The mantra for IU football for the entire month of October was inches.
Many IU plays have come inches short, which has resulted in close losses to Ohio State, Nebraska and Northwestern.
However, this week against Maryland, in the midst of a three-game losing streak, the line of the week has turned to urgency.
“We’re only given so many opportunities as a coach, as a player, each year that we’re given on our schedule,” IU defensive coordinator Tom Allen said. “Right now we have five more of those, and we have to make it count. So there’s no question the sense of urgency is high.”
IU has five more chances to remedy its issue with slow starts, which have plagued both the offense and the defense this season.
While the offense has struggled mightily this season, the worst problem with the unit has been its lack of scoring early in games.
The only real time this offense came out strong was against Ball State.
Per Football Study Hall’s S&P+ metric, IU’s first-quarter offense is ranked 48th in the nation. In the second quarter, it drops to 118th.
That’s somewhat surprising because IU Coach Kevin Wilson is an offensive innovator and hasn’t had much success in the first quarters. Whether it’s due to a combination of poor offensive execution or less-than-creative play calling, both must improve moving forward.
IU’s slow starts have forced it to play catch up the rest of the game. Its offense improves to 24th in the nation in the third quarter and fifth in the fourth, but that doesn’t mean the Hoosiers will come out on top.
Because of the team’s tendencies on offense, the IU defense has been affected, as was the case against Northwestern.
“I think the offense’s inability to get going early really hurt the defense because I don’t think our defense had time to make the adjustments,” IU Coach Kevin Wilson said. “We go a quick three-and-out, they score, and then we go a quick three-and-out. They score again, and we go another quick three-and-out.”
While the defense may be affected by the offense, it has to play with greater urgency too.
IU’s defense is ranked 106th and 54th in the first and second quarters, respectively, according to Football Study Hall. Those numbers improve to 15th and 12th in the third and fourth quarters.
This shows the coaching staff is capable of making halftime adjustments but are incapable of preparing well for the opening kick. If the Hoosiers can’t adjust, the quest for consecutive bowl games is in jeopardy.
That adjustment begins with a single game.
“We can’t focus on saying, ‘We have to win three games to get to a bowl game,’” sophomore wide receiver Nick Westbrook said. “We’ve just got to win that first one to have a chance to win the next one and the next one to get to that bowl game. Yeah, there’s definitely a sense of urgency. We’re not taking it as a negative. It’s more, ‘Hey, now is our time to step up and right the ship.’”
aphussey@indiana.edu
@thehussnetwork
