IU at Rutgers, noon, Saturday, BTN

BLOOMINGTON – Indiana football's blueprint to success against Michigan State necessitated its offensive line control the line of scrimmage.

In this game, against an experienced and gifted Spartans front seven, there was no talking around the subject.

Without that push, IU wouldn’t be able to establish its running game and freshman Stevie Scott and his fellow running backs would prove ineffective. Without that push, redshirt sophomore quarterback Peyton Ramsey wouldn’t have the time in the pocket he needed to allow a play to develop, so he could find the open receiver.

More:Hoosiers write same old story with missed opportunity against Michigan State

IU coach Tom Allen knew it. Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord and line coach Darren Hiller knew it. And players on the offensive line such as left guard Wes Martin and left tackle Coy Cronk knew it. They all appeared confident ahead of the matchup talking about the impending battle, too. In Michigan State’s 35-21 win, the Hoosiers amassed just 29 total yards rushing on 32 attempts, and Ramsey threw two interceptions — one returned 69 yards for a touchdown — in addition to getting sacked four times.

“Very, very disappointed in our running game offensively,” said Allen, whose team is now 3-1 and 0-1 in the Big Ten. “We’ve got to run the football and it really puts a ton of pressure on you when you can’t have time to function in both the passing game and the run game. That’s an area that really, really bothers me. We have to address that in order to move forward.”

It’s not that Michigan State’s defense, which also recorded nine tackles for loss, implemented anything that surprised IU. As running backs coach Mike Hart said this past week, MSU coach Mark Dantonio’s defense hasn’t changed much during his time in East Lansing. The Hoosiers just needed to win their one-on-one battles and out-execute the 23rd-ranked Spartans.

But whether it was IU’s inability to convert on third-and-1 — and then fourth-and-1 — at the MSU 18-yard-line in the second quarter, or the two sacks that greeted IU’s first two offensive plays of the second half, the Hoosiers can’t boast of as many one-on-one victories as they would like.

The Spartans’ front seven won out and just like 2017, the Hoosier offensive line wasn't able to do enough. At no point during the game did the Spartans pressure Ramsey with more than six pass rushers. And only once did the Hoosiers not have at least one pass blocker for each Spartan.

That play ended in a completed pass.

“(The Spartans) were good,” Ramsey said. “They were tough. They were physical. They came downhill and they made things really hard in the run game and in the pass rush.”

Sophomore wide receiver Whop Philyor was adamant after the game IU could have, and should have, defeated Michigan State. Philyor, who caught 13 balls for 148 yards and a score, blamed team-wide self-inflicted errors for the disparity in the final score.

Redshirt senior wide receiver J-Shun Harris II thought Michigan State proved it had a stout defensive line but didn’t play so well someone could say it dominated IU’s offensive line. The Hoosiers did finish with 301 yards of total offense.

But neither denied the Spartans front seven’s ability to disrupt IU’s rhythm.

“Too much pressure,” Allen said.

Pressure, that didn’t allow the Hoosiers to hit on as many explosive plays as the team wanted and caused IU to miss opportunities in the passing game it didn’t miss during nonconference play. Pressure, that will lower the already-nation leading fewest rushing yards per game stat the Spartans entered the game with.

Pressure IU can't allow as it continues to move deeper and deeper into conference play if the Hoosiers want to make it to a bowl game and retain the early-season fervor fans had ahead of the season's first loss.

“It’s just tough sledding (Saturday) for our offensive line,” Allen said. “They’ve been great so far but they didn’t have a good night. And they didn’t play to our standards. We’ve got to get better.”

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Jordan Guskey on Twitter at @JordanGuskey or email him at jguskey@gannett.com.