How IU moves on from embarrassing loss will define 2018 season

Zach Osterman | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption IU football coach Tom Allen talks Iowa loss IU coach Tom Allen meets with the media during his weekly Monday press conference, discussing the Hoosiers' weekend defeat to Iowa.

BLOOMINGTON – Seniors Jacob Robinson and Wes Martin pulled IU coach Tom Allen aside before the Hoosiers weekly Monday meeting with a request.

Let the players — more specifically the seniors — lead this one.

“We talked some things through,” Allen said. “Those guys are just really high-quality guys that care a whole bunch about this place, have been here for a long time, seen a lot. They just, more than anything, wanted to challenge our guys to react.”

Indiana has lost three of four to start Big Ten play, including a pair of lackluster home performances punctuated by Saturday’s 42-16 homecoming defeat to Iowa. The Hoosiers (4-3, 1-3) were outplayed in all three phases, as Iowa dictated the terms of the game both offensively and defensively almost from the beginning.

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Turnovers, mistakes, defensive breakdowns, coverage mix-ups and wasteful red zone offense cost Allen’s team dearly, and handed Iowa a smooth road to victory. Hence, Monday’s meeting.

Players described it less as a call to arms and more as a moment of encouragement. Every senior on the team that wanted to speak was afforded time.

“My point was basically just being able to move on, just knowing that we’re in control of our future,” senior safety Jonathan Crawford said. “No point having negative thoughts about the past week. Stay positive and understand the season’s not over. We have a lot of football left and I feel like, if we go head on, we can finish the season strong.”

That begins with Penn State this weekend, and while the Iowa loss proved frustrating, Indiana still plays three of its last five at home. A Friday night trip to Minnesota at the end of this month could also prove pivotal.

Player-led meetings aren’t necessarily a sign of panic. Crawford said Indiana has held at least one in each of his four seasons in Bloomington. Whether this one produces the desired results remains to be seen, but it at least allowed the Hoosiers to clear the air on last weekend, and move forward.

“Today, we had to look Saturday in the face, call it what it was,” Martin said Monday. “We got our butts whooped on Saturday. We had to face that and move on.”

TIMIAN RETURNS

Luke Timian woke up more sore than usual Sunday, after making his return from a three-game layoff due to injury.

But it was frustration the redshirt senior wide receiver grappled with most, in the aftermath of that heavy Iowa loss.

“I haven’t really been a part of many games like that,” Timian said. “The vibe on the sideline, it didn’t really seem like we were ready to play. I take that upon myself. Other seniors do as well. We need to be ready to play, and when we’re not, that’s what’s going to happen.

“I don’t know what to tell you there. It can’t happen again, bottom line. Seniors, just really everyone’s got to do a better job, and that’s kind of the next step going forward. When you don’t show up and play, that’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to get embarrassed by a Big Ten team.”

IU wide receiver Luke Timian talks with reporters Monday after Iowa IU redshirt senior wide receiver Luke Timian speaks with reporters Monday.

Out since IU’s Sept. 15 win against Ball State with an unspecified injury, Timian returned against Iowa to grab five passes for 35 yards. For the season, he has 18 catches for 173 yards, operating mostly out of the slot.

Absent the added soreness, Timian said he came out of Saturday’s loss healthy and fit. But, like many seniors Monday, he didn’t shy away from criticism of either Indiana’s performance, or his own.

“I really was stressing so hard to put on a good performance, not only for myself, but that’s what my team needed me to do,” Timian said. “I’m not happy with the way I played at all, and that’s really frustrating. But the most frustrating thing is that we lost.”

PLANS FOR PENIX STILL UNCLEAR

After admitting Saturday that “there’s no question” freshman quarterback Michael Penix will play again this season, IU coach Tom Allen remained open-minded Monday about the left-handed signal caller’s role over the next six weeks.

Penix, a promising prospect signed out of Tampa Bay in the 2018 recruiting class, has flashed that promise during brief cameos in two games this season. In limited snaps against Florida International and Ball State, Penix is 12-of-15 for 125 yards and a touchdown. He’s also rushed five times for 21 yards.

The new redshirt rule allowing players to appear in up to four games and still retain a year of eligibility gives Penix the freedom to play in at least two more games this season, with only five guaranteed remaining.

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“It'll be a part of our discussions,” Allen said Saturday, “because you're kind of getting to that point of the season where there's no question he will play to maximize the four games at minimum. That will happen.”

Indiana’s offense has fluctuated between efficient, blunted and occasionally explosive during Big Ten play so far.

Starting quarterback Peyton Ramsey — Allen emphasized Monday that Ramsey remains the starter — has been one of the conference’s most accurate quarterbacks, but also among its least explosive, and he’s thrown seven interceptions across seven games.

Penix offers less experience but, perhaps, a more effective deep ball, and has been on campus since January, leveling his learning curve somewhat.

IU can deploy him in two more games without redshirt penalty this season, though doing so before the Purdue game (or a potential bowl game) would risk that. If Penix exhausted his four games and then Ramsey suffered an injury, a season’s worth of planning to save that year of eligibility would be wasted.

It appears more likely the Hoosiers will play Penix when the opportunity presents itself, rather than via a predetermined plan. The only thing Allen would commit to Monday is that fans will see Penix on the field again in 2018.

“It's totally situational,” Allen said. “Michael is going to play. Exactly when I'm not sure. I just know it's not set in stone, we're not going to map this all out. Definitely a feel, for sure, as the game is unfolding.

“Want to give us the best chance to be successful on game day. That, to me, is how I would approach that. We're not going to be too specific in that regard.”

ODDS AND ENDS

>> Allen said he’s hopeful left tackle Coy Cronk, who missed the Iowa loss, will be back this weekend against Penn State. Safety Devon Matthews and wide receiver Whop Philyor remain questionable.

>> Philyor was running routes in practice Monday, after warming up and playing a small number of snaps Saturday.

>> Linebacker T.D. Roof is also a player IU will “continue to monitor,” according to Allen.

“I think we have a chance to be healthier this weekend,” Allen said. “You always seem to gain a guy or two here or there, lose a guy or two. We had several guys that got some things they had to address, but several of those injuries are able to be cleaned up over the weekend, then continue to rehab them throughout the first half of the week.”

>> IU’s team players of the week were: wide receiver Ty Fryfogle, offense; defensive tackle Jerome Johnson, defense; defensive linemen Connor Schneider and Gavin McCabe, tight ends T.J. Ivy and Shaun Bonner, linebacker Ryan Barnes and running back Kristian Pechac, scout team. There was no special teams player of the week.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.