Indiana Football: Hoosier Rout Rutgers
BLOOMINGTON – Richard Lagow threw two touchdown passes Saturday, and Morgan Ellison ran for two more scores as Indiana shut out Rutgers 41-0.
The Hoosiers (5-6, 2-6 Big Ten) have won two straight to move within one victory of becoming bowl-eligible for the third straight season and they posted their first Senior Day shutout since 1958 despite a 1-hour, 47-minute lightning delay late in the third quarter.
Rutgers (4-7, 3-5) has lost two in a row and has lost by 20 or more points four times this season.
Indiana made it look easy, too, on a blustery day that devolved into a driving rainstorm.
Ellison capped the Hoosiers’ first possession with a 6-yard scoring run and Lagow hooked up with a wide-open Ian Thomas on a 57-yard TD pass to make it 14-0 less than seven minutes into the game.
Griffin Oakes made field goals of 26 and 20 yards to give the Hoosiers a 20-0 halftime lead, and then the Hoosiers continued to pour it on in the second half.
One play after Lagow was picked off at the Rutgers 31-yard line, Greg Gooch came up with a strip-sack that gave the ball right back to Lagow at the Scarlet Knights 24. Three plays later, he found Luke Timian for a 20-yard TD pass.
Ellison sealed it with a 1-yard scoring run with 4:19 left in the third.
Then with 2:31 left in the third, the referees spotted lightning near Memorial Stadium. Both teams were sent to the locker and the small crowd was told to seek shelter.
Lagow finished 17 of 28 for 236 yards with one interception, Thomas caught four passes for 93 yards while Ellison and Cole Gest each rushed for more than 100 yards. Ellison ran 15 times for 149 yards and Gest added 23 carries for 104 yards and one TD.
Rutgers was outgained 503-186 in total yards as Indiana pitched its second shutout of the season. It’s the first time since 1993 that the Hoosiers have had multiple shutouts in one season.
The Hoosiers end the regular season at Purdue next Saturday. Indiana will be looking for a fifth straight win against the Boilermakers. Each team still needs one win to become bowl eligible.