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Michael Penix Jr. addresses miserable showing from Week 1 loss to Iowa
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. did not look like himself in his first game back from a season-ending injury.
In the 2021 season opener, Penix looked rattled and out of sorts against a tough Iowa defense. Admittedly, Penix was going up against a tenacious Hawkeye defense inside tough Kinnick Stadium.
Still, the stat line produced by Penix was ugly and left the Hoosiers fighting from behind the whole game long. He went just 14-for-31 passing with 156 yards and 3 interceptions. That included 2 pick-sixes by the Hawkeyes as Iowa rolled to a 34-6 win.
On Monday, Penix addressed the media to discuss what went down in the opener. Penix admitted to failed execution and a lot of mistakes piling up, but he still believes Indiana can clean up that part of the game moving forward.
Here’s a look at everything he had to say:
Penix: "We knew what we expected to see when we watched the film. We didn't execute the way we wanted to."
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) September 6, 2021
Penix says those small mistakes may be missing a read or a throw. Keep eyes up and make smart decisions. Things they do in practice every day — but didn’t happen on Saturday. #iufb
— Matt Cohen (@Matt_Cohen_) September 6, 2021
Penix admits the third interception was a bad mistake on his part. Was outside of the pocket and threw the ball at a receiver who had his back to him.
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) September 6, 2021
Penix has said many times that he trusts his body. We’ve never really gotten anything super introspective from him (and in a press conference that’s hard), but he does emphasize that trust point.
A week under his belt, Penix’s comfort may be a story to watch this week. #iufb
— Matt Cohen (@Matt_Cohen_) September 6, 2021
Indiana will move forward to Week 2 and the home opener against Idaho. It should be a good ramp-up game before a showdown with No. 8 Cincinnati.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.