NCAAF Game Recap - Northwestern at Indiana
Sat Nov 2, 2019 7:00 PM EDT

Wof
14
Clem
59
F
UGA
24
Fla
17
F
Oreg
56
USC
24
F
Utah
33
Wash
28
F
Miss
14
Aub
20
F
WVU
14
Bayl
17
F
Mich
38
MD
7
F
SMU
48
Mem
54
F
VaTec
20
ND
21
F
Cin
46
ECU
43
F
GaSo
24
App
21
F
Boise
52
SJSU
42
F
K St
38
Kans
10
F
NCSt
10
Wake
44
F
Navy
56
UConn
10
F
Buff
43
E Mi
14
F
NIU
10
C Mi
48
F
Hou
29
UCF
44
F
UTSA
14
TxAM
45
F
BC
58
Syr
27
F
Neb
27
Purd
31
F
Lib
63
UMass
21
F
OD
17
FLInt
24
F
Akr
6
BGSU
35
F
Troy
35
CoCar
36
F
JacSt
17
UT-M
22
F
ArkSt
48
ULMon
41
F
UNLV
17
ColSt
37
F
Army
13
AF
17
F
Marsh
20
Rice
7
F
TCU
27
OkSt
34
F
UTEP
26
NorTx
52
F
Rut
10
Ill
38
F
MiaFL
27
FlaSt
10
F
MidTN
20
UNCC
34
F
Tuls
26
Tul
38
F
FlAtl
35
W Ky
24
F
MissSt
54
Ark
24
F
Pitt
20
GATec
10
F
OreSt
56
Ariz
38
F
TxSt
3
ULLaf
31
F
UAB
7
Tenn
30
F
NW
3
Ind
34
F
Vand
7
SCar
24
F
UVA
38
UNC
31
F
Colo
14
UCLA
31
F
BYU
42
UtSt
14
F
NM
10
NEV
21
F
Fres
41
Hawaii
38
F
Kent
33
Toled
35
F
Ball
31
WestMI
35
F

Nov 2, 2019, 7:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Northwestern (1-7)

0

3

0

0

3

Indiana (7-2)

10

14

7

3

34

Great Scott leads Indiana past Northwestern for 4th straight
Sat Nov 2, 2019 11:43 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) Stevie Scott III was a smash hit in Indiana's Saturday night premiere.

He ran around defenders. He overpowered defenders. He even fooled defenders.

In the first November night game played in Bloomington, Scott stole the show with two touchdown runs and a 20-yard touchdown reception, leading Indiana to a 34-3 rout over Northwestern and locking up the Hoosiers' first seven-win season since 2007.

"I do feel like there was a concerted effort by the teams we were playing to load the box and he was getting impatient and trying to bounce those runs," Indiana coach Tom Allen said. "But I think coach (Mike) Hart did a good job of teaching him how to stay with it and then he started running hard, with more confidence and our offensive line keeps getting better and better. And in the passing game he (Scott) has really worked on that."

It certainly showed Saturday.

Scott set the tone early by driving defenders backward on an overpowering 7-yard run on the game's fifth play. He followed that by sprinting around the left side and down the field for 27 yards on the next play to set up a field goal. He wound up carrying 26 times for 116 yards and scoring on his only catch of the night, a 20-yard TD reception.

Indiana (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) has now won four straight in conference play, its longest such streak since 1993 when they won four in a row. And the Hoosiers are one win away from their first eight-win season in 26 years despite losing starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the first half Saturday with yet another undisclosed injury.

But against the Wildcats' flailing offense, it didn't matter.

Northwestern (1-7, 0-6) lost its sixth straight, failed to top the 10-point mark for the fourth consecutive game and still hasn't scored a touchdown since Oct. 5. And it was downright ugly.

Quarterback Aidan Smith lost a fumble on Northwestern's first offensive play. Seven plays later, Scott's 2-yard TD run made it 10-0.

After a short field goal and a defensive stop, the Wildcats gave it away with another fumble that led to the benching of Smith. Penix capped Indiana's four-play, 18-yard run with a 1-yard plunge for a 17-3 lead.

"Can't lose the turnover ratio," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said was what he told the Wildcats. "I thought we had a pretty good offensive game plan that we failed to execute. It starts and ends with me, and I have to take responsibility for that."

The Wildcats' defense wasn't much better, though.

Two pass interference penalties in the end zone set up Scott's second 2-yard TD run and the Hoosiers made it 34-3 with Scott's touchdown reception and a short field goal early in the fourth.

"Seven wins to secure a winning season for the first time in 12 years is a very big deal," Allen said. "I don't think they're shocked by what they're doing, I think they expected it."

THE TAKEAWAY

Northwestern: This loss essentially seals the Wildcats' postseason fate. Northwestern will not be bowl-eligible for the first time since 2014 - a jarring reality for a team that played for a Big Ten championship last season.

Indiana: With three regular-season games left, Indiana is positioning itself for a solid bowl bid. It hasn't won eight games in a season since 1993 and hasn't won nine since its 1967 Big Ten championship season.

STAT SHEET

Northwestern: The Wildcats lost three fumbles and had four defensive pass interference calls in the end zone - in the first half. ... Hunter Johnson replaced Smith early in the second quarter but left with 5:35 to go in the third quarter with what appeared to be an injured right leg. Johnson and Smith both played high school football in Indiana. ... Northwestern had 199 yards in offense. ... The Wildcats are on their longest losing streak since a seven-game skid in 2013.

Indiana: Penix was 10 of with 162 yards while Ramsey was 7 of 10 with 108 yards and one TD. ... The Hoosiers ran 18 of the first 19 plays of the game. ... Nick Westbrook had five catches for 59 yards. Whop Philyor caught two passes for 76 yards. ... Indiana has scored 30 or more points in five consecutive games and eight of the first nine - a school record. ... Linebacker Cam Jones was ejected in the first half for targeting.

UP NEXT

Northwestern: Hosts Purdue next Saturday, still seeking its first conference win.

Indiana: Visits Penn State on Nov. 16 following next week's bye

---

More AP college football: http://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

NW Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
H. Johnson 17 7 41.2 0 65 18 0 52.3
A. Smith 12 5 41.7 0 47 21 0 53.1
Ind Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
M. Penix Jr. 15 10 66.7 0 162 41 0 102.6
P. Ramsey 10 7 70.0 1 108 32 0 138.8

Rushing

NW Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
A. Smith 6 34 5.7 22 0
H. Johnson 4 15 3.8 11 0
Ind Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
S. Scott III 26 116 4.5 27 2
S. James 8 19 2.4 5 0

Receiving

NW Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
R. Chiaokhiao-Bowman 3 43 14.3 21 0
R. Lees 5 36 7.2 18 0
Ind Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
W. Philyor 2 76 38.0 41 0
N. Westbrook 5 59 11.8 19 0

Fumbles

NW F FL
D. Anderson 1 1
A. Smith 1 1

Returning

Ind KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
D. Ellis 1 18.0 0 18 0 0 0

Punting

NW Punt Yds Avg LgPu
A. David 8 307 38.4 48
Ind Punt Yds Avg LgPu
H. Whitehead 5 183 36.6 45

Takeaways

Ind Int Yds InTD
T. Mullen 0 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

NW Ind
Points For 3 34
Total Yards 199 414
Rushing Yards 87 144
Passing Yards 112 270
Passing Completions / Attempts 12/31 17/25
Turnovers 3 0
Interceptions Thrown 0 0
Fumbles - Lost 3/3 0/0
First Downs 12 24
Penalties - Yards 9/97 6/50
Time Of Possession 17:17 43:43
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 3/14 5/13
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/1 0/1
Punts - Average Yards 8/38 5/37

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter NW Ind
Ind 05:21 FG Logan Justus 27 yd FG 0 3
Ind 08:20 TD Stevie Scott III 2 yd run (Logan Justus kick) 0 10
2nd Quarter NW Ind
NW 00:42 FG Charlie Kuhbander 25 yd FG 3 10
Ind 03:50 TD Michael Penix Jr. 1 yd run (Logan Justus kick) 3 17
Ind 12:24 TD Stevie Scott III 2 yd run (Logan Justus kick) 3 24
3rd Quarter NW Ind
Ind 13:27 TD Stevie Scott III 20 yd pass from Peyton Ramsey (Logan Justus kick) 3 31
4th Quarter NW Ind
Ind 02:32 FG Logan Justus 30 yd FG 3 34

Game Information

Stadium: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana
Attendance: 40,924
Game Time:
Weather: