Indiana football lost a heartbreaker to Ohio State yesterday. With a minute left, Josh Hoover lobbed a ball to a wide open Nick Marsh, but he was unable to come down in bounds. Indiana fought tooth and nail, but we will be discussing some of the reasons the Hoosiers came up short yesterday.
Defense
Indiana’s defense was spectacular for most of the game. Amare Ferrell had two interceptions, and the defensive line, led by Stephen Daley, held Julian Sayin in check. Jeremiah Smith had 4 catches for 68 yards, but did add a touchdown on poor coverage on a crucial fourth down play. Overall, this unit showed it is among the best in the country, and should continue to improve as the season goes along.
Offense
Indiana’s offense struggled to get much of anything going in this one, and some blame must be on the playcalling. Far too many times did Indiana’s offense call an inside run on first and ten, which caused them to be in second and long frequently. The offensive line has not been good in the running game so far this season, and the offensive staff must be more creative to compensate for the poor blocking. Indiana had just 73 rushing yards, marking the second consecutive game that the rushing attack struggled to sustain success.
Josh Hoover
Going off of the playcalling issues, Josh Hoover looked inconsistent. He missed multiple throws high and over the middle, which was an area of the field Indiana had an opportunity to exploit. Some of his inconsistencies are from a lack of rhythm from the play calling with Indiana getting behind the sticks with rushes on first and second downs. This forces Hoover into obvious passing situations without an ability for him to get into rhythm first. During the fourth quarter, when Indiana completely abandoned the run, he looked much sharper. Next week, and for the rest of the season, Indiana needs to allow him to find his groove early, and use the run game as a complement.
Special Teams
Indiana officially has a kicking issue. Nico Radicic missed a chip shot that would have put Indiana up 10-3 in the first half, and later missed a 55 yarder. The 55 yarder was not a kick we fault him for, but the chip shot miss is unacceptable. After being automatic his first two years as the starting kicker, Radicic has struggled to find any success this season.
Overall, the Hoosiers shot themselves in the foot against the Buckeyes. Costly penalties, missed assignments, and lack of execution all contributed to this loss. Head coach Curt Cignetti will have a lot to clean up before next week. However, this game did show that Indiana can play with anyone in the country. With five games left in the season, Indiana still has time to improve and fully hit their stride before the playoffs.
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