IU is back to .500 after defeating the Maryland Terrapins, 42-36, thanks in large part to its Big Ten Freshman of the Week Tyler Natee and Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week Marcus Oliver. Those weren’t the only positives to come from the victory, and the Hoosiers certainly weren’t without their negatives.
IU Coach Kevin Wilson took time Monday to update the media on the status of the program ahead of the matchup at Rutgers.
Point plays on defense
Although Maryland’s touchdown on the final play of the game made a 12-point IU victory a six-point victory, the six-point difference brought to light the importance of a few plays made by IU defenders that Wilson didn’t want to overlook.
The joint sack by junior defensive linemen Patrick Dougherty and Nate Hoff on Maryland’s first drive forced a punt on a drive that could have ended in a field goal. Three points.
Junior defensive end Greg Gooch snuffed out a Terrapin speed sweep on third and three at the IU nine-yard line and recorded a five-yard tackle for loss that forced a field goal on a drive that may have reached the end zone. Four points.
Maryland quarterback Perry Hills had the Terrapins at midfield and was looking at a third and four. He got sacked and stripped by Oliver and fumbled the ball out of bounds back at the Maryland 37-yard line. Maryland may have gone for it on a fourth-down situation near midfield, but the strip-sack forced a punt. Three or seven points.
Finally, freshman cornerback A’Shon Riggins stopped a Maryland two-point conversion attempt.
“Those were all four, five critical point-saving defensive plays,” Wilson said. “And when you’re in a one-possession game and you don’t make those plays, you’re on the wrong side of the ledger defensively.”
At times IU did get sloppy on defense, and a few too many missteps did lead to the second-most points scored against the Hoosiers so far this season.
Struggling special teams
Sophomore punter Joseph Gedeon had one 51-yard boomer against Maryland that forced the Terrapins to start inside the 20, but outside that, there wasn’t a lot to smile about for IU’s special teams.
Junior kicker Griffin Oakes sent two kickoffs out of bounds and missed one of his two field goal attempts. Freshman Devonte Williams averaged just 17 yards per return on five kickoff returns, and when he did run the ball out, he never got past the Hoosiers’ own 25-yard line.
On punt returns, senior Mitchell Paige averaged less than three yards per return on three opportunities.
Wildcat option
Natee and Zander Diamont, behind some of the best blocking Wilson said he’s seen all year, both rushed for more than 100 yards while using a new offensive package against Maryland.
The package added a new wrinkle to an IU offense that had been struggling to run the ball, convert on third down and score touchdowns in the red zone. It also helped guide the Hoosiers to 42 points as it switched off with IU’s usual look on offense.
Wilson doesn’t see the package as a change to his offense; rather, it was just a way to help jumpstart a running game that hadn’t been performing up to par in recent weeks by using the skill sets of certain personnel.
He went to it so consistently because he said he decided to ride the hot hand and thought the team transitioned well between the two styles of offense.
Whether it will be used in future contests will depend on the opponent, and Wilson said he does not want to overuse it to the point that it becomes ineffective.
