Peyton Ramsey threw three touchdown passes and linebacker Cam Jones returned an interception for his first career touchdown Saturday as Indiana rolled past Connecticut 38-3.
The Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) have won 17 of their last 18 nonconference games including all three this season -- this one coming a week after a 41-point loss to No. 6 Ohio State.
UConn (1-2) lost its 18th consecutive game against a Football Bowl Subdivision foe and it wasn't even close.
After the Huskies recovered a fumble on the third play of the game and took a 3-0 lead on a 41-yard field goal everything fell apart.
Ramsey immediately answered by leading the Hoosiers on a 75-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard TD pass to Whop Philyor. The Hoosiers made it 10-3 on a 27-yard field goal and took a 17-3 lead late in the first half when Ramsey hooked up with tight end Peyton Hendershot on a 12-yard TD pass.
Not much changed in the second half.
When Huskies quarterback Jeff Zergiotis tried to avoid a sack by flipping the ball away left-handed, Jones snatched it out of the air and returned it 44 yards to give the Hoosiers a 24-3 lead. Ramsey made it 31-3 with a 16-yard TD pass to Nick Westbrook for a 31-3 lead late in the third and exited after Stevie Scott closed out the scoring on a 6-yard TD run with 8:47 left.
Local
Ramsey was 23 of 27 with 247 yards and one interception. Scott had 21 carries for 97 yards.
THE TAKEAWAY
UConn: The Huskies struggled mightily on offense. They ran 22 times for 51 yards. Zergiotis, a true freshman, was 14 of 28 with 90 yards and ran four times for minus-10 yards before being pulled in the fourth quarter of his first road game. UConn managed only nine first downs and 145 total yards. It wasn't enough to keep the defense from wearing down -- and they'll need to play much better to snap the losing streak.
Indiana: The Hoosiers' last three games have been decided by 52, 41 and 35 points -- and that's not likely to continue when league play resumes next week. The win should give Indiana a confidence boost. More important, the nonconference sweep gets them halfway to becoming bowl-eligible.
CRONK INJURED
Hoosiers left tackle Coy Cronk was carted off the field less than six minutes into the game with what appeared to be a serious lower right leg injury.
The fifth-year senior and team captain started all 40 games since arriving on campus -- a streak that seems likely to end next Saturday.
He was hurt on Scott's 5-yard run with 9:09 left in the first quarter. He stayed down, immediately removing his helmet before trainers put an air cast on the leg and then some teammates ran over to wish him well as he was lifted onto the golf cart.
UP NEXT
UConn: Travels to No. 15 UCF next Saturday for its American Athletic Conference opener.
Indiana: Visits Michigan State next Saturday where it will try to reclaim the Old Brass Spittoon.
