Ricky Jones has the right idea.
After IU lost 29-7 to Penn State, the redshirt sophomore gathered the receivers and told them this would be their best week of practice yet.
With uncertainty surrounding the status of senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld, it’s that sort of leadership IU football will need as it prepares for homecoming against Rutgers (2-3, 0-2).
Though Sudfeld (ankle) is medically cleared to play — and has been — precedent has shown that IU Coach Kevin Wilson will not hasten the return of his torchbearer.
IU, then, must prepare for the worst-case scenario: having a freshman make his first start as quarterback in back-to-back homecoming games.
It’s unfortunate, given the buzz surrounding a 4-0 IU football team just two weeks ago, that the homecoming “product” might fizzle without Sudfeld or junior running back Jordan Howard (ankle).
Trying to sell IU fans on football has never been easy, and to see the program’s resurgence stymied during a week founded on school spirit is a woeful example of irony not lost on me.
Will the homecoming crowd even come close to paralleling that of the Ohio State game? Unlikely.
Should it? Absolutely.
Rutgers might very well be the most important game of IU’s season to-date, as this juncture will likely determine the Hoosiers’ path the rest of the way through the schedule.
Win and IU has five chances to pick up the final tally it needs to be bowl-eligible.
Lose and suddenly IU finds itself on course for a potential six-game skid that will make the last two games of the season — at Maryland and Purdue — must-win games.
Saturday, then, is a slippery slope, one in which every advantage — especially home field — matters.
With either a healthy Sudfeld or Howard, the IU offense should have no trouble getting into rhythm.
Despite posting just 234 yards against Penn State, IU still ranked second in the Big Ten in total offense.
This charge is led with balance, passing and rushing attacks that beget each other — if one attack gets going, it opens the field for the other.
Last weekend, the Hoosiers were bogged down because neither facet threatened with an average of just 2.4 yards per carry and 4.2 yards per pass, efforts that yielded no offensive player of the week recognition from the coaching staff.
There’s no stronger statement from Wilson than that.
IU didn’t have any offensive playmakers last weekend — but there are plenty of players on roster who are capable of being one.
And against the third-worst pass defense in the Big Ten, the best candidates Saturday are likely to come from the receiving corps.
So it’s encouraging to see Jones taking matters into his own hands.
vziege@indiana.edu
