Missouri offense beats up Hoosiers 45-28
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — James Franklin threw for 343 yards and two touchdowns, and defensive end Kony Ealy returned an interception 49 yards for a score to lead Missouri past Indiana 45-28 on Saturday night.
The Tigers (3-0) won in Bloomington for the first time since 1953 and ended an eight-game winless streak in this series, though the teams hadn’t played since 1992.
Indiana (2-2) was led by Nate Sudfeld, who threw for 229 yards and one TD, but he was picked off three times. The Hoosiers are now off have a bye week before hosting Penn State on Oct. 5.
It was the only regular-season meeting between schools from the Big Ten and SEC, but the highly-anticipated shootout became a one-sided affair after the Hoosiers tied the score at 14 midway through the second quarter.
Franklin broke the tie with his 1-yard TD run. Then 275-pound Ealy leapt up, picked off Sudfeld and scored to make it 28-14.
Indiana never recovered.
On a night the Hoosiers wore their chrome-striped helmets and celebrated the 20-year anniversary of their Independence Bowl team, fans got to see a little bit of everything in the first 30 minutes.
While Franklin and Sudfeld were busy trading scores, each team had a receiver top the 100-yard mark. And during two quarters in which the teams combined for 627 yards, 93 plays, six touchdowns and five turnovers, the two biggest turned out to be a successful fake field goal that eventually led to a Missouri touchdown and Ealy’s incredible interception and touchdown trot.
The second half, however, was a different story.
While the Hoosiers struggled to move, Missouri took its time, extended the lead and prevented Indiana from taking advantage of its quick-strike offense.
Missouri, which led 28-14 at the half thanks to Ealy, made it 31-14 on Andrew Baggett’s 31-yard field goal late in the third quarter. Franklin then hooked up with L’Damian Washington on a 14-yard TD pass early in the fourth to seal it.
Coach Gary Pinkel won his 93rd game at Missouri, tying Dan Devine for second on the school’s all-time victory list.
Indiana did manage to get a 68-yard scoring pass from Tre Roberson to Shane Wynn with 11:24 left in the fourth and Roberson scored on a short run with 10 seconds to go, but the Hoosiers never got a chance to get close.
Franklin finished 32 of 47. Marcus Lucas caught 10 passes for 101 yards, Dorial Green-Beckham had eight catches for 105 yards and a score, and Russell Hansbrough ran 13 times for 104 yards and scored a TD.
Sudfeld was 21 of 39. Cody Latimer had eight catches for 139 yards and a score, while Wynn caught five passes for 90 yards and another TD.