After a dominant win against the University of North Texas by a score of 52-16, Indiana looks to keep the dominance rolling against Howard.

The Indiana University Hoosiers begin week 2 against the Howard University Bison at noon on Sept. 12. They will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network. 

Howard

Offense 

Howard is 1-1 this season, led by senior quarterback Ja’Shawn Scroggins, who has already amassed 424 yards through the air and an additional 88 on the ground. Scroggins was named HBCU national player of the week in week 0. Head coach Curt Cignetti specifically mentioned Scroggins’ dual threat ability in his press conference on Monday, saying, “He’s their leading rusher and a really good athlete.” Scroggins should present a good test for Indiana defensively, as his elusiveness will mean tackling in space becomes paramount. 

Defense

Defensively, the Bison have their two top tacklers at the linebacker spot, with senior Rodney Roane (14 tackles, 1 sack), and sophomore Adian Foster (14 tackles, 1 forced fumble) leading the charge. 

Keys to the Game

Injury Report

Indiana had three players go down against North Texas, including the two starting corners, seniors  A.J. Harris and Amare Ferrell. “Corners are day to day right now…Khobie Martin will be out for a little bit, expect him back some time around midseason.” Martin, a running back who was expected to take a big leap this season, is going to miss some time. Because of this, I am looking to see how many carries second year back Sean Cuono gets in mop up duty this week. Ironically, he is filling the role Khobie Martin played  last season.  He could receive a significant  increase in playing time as the season goes on if he takes advantage of his opportunities this week. 

Tackling

Because the two starting corners were injured early on last week, second year corner Jaylen Bell had to step up and play a larger role than expected. The secondary last week was unimpressive at best, with missed assignments and missed tackles showing up all over the film. This room as a whole is something worth monitoring to see if last week was a fluke or the start of a bigger issue for the defensive backs. Due to the long season last year, the Hoosiers only tackled once before the season, the spring game. If the tackling looks better this week, it’s likely rust related. If not, it’ll be time to take a deeper dive into some of the early difficulties. 

Havoc

This defensive line needs to show more this week, plain and simple. Senior Tyrique Tucker was the only Hoosier to record a sack, and they only had six other TFLs. For a unit that was projected by many to be one of the best in the country, this was a disappointing start to the season. This week needs to be a big bounce back week for the front seven. 

Stat to know

Indiana has beaten the two FCS opponents they have played under Curt Cignetti by a combined score of 150-3. They will take care of business against Howard.

Prediction

Even with all the areas of focus Indiana has to work on, they still won 52-16 against an FBS opponent in the sweltering heat. I predict this game will be even more lopsided. Indiana is favored by 56.5, and I predict they will cover this number. Give me the Hoosiers 63-3. 

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