Final score: Indiana 34 Maryland 28

Brief recap: It was the traditional see-saw battle we’ve become so accustomed to seeing between to B1G East foes. Indiana and Maryland traded punches throughout the game, with neither taking more than a 10-point lead at any point in the game. Indiana lost star freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr. early in the contest, but the Hoosiers still were able to pile up 520 yards of total offense — 334 of which came through the air. While that might indicate that IU was in the driver’s seat, Maryland hung around all game long. The Terrapins displayed their explosiveness, particularly in the second quarter, flipping a 14-7 deficit into a 21-14 lead. But Indiana took a 24-21 lead into halftime and built a 31-21 advantage in the third quarter. Tyrrell Pigrome and the Maryland offense had one final shot to put together a game-winning drive, but a Reese Taylor interception with 1:22 left sealed the victory.

Key moment: An 8-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Ramsey to Nick Westbrook have the Hoosiers a 24-21 advantage before heading into halftime. That was huge. If Indiana doesn’t score, Maryland has a 21-17 lead and gets the ball to start the second half with a chance to take a two-score lead.

Key stat: Running the football has been a fairly big concern for Indiana this season, but it totaled 186 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against Maryland, really opening up Kalen DeBoer’s playbook. Stevie Scott accounted for most of that, gaining 108 yards and scoring two touchdowns on 18 touches.

Key player: Scott wasn’t just a key cog in the rushing attack, he also was a factor in the passing attack, in addition to his 108 rushing yards, he also had 36 receiving yards on five catches, including a 13-yard reception. It was a pretty good day for the sophomore back.

What it means for Maryland: Losing obviously isn’t fun, but Maryland continues to deal with injuries and was even without star running back Anthony McFarland. Yet the Terps continued to fight and even had a chance to win the game lat. What more could you ask for out of this group? I understand expectations were soaring after that 2-0 start, and a 3-4 record isn’t where fans want this team to be right now, but being competitive is important. Maryland was competitive against Indiana.

What it means for Indiana: Tom Allen hasn’t clinched a bowl birth in his first two seasons at Indiana, and now he’ll have five games to get one win to get to that critical six-win mark. Indiana is 5-2 on the year with Nebraska and Northwestern next on the schedule. There’s a very real chance Indiana locks up bowl eligibility before the month of November, which would be the first time that’s happened in Bloomington since 1993. This was an important game for the Hoosiers, and they made it count.