Indiana Football suffers disappointing defeat to Notre Dame in the first round of CFB Playoff

Indiana Football was dominated in the first round of the College Football Playoff losing 27-17 to Notre Dame.

Nothing seemed to go right for the Hoosiers as self-inflicted wounds plagued them all night. Missed tackles, turnovers, and penalties killed any chances that Indiana football had in this game.

After a Kurtis Rourke red zone interception, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love broke off a 98-yard rushing touchdown and from there it was all Fighting Irish. Love finished the game with 108 yards on eight carries and the touchdown.

Kurtis Rourke struggled against the Fighting Irish defense completing 20-33 passes for 215 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.

Rourke’s struggles were emphasized as the Hoosier wide receivers struggled to separate against the Fighting Irish defensive backs.

Myles Price caught five passes for 56 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Elijah Sarratt led all Indiana receivers with 67 yards on four catches. Sarratt also caught a two-point conversion for Indiana football.

Ke’Shawn Williams also added five catches for 45 yards for the Hoosiers. Omar Cooper Jr. caught the other touchdown for the Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers’ rushing attack could not get anything going as both Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton were held in check.

Ellison finished the game with 37 yards on 11 carries while Lawton added 34 on 10 carries.

As a team, Indiana Football ran for 55 yards on 2.2 yards per attempt.

The inability to run the football led to some long third downs which the Hoosiers struggled to convert on. Indiana football converted just 4-12 of their third down attempts in the game compared to Notre Dame who converted 7-13.

Missed tackles killed Indiana football all night as consistently Notre Dame runners made the Hoosier defenders miss especially against the run. The missed tackles combined with some ill-timed penalties haunted the Hoosiers.

As a team, Notre Dame ran for 193 yards on 35 carries while averaging 5.5 yards per rush. Their rushing attack led to a dominant time of possession as they held on to the football for 35:43 in the game.

Riley Leonard caused problems all night for Indiana football. Leonard completed 23-32 passes for 201 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also added 30 yards on the ground.

Leonard consistently found Jordan Faison who caught a game-high seven passes for 89 yards.

The Hoosiers trailed by as many as 24 points, but scored two late touchdowns to cut into the deficit.

It was a special year for Curt Cignetti and Indiana football as the program outperformed all expectations, but tonight’s performance will leave a bitter taste as the program heads into a massive offseason with multiple key holes to fill on the roster.

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