Hendershot had four catches for 69 yards. The Hoosiers have won 14 of their last 16 season openers.

Ball State: Plitt was 26 of 41 with 298 yards, two TDs and one interception in his debut as Ball State's full-time starter. Caleb Huntley ran 22 times for 81 yards and one touchdown. Justin Hall had six catches for 39 yards. The Cardinals have lost five of their last six overall.

UP NEXT

Indiana: Opens its home schedule next Saturday against Eastern Illinois.

Ball State: Hosts Fordham next Saturday.

---

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

Ind Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
M. Penix Jr. 40 24 60.0 1 326 75 2 73.5
Ball Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
D. Plitt 41 26 63.4 2 298 45 1 91.3

Rushing

Ind Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
M. Penix Jr. 7 67 9.6 24 0
S. Scott III 19 48 2.5 7 2
Ball Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
C. Huntley 22 81 3.7 11 1
J. Hall 2 13 6.5 9 0

Receiving

Ind Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
N. Westbrook 3 103 34.3 75 1
P. Hendershot 4 69 17.3 22 0
Ball Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
Y. Tyler 3 71 23.7 36 1
A. Davis 3 60 20.0 28 0

Fumbles

Returning

Ind KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
D. Ellis 4 26.0 0 33 0 0 0
C. Gest 1 21.0 0 21 0 0 0
Ball KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
M. Dunner 1 23.0 0 23 0 0 0
M. Hurt Jr. 1 12.0 0 12 0 0 0

Punting

Ind Punt Yds Avg LgPu
H. Whitehead 3 155 51.7 63
Ball Punt Yds Avg LgPu
N. Snyder 5 227 45.4 52

Takeaways

Ind Int Yds InTD
J. Williams 1 29 0
Ball Int Yds InTD
A. Uzodinma II 1 0 0
A. Phillips 1 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

Ind Ball
Points For 34 24
Total Yards 474 398
Rushing Yards 148 100
Passing Yards 326 298
Passing Completions / Attempts 24/41 26/41
Turnovers 2 1
Interceptions Thrown 2 1
Fumbles - Lost 0/0 0/0
First Downs 25 26
Penalties - Yards 5/65 5/35
Time Of Possession 01:01 59:59
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 6/12 7/16
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 0/0 1/2
Punts - Average Yards 3/52 5/45

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Ind Ball
Ind 05:16 FG Logan Justus 48 yd FG 3 0
Ball 11:30 FG Ryan Rimmler 22 yd FG 3 3
Ind 12:19 TD Nick Westbrook 75 yd pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Logan Justus kick) 10 3
2nd Quarter Ind Ball
Ball 01:02 TD Caleb Huntley 1 yd run (Ryan Rimmler kick) 10 10
Ind 11:48 FG Logan Justus 30 yd FG 13 10
Ind 14:59 FG Logan Justus 49 yd FG 16 10
3rd Quarter Ind Ball
Ind 03:07 TD Stevie Scott III 4 yd run (Logan Justus kick) 23 10
Ball 06:26 TD Walter Fletcher 45 yd pass from Drew Plitt (Ryan Rimmler kick) 23 17
4th Quarter Ind Ball
Ind 01:13 TD Stevie Scott III 2 yd run (Peyton Hendershot 2pt pass from David Ellis) 31 17
Ball 08:32 TD Yo'Heinz Tyler 36 yd pass from Drew Plitt (Ryan Rimmler kick) 31 24
Ind 12:45 FG Logan Justus 50 yd FG 34 24

Game Information

Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 21,437
Game Time:
Weather: