The Indiana Hoosiers did everything they could to try and lose Saturday inside UB Stadium. Thankfully for IU fans, they somehow came away with the win.
“We played like crap today,” said head coach Everroad “evidently the bye week didn’t do us well. Guess we didn’t practice enough or something. We did not deserve this win but of course, we will take it.”
The first-half scoring would all be done by Buffalo. But both teams spent much of the first quarter with stalled drives. With 2:55 left Buffalo would attempt a 30-yard field goal, which senior Alex McNulty would miss. It would be one of two of his misses on the day.
But the Bulls would finally get on the scoreboard with 60 seconds left in the first quarter. This one was on a 45-yard pass from senior quarterback Matt Myers to senior Carlton Todd. It was one of Todd’s three receptions on the day, as he’d finish with 89 yards.
If Hoosiers fans were watching on tv, they might have been happy to see the first quarter come to an end, as how good it get any worse? They’d be wrong. 40 seconds into the second quarter Hoosiers junior quarterback Connor Bazelak would throw a 45-yard pick six to freshman cornerback Robert Morese to put the Bulls up 10-0.
They would add three more before halftime with a 34-yard field goal by McNulty with 24 seconds left to give Buffalo the 17-0 halftime lead.
The Hoosiers got the second-half kickoff and slowly marched down the field, thanks in part to a 17-yard by senior Shaun Shivers. The Hoosiers finally got some points on a 1-yard rush by freshman fullback Trent Howland. It would be his only rush of the day. The rest of the third quarter would feature each team stalling drives, including a Bazelak fumble while scrambling out of the pocket that Buffalo recovered.
The Hoosiers finally got back to what has worked this season. Relying on Shivers and junior tight end A.J. Barner. And it worked as the Hoosiers would cut the Bulls lead to 4 at 17-14 with a 13-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver Javon Swinton.One of his four receptions on the day.
The Bulls would stretch the lead out to 20-14 with 2:52 remaining on the leg of McNulty, who would connect from 35 yards out. After the kickoff and a 17-yard return, the Hoosiers would take over at the 50 with 1:19 left in the game. Bazelak would connect with Swinton for 29 yards, Shivers for 11, and close out the drive by going back to Swinton for a 10-yard touchdown reception. His second of the game to give the Hoosiers the 21-20 lead.
But the drama wasn’t over as, as the Hoosiers would slip on the kickoff and set the Bulls up with a great opportunity to win the game. (In reality, I accidentally pressed the onside kick and had no timeouts and no way to get out of it.) The Bulls started the final drive with back-to-back receptions by senior Bernard Porter, the first was a 23-yard reception, and the second six-yard reception. Senior halfback Dylan McDuffie would then set them up for the game-winning 30-yard field goal with a 2-yard rush. However, McNulty would miss the field goal, his second miss of the day as the Hoosiers hold one for the one-point win.
Hoosiers quarterback Connor Bazelak threw for 224 yards on 19 of 35 passing while throwing 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. His counterpart, Matt Myers finished the game 15 of 20 for 235 yards with 1 touchdown. Senior halfback Shaun Shivers led the ground attack for Indiana with 67 yards on 15 attempts. While the Hoosiers were led by senior D.J. Matthews Jr with 70 receiving yards on 5 receptions, including a beautiful one-handed catch. For Buffalo, both Myers would attempt 12 rushes but only gain 10 yards, while senior halfback Dylan McDuffie gained 46 yards on 14 attempts. Senior wide receiver Carlton Todd led the Bulls with 89 yards on 3 receptions.
The Bulls defense would only sack Bazelak once, which would go to the junior end, Kyler Laing. However they would pick him off twice, the previously mentioned Robert Morse pick six and then another to senior safety Cory Gross Jr. The Hoosiers defense would not force an interception but they would sack Myers a total of four times. Freshman defensive end Mark Brown got two of those, while senior outside linebacker Aaron Casey and senior defensive tackle Sio Nofoagatoto’a got the others.
The Hoosiers have no time to get their act together as they host conference rival #17 Michigan (3-3) next week.
drummerJ99 Dynasties 