Indiana (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) staved off USC (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington. It was a tight battle for four quarters, but the Hoosiers eventually pulled away thanks to a late touchdown reception from stud wideout Charlie Becker, which served as the final score in the 27-13 victory. Here are three key stats that determined the game:
Jayden Maiava’s interceptions: three
USC registered 409 total yards – including 311 passing yards from quarterback Jayden Maiava – yet the Trojans managed just 13 points, good for their second-lowest total of the year (had seven at Wisconsin).
So how did Indiana keep USC off the scoreboard? There were a variety of reasons, but perhaps none more important than the turnovers. The Hoosiers picked off Maiava three times on Saturday afternoon.
Facing second down on Indiana’s six yard line, USC, down 20-13 at the time, was knocking on the door of tying things up in the fourth quarter. Instead, star linebacker Isaiah Jones jumped a pass and flipped the game on its head.
Following his pick, the Hoosiers marched down the field in seven plays, capping off the drive with a Becker score that pushed the game out of reach.
Indiana offensive plays over 35 yards: four
The Hoosiers finished with 451 total yards in their win, with both the passing attack (Grant Wilson threw for 305 yards) and the ground game (146 yards as a team) finding success.
Although the passing game has drawn all of the negative attention as of late, Indiana’s inability to run – specifically rip off a big one – has also been a concern.
On Saturday, though, the Hoosiers finally broke one. Khobie Martin’s 37-yard scamper – he punched it into the end zone a play later – was Indiana’s first rush over 20 yards since the Rutgers win in Week 5.
Meanwhile, Wilson complemented that explosive rushing play with a trio of long bombs. Nick Marsh, Charlie Becker and Shazz Preston each had a reception of at least 42 yards – headlined by the third-down bomb to Becker which pushed the lead to two possessions.
USC’s third/fourth down-conversion rate: 16.7 percent
The other reason the Hoosiers were able to bend but never break on defense: they won nearly every key play. USC went just 2-of-11 on third down and was 0-of-1 on fourth down.
Despite Indiana being uncharacteristically poor at creating negative plays (zero sacks and just four tackles for loss), and USC often finding itself in third-and-manageables, the Trojans could rarely make it past the sticks.
Time and again, USC would use a chunk play or two to get to the plus side of the field, but then find its drives stalled. The Trojans were forced to either punt the ball, or kick a field goal – the latter of which endeavor wasn’t too successful (2-for-4 on field goals).
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