25 "Hoosier Mama" Questions

What is their body of work?

When I did my interview this week on the Crimson Cast podcast, the host referred to Indiana football as the gateway for the Big 10...as in the gateway drug, I thought.  Obviously, football has struggled recently.  In the last 10 years they have one winning season, and that one was 7-6.  They've lost like 3 times in a row to Ball State, and while they thought things might be looking up this year (like bowl-bid looking up) with a ton of guys back they lost at home to Navy and come into the BG game 1-15

See what they did there?

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

25, which is a pretty good number.

Who are their statistical leaders?

FBS rankings

RB Tevin Coleman is #16 in the nation in all purpose running.

Nate Sudfeld is 11th in passing efficiency, 3rd in "points responsible for" (which sounds ominous) and 19th in passing yards.

TE Ted Bolser and WR Shane Wynn are tied for 14th in scoring.

CB Tim Bennett is #13 in passes defended.

What is their turnover ratio?

They are -2 so far this year.

Offense:

How is their QB Play?

They list 2 QBs.  One is Nate Sudfeld, who started last year as a true freshman.  As noted above, he is one of the more efficient passers in FBS.  The other is Tre Roberson, who has technically started both games this year after breaking his leg and taking a medical redshirt last season.  He's more of a running QB, though he had a big game before he was injured.  He's only a sophomore and was highly recruited.  The answer is, their QB is very good and there could be two guys who play.

What was their scoring and yards per play?

This is a team with a potent and fast paced offense.  They are averaging 54 points a game and 7.3 yards per play.  Now, they popped 73 on Indiana State so that kind of tilts it a little but they also put 35 on Navy.

Can they run the ball?

As a team, they are averaging 5.4 yards per carry, which is good though not great.  Now, Tevin Coleman, their leading rusher, is averaging 9 yards per carry and over 100 yards per game, and the next two leading runners are 6.5 and 5.6 yards per carry.  This is not a run-heavy team but to date they have shown some productive runners.

When you think fine tobacco, you think hoosier poet.

Do they pass the ball?

Yeah, as mentioned, they are 13th in the nation in efficiency.  Sudfeld has completed 73% at 13.5 yards per completion, which is just highly efficient.  Their Coach is Kevin Wilson, who is a spread offense guru, and they run it pretty up-tempo.  Wilson learned the spread at Northwestern (arriving just as Brandon departed) and then at Oklahoma.

How is their run/pass balance?

They have run on 53% of their plays.  They did have a big lead in their opener.  Against Navy, they passed 43 times in 69 attempts.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

Yeah, they are good...15th in the nation with 57%.

Do they score in the red zone?

Also very good.  Overall, 10 of 12 and 5.5 points per trip.

Do they protect the quarterback?

They have allowed zero sacks.


Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

These are useless to you here.

Here the laughter turns to sadness.  They are allowing 38 points per game, and while part of that is a very hard to stop Navy triple option, it also includes giving up 35 to Indiana State.  Phil Steele predicted they would have one of the worst defenses in the Big 10.  They are giving up 5.6 yards per play, which is not terrible.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are allowing 5.3 yards per rush, most of that coming in a 444 yard onslaught from the Midshipmen.  Given the Indiana offense, BG simply must establish a running game Saturday.

Can they be passed on?

So far, not so bad.  #48 in pass efficiency defense, though part of that is Navy, too.  Opponents are only completing 38% of their passes against the Hoosiers...but BG is almost for sure the top passing team to face Indiana to date in 2013.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are very good here, allowing only 26% conversion.

Do they defend in the red zone?

Not good...5.5 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

This has been a real strength.  They have had 5 sacks against 42 passing attempts (counting sacks).

Special Teams:

Punting?

Very good.  At 41.5 net punting, they are 23rd in FBS.  No blocks.

Punt Return?

Well, they have only returned 4, but one was for a TD.  No blocks.

Placekicking?

They have only tried one FG (26) and they made it.  However, their kicker (Ewald) was 15-20 last including include 5-8 from over 40 and a long of 46.

Kickoff?

Very strong.  They have 10 touchbacks in 16 attempts and teams are starting at the 21 on average.

Kickoff Return?

Not especially good.  They are starting on the 22.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

It is hard to say.  First, Indiana was hoping to make a bowl game, which means they really can't afford to pick up a second loss so early (and they play Missouri next week).  As I talked about on the podcast, our guys are 100% motivated to show they are Big 10-worthy.  We have won games like this before and are only slight underdogs.  The real test is whether BG can control the ball against an Indiana defense that is not great